Stress Less With Macular Degeneration

Ask yourself a few questions... Are you too busy? Is your calendar packed? Do you incorporate “non-doing” daily into your schedule? Have you tried guided meditations? How about deep breathing? When was the last time you listened quietly to soft music or did some gentle stretches?

All these (and more) can create a calm, less stressful environment, even if for just a few minutes a day. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you for it! When we’re too busy to take care of ourselves, we’re too busy.

Don’t let life – or macular degeneration – weigh you down!

IT’S OK NOT TO BE BUSY, and that includes our thoughts!

With a condition like macular degeneration, it’s easy to fall into the “whoa is me” trap and worry about what the future holds. It can consume us – if we let it.

Less stress means more energy dedicated to healing, recovery, and replenishment, so conditions like macular degeneration, or any health issue, don't take over our lives.

Stress wrecks havoc on the BODY

The body is a wonderful tool that serves us in many ways but it’s not built to withstand chronic, constant stress. Too much stress over the long haul weakens the body’s natural resistance to disease and can dramatically affect overall health.

The longer the stressful condition lasts, the more vulnerable and run down the body becomes. Just recently I learned this hard lesson when I contracted COVID-19.

Lessons learned from COVID

Many of us experience fatigue when we put too many expectations on our bodies, yet we often push through. We keep going because we’ve been taught to always be productive.

This puts a lot of stress on our bodies as we attempt to override tiredness and ignore overwhelm. Then something radical happens to grab our attention, like COVID.

Clearing the schedule

Recovering from COVID, suddenly I was confined at home with a clear schedule and forced to relax. Much to my amazement, everything around me did not collapse! We really can “do nothing” and survive without our little world falling apart. In fact, by slowing down, it became more clear...

Just because there’s a hole in my schedule, doesn’t mean I have to fill it – It’s okay to do nothing – Repeat that out loud... IT’S OK TO DO NOTHING – In fact, it’s healthy.

Forced relaxation

This forced COVID-relaxation made me reflect on how much pressure and stress I put on my body with my insanely, busy schedule. It also made me understand if I don’t take control and relieve the stress myself, my body will eventually FORCE me to take better care of myself, as COVID did.

Next time, I will put the brakes on BEFORE I’m forced to stop. I CAN and WILL make fewer stressful, physical demands on my body. But there is far more at stake beyond the physical.

Stress Affects Our MIND and SPIRIT

Stress puts an extra burden on our bodies but our minds and spirit also suffer greatly, which is even harder to resolve because it means our THINKING must change – a hard pill to swallow.

It’s one thing to control physical activity but how does one stop the insistent thinking and worrying that consumes our minds? It can be done. We can take back our lives by handling stress daily and not allowing it to accumulate.

Who knows, by working on our “inner” vision, we may SEE more clearly than we ever thought possible!

Share your thoughts and tips

Please share in the comments what YOU do to relieve stress. Think about what can come off your to-do list to allow some time each day to DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

We can all use ideas. It’s a balancing act, for sure, but so worth the time and effort.

So don’t rush in your busyness - STOP – BREATHE – DO NOTHING FOR A SHORT WHILE – You deserve it!