Tag: Holiday

Dealing With January Anxiety- Getting Back To Life After A Trip To Venice. By Eleanor

~ Eleanor Segall ~ 2 Comments

(image: E Mandelstam: Burano)

I was hesitant to write this blog as my husband Rob and I have just come back from a truly wonderful holiday in Venice, Italy and I feel so grateful we had that time together. We had been waiting all year to go away properly and we had the best time. We walked over many bridges, saw some beautiful things such as St Marks Square and Basilica, Museo Correr (where I found the most incredible ballroom that was like the one in Beauty and the Beast- see photo below), The Doges’ Palace and we celebrated Robs birthday by going on a day trip by boat to Murano and Burano Islands. Murano is the home of stunning glassmaking and Burano is the island with the colourful houses and its a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for lace making. It was so pretty! We also toured the Jewish quarter- the ghetto in Cannaregio and synagogues, ate lots of delicious food (pasta and tiramisu) and went to Chabad (the Jewish centre) for shabbat, went shopping, took water buses and gondolas and just really enjoyed the time off work and exploring. Venice is a truly beautiful place and at every turn you can see something new and exciting- whether its a boat or gondola going along the canal or towers of meringues in a bakery window, to seeing an old lady shuffling over a bridge carefully with her stick and Italians carrying their dogs in little bags to keep them warm, Venice is full of character and of life. One of my favourite things was seeing the laundry (yes really) being hung out on pulleys over the canal in the Jewish Ghetto area, as they don’t have gardens.

I surprised myself this trip with how much I was able to do exercise wise. My husband loves to keep busy and lives life at a faster pace than I do and there were mornings where I found this hard and felt overwhelmed by the thought of the day, so rested and went out later in the day. But generally, we were able to go and explore some wonderful things together. There were a few days I did 14,000 steps a day! Which for someone who is quite sedentary normally, I was so pleased I could do this. Venice was just a truly beautiful city- we stayed in a lovely hotel that used to be a Palazzo (Palace) and had Murano glass chandeliers, it also was on the Grand Canal and had a Vaporetto (water bus) and Water taxi stop. Exploring the city with my husband gave me such a lovely focus and I was really amazed by how much I was able to do, how much walking I did, which proved to me that I can be active and explore.

(image: E Mandelstam- Museo Correr)

Coming home, I have felt hugely grateful to have had this time with Rob. However, adjusting back to normal life in January is hard anyway, but after a holiday I find my anxiety rises a bit. There have been plans I wanted to do here that I havn’t been able to do. However, I am working on it and on exposure therapy with myself to try and do more things here, go out the house more (as I work from home) and do what I can so that my anxiety doesn’t stop me from living my life.

When you have an anxiety disorder, it can be tough sometimes to go outside, to meet people, to do basic things in your normal environment. The weather is cold and dark early, all you want to do is hibernate. Which I feel is OK! I do notice though that its when I start feeling more anxious and unable to do things and can’t push myself that I have to take a step back and start looking after myself, just plan in a few small things to achieve. Overplanning for me tends to be a disaster! Even on holiday, if there was too much planned in, I found I couldn’t always do it and so we had to adapt plans, but I still did lots so to me, that was a win.

The January blues can be hard whether you have been lucky enough to go away or whether you are here and contemplating a brand new year and what it can bring. Remember to be kind to yourself and make things achievable. Whether you’re looking for a new job or you want to achieve another goal, know it will unfold at the right time. I am not good with being patient, but sometimes we have to be!

If you are struggling with your mental health and you need more support, please reach out to your GP, psychiatrist or therapist if you have one. I find things like taking my medication on time and getting enough rest also help me too. I am also counting the wins of thank G-d being well enough to travel and enjoying that time with my husband. I still achieved things and I have to remember I am capable of more than I think sometimes. The most important thing for me is making I do not spend too much time indoors- as the anxiety can then worsen.

(image: E Mandelstam- Cannaregio gondola)

How are you finding the January blues/ anxiety?

Eleanor x

Dealing with my mental health on holiday abroad: Trip to Israel

~ Eleanor Segall ~ Leave a comment

recharge
(image: GoThinkBig)

On Monday, I returned from a wonderful holiday to Israel with my fiance Rob, seeing friends and family. I hadn’t been to Israel in 9 years for various reasons and he hadn’t been for 13 years (!) so we were determined to make the most of our trip. We definitely don’t want to leave it so long next time.

We travelled around the country staying with family and in hotels too. If anything, we almost packed in too much trying to see everyone- and I still didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to as we were only there for a week. I was also very conscious of the fact that it was very hot and it became apparent that I couldn’t cope with walking  in 36 degree heat for too long!

I made sure that I had lots of water on me as my medication, Lithium,  dehydrates my body quickly so I have to intake more water than most. I found that through heat and dehydration, I would get tired quite quickly so if we had spent a morning travelling, I would need to spend a few hours either resting in air conditioning or sleeping.

In general, my anxiety is better when I am abroad, though there were a few days where morning anxiety did overwhelm  and I chose to rest and sleep and then go out later in the day. My fiance was very understanding of this and went for a wander some mornings. However, once I was rested and had eaten breakfast/ drunk lots of water, I was able to enjoy and do lots of fun things.

On our trip we went to visit my best friend/ cousin and her family in a place called Tel Mond, near Netanya and we went for a day trip to Netanya- which is a beach side resort. They also made a barbeque for us when we arrived which was lovely and we saw other friends who live there. We met their newest arrival – gorgeous baby girl- and I had lots of cuddles with my new cousin!

We then went to Jerusalem for a few days- to the Western Wall to pray, walking in the Old City, seeing my other cousins and catching up over ice cream and meeting friends for dinner in the evening. We spent time in the Jerusalem First station near our hotel, which has restaurants and stalls as well as live music- a bit like Covent Garden! Rob and I went shopping and bought things for our future home as well as for family in England.

After this, we travelled to spend Jewish sabbath- shabbat with my other cousins who moved to Israel last year- and spent time walking around where they live and meeting their friends. It was restful and lovely to catch up with them, eat delicious food and rest.

Our final day was spent in Tel Aviv, going in the swimming pool,  walking around the streets by the beach, drinking iced coffee and going out for dinner with another cousin who happened to be travelling there with her friends. Rob and I also had time to ourselves which was important and we didn’t want to leave!

I am lucky that my medication very much helps my bipolar and so I was able to do all of the above.

For me when abroad, my main concerns are taking my medication on time and each day, getting enough sleep, eat well, staying out the sun at hot times and making sure I rest and drink enough. If I follow that, I can largely function.

Sometimes my anxiety  about being in a new place can kick in upon waking- so I was thankful my fiance understood it took me a bit longer to adjust to the day, but once I was rested, I was able to really enjoy the holiday.

Its important to note that everyone is different on holiday. However, it is vital to cut yourself slack, take rest days (or rest half days) and also take medication on time. I don’t drink alcohol on my meds- but keeping hydrated if you are is so important too.

Also make sure you declare your condition on travel insurance so you are covered if you become unwell abroad! This will make it more expensive but worth it. You don’t want to get sick abroad and have no cover.

I am pleased too that I stayed well- despite being very tired on my return. I made sure I caught up on sleep and didn’t go straight in to work – although I am now back at work.

I am missing my trip already and so thankful to my fiance, friends and family for making it so special.