Totally run down and need to do something about it. Any tips please?

[Littlemiss74]

After a stressful few weeks for everyone I think it’s taken it’s toll on me.

I haven’t felt well for a week or so (not cv symptoms), headache, sinus pain, muscle aches, nausea and feel totally and utterly run down. I’ve been waking up in the night and have been extremely anxious as my DF has not been well and I’ve been stressed trying to juggle wfh with DC’s school work. I’m in vulnerable group so this has made me anxious too.

I look dreadful! My skin has broken out in spots, face is pasty, dark circles. My nails are dreadful and short as I’ve anxiously picked them. Underarm hair is gross as I normally get wax at salon and can’t shave as prone to infection.
I feel like I’ve put on weight and and have been snacking on crap and comfort eating. I’ve got out of the habit of properly exercising as so busy with wfh and dc’s although we do get out for a walk once a day.

I caught sight of myself on a skype call and was horrified! Has anyone else felt run down too due to the events of the last few weeks? What are you doing to feel better?

Would love some tips to feel a bit better as just feel horrible and am so exhausted I’m finding it hard to know what to do to sort myself out.

Take Floradix, for at least 6 months, which is good for fatigue, and BetterYou magnesium spray, the sleep one would be good for you ( good for every one). Don't listen to the news after 7.00, and listen to yoga nidra (YouTube)to help you sleep s at night.

Thank you for these ideas

I'd say rest rest rest.

It sounds as if you are unwell, not just run down.

A steam bath for blocked sinuses out some plans in if you have some. Wash your hair, trim your nails,

A night nurse and a good nights sleep.

Yy to Multivits and iron. Also vit D

Can you get hold of an electric shaver or trimmer for your underarms if you can't wax at home?

F my skins never been so bad as it is right now

Sorry put olbas oil in the bath.

Also cut yourself some slack. Watch a film with the kids after you clock off and just lie there.

It's a tough, weird, overwhelming time isn't it?

Some of the things that have worked for me so far have been

• strictly restricting watching the news. I read it for around 15 minutes in the morning and in evening and will watch some of the direct briefings from the government but no dissection commentary, too much for my head and wellbeing
• I plan no more than a week ahead for work, cooking, household, 'social' things online. I make a date with a friend to live watch something on Netflix together once a week on whatsapp or similar and one zoom evening where friends and I do a quiz or have drinks and a chat much like we'd do face to face. I then make a daily list of what I can reasonably accomplish with WFH as it all pretty much takes longer than if I was in the work so I purposely underestimate so I can finish it and can always add a few things from tomorrow's list
• drag myself out for a very early morning brisk walk and listen to a comfort, funny podcast or happy music that's nothing to do with what's going on, make a point of saying good morning to anyone I see.
• make up and work clothes for WFH so I can distinguish from work and home come 5pm and so I don't feel panicky if I need to make a last minute Skype call that I look unprofessional. This works for me personally.
• in 'home time' using the time home to play around with make up, to try new hair styles to manage the roots coming through (an nifty with a hair band and scarf in prep!)
• plenty of water, get some sunshine on you during the day if you can, don't be too hard on yourself if you comfort eat... We need comforting right now
• am actively 'cocooning' on weekends, watching favourite films (I'm finding it too hard to get the focus to read at the moment as I'm doing such a huge volume of reading in work rather than social interaction and think I'm associating reading with work), hair treatments, got a diffuser on the go with lovely oils, any beauty treatments that I've never had time to do I'm doing, spend time writing positive little notes into cards for friends which I post during the week

Try to find a manageable rhythm to your day and if you feel a bit sh!t let yourself feel it and talk yourself through it as you would a friend or reach out to a friend and tell them this - I think we could all do with learning how to ask for help - I bet you give a lot of comfort and support to your family and friends so maybe really good time to learn to ask for yourself and it's fine to say "I'm finding it really hard to ask for help but I think I need to..."

I hope tomorrow feels a little brighter for you. Take it day by day or even hour by hour if that is what you need to find your even keel. You will find it.

Drink plenty of water, and eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Do some stretches when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed, just putting your arms above your head and out to the sides for 3 minutes.

Listen to your favourite music when you are doing housework or in the shower.

Keep a lip balm and a hand cream close by and re-apply whenever you get a second (once a day is better than never).

OP I know you've had suggestions for supplements already, but from what you've written I'd say your main need is for a good vitamin B complex.

When you're run down

Vit B deficiency

The B vitamins are essential to help you manage stress, and yet being stressed depletes the body's stores.

Yes to a good multivitamin and Sudafed Congestion Relief nasal spray for the blocked sinuses. It’s like calling Dynorod .

The thing that made the biggest difference to my skin was cleansing properly - I use the Superdrug Vit E hot cloth cleanser at night, followed by micellar water. Far fewer spots now.

I take Metatone when I'm unwell, or after it if I haven't recovered. It's specially made for this reason, and it really picks you up.

Lots of lovely ideas already.

My stress levels and anxiety were getting out of control to the point they were making me ill.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I’ve found some vit c with iron, vit D in my cupboard and I’m sure I have some vit B somewhere too. I wonder how long it will take before they make a difference? I am going to try and increase my fruit & veg uptake.

@bingohandjob i agree that limiting news intake would be a good idea. I have found myself strangely hooked on watching every detail of this crisis and I’m sure it’s not doing me any good.

@MoltoAgitato i have never had a proper skin care routine, just clarins face wash and a flannel! Perhaps now would be the time to take a little more time and care with this.

@bobstersmum I haven’t heard of Metatone, what is that? Sounds good.

I do think I need to rest. The last few weeks have been highly emotional and stressful as I know they have for so many people. Yesterday I rested all day and I did start to feel better. Then we went for our evening walk and when I got back I started to feel bad again so maybe even exercise is too much at the moment.
I have some time off work over easter and I wanted to get so much done in the house but I also just want to feel better.

Regarding the home schooling, it’s the Easter hols now so give it a rest for a while. Stop trying to juggle everything, you’re dropping the balls now. Get up, have a shower, put some make up on (if that’s your thing) and do your hair. Then you’ll feel presentable on video calls. Let work know you’re only available for calls between certain hours and stick to those times.
Get outside for a walk once a day, early morning or evening is quieter.
Plan some nice family time over the weekend.

No to getting jobs done on the house! Use your time to relax. ( unless doing jobs is your way of relaxing?)

@Soontobe60 my house has just got into a right old mess and I’ve not let myself worry about it as so much going on. But I did think when get time off at Easter I’ll have a good declutter and tidy up. I think it would make me feel better mentally as jt’s making me feel worse but on the other hand I do want to use the time to rest. Maybe I could try and do a little bit each day..

@KatyS36 sorry to hear that but well done for taking action and doing something about it. That’s what I think I need to do, take some action but I’ve got myself so exhausted I haven’t the motivation to do anything. Can I ask how has the therapist helped, are they able to give practical advice? I just feel a bit stuck and can’t get going/don’t know where to start. It feels like there are tons of things just going round and round in my head.

Get a B vitamin complex.
Zinc is amazing for your skin, especially if it's breaking out and looking rough. But always take it with food.

Order a bottle of Olbas bath (it foams and it smells like you're in a Finnish Forest- it REALLY clears my head and calms me down). I take a warm Olbas bath every other day and so do the kids (twice a week). It's amazing stuff. I also do a Weleda pine milk face steams over the sink with a towel covering me to lock it all in. I add a tiny, little bit of Weleda Pine bath to the water and just breathe. Smells are very therapeutic and between the Olbas and Weleda Pine steams, I feel very clear in every sense.

If the walk is too much, maybe shorten it or can you sit in a garden instead and do your walk every other evening?

Sleep (easier said than done)

Metatone is a tonic, you take a couple of spoonfuls up to a few times a day. Available from chemist's and supermarkets.

Hi LittleMiss,

Exact same thing, tons of things going round and round in my head,24/7. In the first session I just spilt out everything whilst crying my eyes out. I felt sooo much better afterwards.

It was a safe space to talk about all the thoughts that were running around, without it needing to be emotionally reciprocated and take on someone elses problems (all my friends are as overloaded as I am).

It came about after reading the chimp paradox, which for me is life changing. I realised my inner chimp needed a lot of exercise and I needed to find a safe space for this to happen

Second session was more taking through specifics.

Hope this helps xx

Btw for me it hasn't really been about practical advice. Now I'm getting my anxiety and emotions under control I can figure out the practical stuff.

So why not spend one day (tomorrow) doing some general decluttering on those areas where you spend most time, (kitchen, living room, bedroom) then relax the rest of the weekend. Make sure everyone gets involved! That way, you don't have it looming over you for the weekend.

@TheVanguardSix
I agree on the smell therapy benefits. Last thing at night, I rub some of my favourite body lotion on my arms and I can smell it when I get in bed. It really soothes me, and if I wake up in the night, I give my arms a little rub to smellmit again. I'm sure it's psychological, but it works.

I’ve found some Vitamin B6 - is that ok? Not sure what difference is between that and vit B complex..

I take B12 and magnesium for energy. I also take a cheap multi vitamin as I am not good at eating five a day.

I have found going to bed earlier actually helps me fall sleep quicker. If I’m in bed with a book by about 9.45, I generally fall asleep before 10.30. If I stay up past 11.30 my tiredness seems to have passed and I lie awake and restless for a couple of hours.

Littlemiss unlike say vitamin C, where there's only one, there are several B vitamins. They work together, so generally it's better to take a supplement that has all of them in.

Sometimes an individual B vitamin is identified as being particularly helpful for a specified reason. My guess for you having the B6 would be that a few years ago there was a lot of publicity around it being helpful for heavy or painful periods.

But when you're generally run down it's better if you get all the different Bs. [[https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324856
This article]] talks you through them all.

Don't underestimate how bad a sinus infection can make you feel.

I had one a couple of years ago which affected my breathing to the point I couldn't speak and ended up in A&E. I was shocked when the doc said what it was, I thought I was dying, had never knowingly had sinus problems before that.

I found that changing positions made me feel horrendous, so was okay when walking or moving about but when I sat down I immediately started to feel ill. Or I'd be okay sitting down but lying down in bed had me gasping for breath.

Even after a course of strong antibiotics it was a good 3 weeks or so before I felt vaguely human.

Have you tried facial massages to try and relieve the sinus pain? Look on YouTube for videos. A good one is put your thumbs or fingers right at the top of your nose, near your eyebrows, push in for 30 seconds, repeat as necessary. You will know if it's working because you'll get a foul taste in your mouth.