Category: Health

Selflessly Selfish

On By Chris BuddIn General, HealthLeave a comment

I’ve decided to take a new approach to my outlook on life for 2024.  Following an emotionally, spiritually, and physically taxing month of December, I am starting off the new year on a less-than-optimal level.  I would daresay that I am borderline burned out.  My wife may argue and say that I am well-beyond borderline, but with no official diagnosis, I’ll just go with how I feel.  And I currently feel run down and a shell of my usual self.

While I haven’t been one to make resolutions for the past few years, I’ve decided to make a bold and, for me, challenging one for the new year.  This year, I aim to be more selfish.

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Follow Through

On By Chris BuddIn General, Health, Musings1 Comment

Today’s post is a continuation of sorts from my last post.

I am an idea guy. I always have a multitude of thoughts jumping through my mind about things to do, places to go, how to make things better, etc., etc., etc. As my former manager used to say, I’m a “blue sky thinker”. The challenge that comes along with these ideas, at least for me, is following through.

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The Weight of Weight Loss

On By Chris BuddIn Food, Health3 Comments

Ever since I was young I have been, at least, a husky individual. Over the course of my lifetime, that descriptor has varied from husky to overweight to healthy(ish), and everything in between.

For a large part of my life, I was self-conscious about my weight. Not necessarily because of how I felt, since, though carrying excess baggage, I was healthy. In truth, I was self-conscious because of the same reason so many other people are – I worried about what others thought of the way I looked.

I was teased for my weight in school. Although I learned how to shrug off the stinging jabs from my schoolmates, the echoes remained. This in turn lead me to use self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism; sometimes proactively so as to try to “take the power” from the others, but oftentimes no one was thinking or saying anything. Except for me. This pattern stuck around for the rest of my life.

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Social Media Break

On By Chris BuddIn Health2 Comments

Social media is ever-present in most of our lives. No matter where you go, you’ve always got that handy little device in your pocket or close at hand. How many times a day do you hear that familiar notification sound and reflexively glance at your screen to see what’s going on? Pavlovian responses. It’s something that we do so unconsciously now that we usually don’t even notice how frequently we’re doing it. I’ve been absent over the past few days from my social media platforms. I decided that I needed a bit of a break, and boy did it do some good!

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*Batteries Not Included

On By Chris BuddIn General, Health1 Comment

Through much of 2019, I’d noted that I had light bulbs acting weirdly around me. They would frequently start flickering for a few minutes then stop. We had a number of bulbs that just stopped working. (Yes, I realize that happens with light bulbs, but some of these were replaced and died again on us shortly afterwards) We even had one light bulb that burned out 3 times in the past two years. Each time, it would be out for a day or two, I’d touch it to take it out and then it would light up again and last months before happening again. After the third “resurrection”, I was forced to replace the bulb.

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Silencing the Critic

On By Chris BuddIn General, HealthLeave a comment

Everyone has their own moments of doubt and self-criticism.  For some people, the voice is hard to tune out, or to turn off.  Even the most successful and well-grounded people have that little voice that creeps up from time to time and makes them question themselves and their abilities. 

Over recent months, that little voice of mine has been resurfacing more regularly, more insistently.  It’s definitely caused me more than a few moments of mental downward spiraling.  I get caught up in the negative self-talk, which causes even more negative self-talk, which leads to moments of crushing panic and despair. 

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