Kathiey's World

There are many ways to take care of ourselves and relieve stress in our lives.  One way suggested by many to achieve this goal is to light a scented candle.  Let's take a look at the benefits of lighting a candle. Did you know that lighting a candle can improve your mental health? The effects of a scented candle can relax and calm your mind.   Let's look at what lighting a candle may do for our mental health. Candles can help improve your mood.  The scent of a candle can help you relax and just enjoy the moment. A scented candle can help reduce stress and anxiety by promoting feelings relaxation and calmness. Candles can help improve concentration due to its ability to make us calm and relaxed. Scented candles can create a peaceful cozy atmosphere thus aiding in stress relief. Scented candles help soothe our mind and help us relax. According to a site called Fervor candlelight induced relaxation and reduces anxiety.  The scented oils improve mood, promote wellb...

 Let's continue our series on Self-Care and Stress Relief.   Today, let's take a look at Stress Relief and Music. Music can make us feel good...listening to the right music can change our mood. Listening to music can stimulate dopamine in our brain, also known as the feel-good hormone in our body.  Music can be used as a therapeutic tool to reduce stress, promote healing, and improve one’s overall emotional well-being. "In addition to helping human beings experience positive emotions, listening to music has also been associated with improving our physical health and well-being." Michiagan State University The ability to listen to music is available to nearly everyone.  It is usually low cost, and there is a genre for everyone. "Contemporary research suggests music has significant power to help reduce stress and anxiety, relieve pain, and improve focus, among many more benefits." Psych Central Music affects us both mentally and physically. According to a  stu...

I believe that taking the time to take care of ourselves can help us relax and reduce our stress.  I found this thought backed up online, and according to Amherst College "taking care of yourself will help maintain your physical, emotional, and mental reserves to prevent and manage stress. So to take care of myself this week, I decided to get a pedicure. The pool in my community just opened, and sandal weather is here, so I thought this would be a good idea on many levels. Some studies say that stress relief can keep you healthy and boost your mindset and energy levels. One way to achieve a level of stress relief is through self-care.  One way for us to care for ourselves is by getting a pedicure. The environment itself in a spa should be calm and relaxing. Typically there is calming music, and the visual surroundings should be warm and peaceful. Along with the spa setting, there are typically options for scented treatments.  This enhances our experience through aromathe...

Need Stress Relief?  Try Decluttering Your Space. I had read about how decluttering can decrease chaos not only physically but emotionally. I just moved to a new location, and in the process of the move and downsizing, I found that my new place is not yet organized, and this disorder made me feel stressed. I decided to remedy the situation. My dining room Day 1… So why does clutter make us stressed, and a clean environment makes us more peaceful? Let’s find out. Why clutter can be stressful... Clutter can lead to fatigue and even depression. Clutter can lead to decreased focus, confusion, and tension. Clutter can make you feel you have lost control. Clutter can lead to stress. Clutter can make you feel overwhelmed Reasons why decluttering can make you more content and less stressed… Less clutter helps you to focus. A clean environment can help you relax because there are fewer distractions. Decluttering can help you sleep better because of the relaxing environment. When you come h...

 I started a series several years ago called Stress Relief and Self-Care. I want to include self-care in this series because, by taking care of ourselves, we can decrease our stress, at least for a moment. There are many times in our lives when we need stress relief. Divorce ranks high on the stress meter. Let's begin a monthly series to help us find ways to not only care for ourselves but, in the process, decrease our stress. Here is a quote that I found... "The Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale indicates that divorce is the second highest stressor  for humans, second only to the death of a spouse."    I disagree because divorce is like a death, only it is intentional, whereas death is usually not. So, I believe divorce can be an intent to harm, so it is more painful than death with no intent to harm. Knowing that stress can make you sick in both mind and body, I will explore stress relief techniques and self-care ideas that can help us lead a more calm and stress-free life....

Why You Should Try New Things "Switching things up can help to keep you inspired and motivated."  Long before COVID 19 I took a class. I took a class in Floral arranging. What fun! Try something new.   I believe it will help you feel better even if you are  going through a difficult time. God Bless You on Your Journey! KathieyV

What do you do for fun?  For me, one of the highlights in life is spending time with my Maggie and Caleb.  I love to take them on adventures.  It could be anything from visiting a pumpkin patch, a museum, or going to a local playground.  I have just added another experience to the list, there is a camel farm just a little over an hour from here that we have to check out. Last week I had the kids for a couple of days and thought let's go on an adventure.  We decided to go to a hotel in the area and enjoy the pool and room service.  So off we went... What a fun pool!  Beds were comfy.  I did share a bed with Maggie, and she does love to move all night long.   Caleb loved having his own bed.  Watching an exciting movie.  Room service was great, really nice people,  but the food was awful.  The kids would not eat the pizza or the brownies.  I did not eat my sandwich, but I did like t...

Sometimes I don't feel very productive. Often I feel like I am wasting time, spinning my wheels, and going nowhere. At times I like to see what others do to increase their productivity. And that is what I am going to do today. I will take a look at this article and see what I can add to my life to make it a bit more productive.  Eight Things You Need to do Before 9-am for a Productive Day  from the Glossy Belle Blog. The first thing on her list is to  get up early.   I already do that. I am up walking the dog by 6 am, and many times I am up at 4 am. Just depends on the day. The sooner you get up, the more you can get done if you are focused. Next, she has that we should  workout . I usually exercise in the evening or mid-morning. I am not a person that likes to workout early. I do walk Brodie though, does that count? She says we should  connect with the world  by reading the news. When I am having my morning coffee, I typically watch the ...