How To Keep Busy While Recovering: Music Soothes The Savage Beast

Music is one of those things that I believe truly speaks to my soul.  Different moods call for different music.  And like our moods affect the music we want, the music we listen to can also affect our moods.  I remember reading that it's helpful for babies to listen to calming, classical music when they are babies.  So I went out and got a Bach tape when my daughter was an infant and played it for her when she slept.  And she's an awesome kid, so obviously it worked :)

Music is an easy way to uplift your mood and help you feel better.  One of my favorite ways to listen to a variety of music according to my mood is through Pandora radio.  (I've already made small mentions of my Pandora listening here and here.)  I love how customizable it is, and that it's completely free!  I listen to it on my TV through my Roku box.  I also downloaded the app on my Kindle fire, but I don't usually use it too much on there.

Here are some of my favorite channels:

 

Bon Jovi

Plays mostly 80's bands with classic rock mixed in.  So in addition to Bon Jovi, I'll get bands like Poison, Aerosmith, Guns 'N Roses, and Queen.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Gives me classical Baroque era music.  Other than Bach, I'll get Pachelbel and Vivaldi and other composers that I am not too familiar with.  Sometimes I'll also get opera/ballet instrumentals like stuff from Carmina Burana and the Nutcracker.  I listen to this a lot as background music.  Since there are no words, I can't sing along...so I get less distracted.

John Williams

This channel was created by my son.  He loves all the orchestra music from Star Wars, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  This channel gives us a lot of classic movie instrumentals.  We like to listen to this during dinner sometimes.

Counting Crows

My newest creation is the Counting Crows channel.  My physical therapy office also plays music through Pandora.  Well, one day I commented about how good the music was that morning and asked what she had on.  It was the Counting Crows channel.   Other than Counting Crows, you'll hear Tom Petty, Bruce Sprinsteeen, U2, and Clapton.

The trick with Pandora is that when you first create a channel, you have to really sit there and do your like/dislikes.  If you do this for a couple of days, you will have the perfect channel.  I took a nice hot bath just a few weeks ago and put on my soothing, relaxing Bach channel and heard Pachelbel's Cannon in D three separate times within 45 minutes.  All different covers.  I call that a Pandora score!

Do you think music affects your mood?  What type of music soothes your soul?  What kind makes you happy? 

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How To Keep Busy While Recovering: Laugh...A Lot...and Often

This is something that everyone should be doing regardless if they are recovering from anything. Laughing is just good for the soul!


Do you love baby laughs?

Or perhaps you'd prefer to watch a bride and groom laugh hysterically though their wedding vows?

Even when things are falling apart, laughter is the best medicine...

Laughing is contagious.  There are times when something small and silly will set off one of my kids.  And then the other one will start laughing...and then my husband and I are cracking up too.  I love laughing so hard that my cheeks hurt!  Laughing with my family over the past several months has helped me navigate my way through bad situations and kept me sane.

Laughing makes you happy...and being happy makes you feel better.  At least it does for me :)

Who is your favorite person to laugh with?

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How To Keep Busy While Recovering: Imagine Yourself Better...The Power Of Positive Thinking

So I know that you can't just wish yourself better or wake up the day after ankle surgery and imagine that you can walk on your foot and then it happens just like that.  I'm crazy, but not that crazy.  But thinking positively and surrounding yourself with positive things can definitely help when you are sick and trying to get better. Why?  Because the way you think can affect the way you feel.  A great example of this is the placebo effect.  Give a person a pill that they think will make them better, and there are some people that will actually get better. It doesn't matter that the medicine they were given was a sugar pill.  There is a mind-body connection going on in ourselves that we aren't always aware of. 

After my recent surgeries I actually put viewing rules in place so that I could stay in a positive state of mind.  I only watched funny or uplifting shows or movies.  No tear jerkers or anything that didn't have a Hollywood happy ending.  Goodbye to The Notebook...hello to Jim Gaffigan stand up.

I also tried to not get too down on myself when I wasn't progressing as quickly as I'd like.  This is super hard for me because I struggle with patience.  But I have to remember how far I've come and not how far I still need to go.  As long as I'm continuing in the right direction, that's what really matters.
 
Staying in a positive frame of mind helps me to feel better and, I believe, helps me to heal quicker.  There is scientific research to suggest that you feel less pain if you are happy.  I believe this to be true from my own personal experience.  Don't get me wrong...my pain didn't go away because I watched a few episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, but watching or doing things that make me happy seem to pass the time quicker.  And time passing quicker is exactly what I needed to get better.

Do you believe in the power of positive thinking?  Are there things you do to keep yourself in a positive state of mind?

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How To Keep Busy While Recovering: Get Over It!

Whether you are recovering from surgery, are on bed rest, or at home taking it slow for any other reason, chances are you will get frustrated and depressed at some point.  You may end up feeling like a caged animal that needs to be let out.  You'll want your freedom back and wonder how it is that you are going to keep your sanity.

Here is the good news...there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

For my first ankle surgery I was only supposed to be in a splint for the first couple of weeks and then go into a walking boot.  Well, at my two week post-op check up I was told that I would be going into a cast for the next 6 weeks instead.  To say that I was disappointed would be a huge understatement.  I was very depressed for the next several weeks.  It was very hard on me, both physically and emotionally.

For the first couple of months post-op I would go up and down my stairs on my butt for fear of falling down.  I remember one day, while going up the stairs, I was in so much pain that I just stopped midway and started crying.  Both my kids came and sat on the steps with me and gave me hugs.  And I realized, that as much pain as I was in, and as depressed as I was, I had a wonderful support system.  These two beautiful children of mine comforting their old mom.  And my husband, who helped me up and down the steps every single time, was there telling me that this wouldn't last forever.

So I needed to stop the pity party and just get over it.  I would get through this.  There was a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Depression is something that I've struggled with for many years, and when I'm physically struggling and in a lot of pain, the depression only gets worse.  So after my surgeries, I had to be on high alert for the signs of depression.  I always try to keep myself as positive as I can.  Little things like opening up the blinds every day to let in the sunlight are a huge help.  Even making sure that I shower and wear a bra are subtle reminders of being human.  So for anyone that thinks that it's easy to say "Get over it!"...please know that I understand that it's not always as easy as that.  But being as positive as I can and trying to count my blessings really goes a long way with feeling better, and less depressed.  And when you are feeling better emotionally, you can physically heal faster.

This too shall pass.  And it did.  And it does.

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