Photo by Kindel Media

Having to deal with neck pain can be very debilitating. Neck pain may develop for several reasons. It may happen because your muscles and your neck become weak as you age. 

It may also be because of poor posture. They're also times when you may have a stiff neck simply because you slept in a bad position. Whatever the cause of your neck pain there are some remedies you can try to help alleviate your discomfort. 

Here's a look at some of the most effective ones.

Heat and Ice

Heat and Ice are two of the most effective remedies for pain in your neck. You can use ice for 2 to 3 days to see if you can alleviate any swelling that may be causing the pain. 

You can use heat once you have done three days of ice. Use hot compresses, warm showers, or even heating pads. After you have finished using heat for this period you can then go on to apply ice. 

This will help to relieve your pain. Along with this remedy you can use over-the-counter medications as well. Any pain reliever that contains acetaminophen is usually safe.

Get a Massage

Massages also provide an effective form of relief for neck pain. Whoever is doing your massage should do it gently as you don't want to further aggravate the painful areas. Get a professional massage if possible. 

Professionals will understand that the massage motions should be directed towards the heart so that it increases blood flow to your veins. Motions that do not go from the neck toward the heart can be problematic. This is why it's always better to get this professionally done.

If you feel your neck pain is severe then go to a chiropractor at Kaizo Health for assistance as they will be able to do these types of massage for you in addition to other forms of treatment.

Proper Posture and Position

You should always try to maintain proper posture and position to help relieve or prevent neck pain. Always think carefully about how you sleep. 

Sleeping on your stomach will undoubtedly cause you to twist your head. Sleeping on your stomach also affects your lower back in some cases.

The way you sit at a computer is also important. If you work in an office or even from home. Keep your monitor at eye level at all times and get a chair that will allow you to sit up straight. 

Get a standing desk that you can adjust from a sitting to a standing position whenever you need to stretch your legs. This will help to maintain good posture and prevent neck pain.

Preventing neck pain is something you should always be striving for. The best way to do it is by using the three strategies that have been discussed here. If you do these consistently and get professional help, especially from a chiropractor you should be able to ward off neck pain.

 Being a new mom is a wonderful thing. However, it’s also a time filled to the brim with anxiety! And when it’s time for your maternity leave to end and head back to work, you’re going to feel that more keenly than ever. 

Most of all, you’re probably going to feel an overwhelming sense of separation anxiety, and constantly think about how your baby is doing at home without you. 

But you need to work and make money, and also you deserve to as well! As such, here are some tips for dealing with the separation anxiety that’s common for new working mothers. 

Pexels Image - CC0 Licence

Being Anxious is Normal

Anxiety is normal to feel at a time like this, and there’s no shame in feeling that pit in your stomach when walking out the door in the morning. It doesn’t mean something is wrong, or that you can’t start working again yet, but it is very common and needs to be talked about more. 

Beat the Guilt

This is your life, and that means you’re allowed to have it all -  or at least as much of it as you can grab! And having a child doesn’t mean that’s all you should focus on. You want to be there for your baby as much as you can, but your career is allowed to matter to you as well. So when the guilt strikes and makes the anxiety a lot worse than usual, remind yourself of this simple fact! 

Hire Someone You Trust

You’re going to feel a lot better about going back to work if you’ve handpicked your child’s carer. Someone you’ve met face to face, who is able to put your mind at rest about their skill in person. And you can find such a person at sites like care.com, as well as through local connections or personal recommendations. 

Make sure you start this process early on. Getting someone in to look after your child is a big decision, and you need to be absolutely sure you’re working with the right person. Trust your gut, be specific about your needs, and don’t be afraid to be honest about your worries. 

Think of it as a Break for You Too

Going back to work can be a break away from new mom worries. Should your child be doing that? Should they be making that face? What could that red patch mean? Are they too hot or cold? These are all overwhelming questions that flood through your mind on the daily. 

And being at work can help you to shake off this invasive sense of anxiety; you’ve got other things to focus on, and take 8 hours away at least 3 times a week - that’s actually quite good for you! 

Going back to work as a new mom will be difficult. However, you’re perfectly allowed to work, you can hire people you trust to care part time, and a break is what you deserve every now and then too! 

As we start to get older and the kids no longer need us as much as they used to, life can feel a little strange. As much as we don’t really want to lose ourselves in parenthood, we often do. So when your role as a parent is less hands-on, you may start to feel a bit lost. And suddenly, you may find yourself with a lot more spare time. But maybe you haven’t really had much time to yourself in a while, so you’ve forgotten what to do with it! That’s very natural and can happen from time to time. But if this is the situation you’re in, it’s time to do something about it – and something fun too! Let’s take a look at how you can fill your spare time.

Pursue a Passion

So first of all, of course, you now have so much more time for all of the things that you already enjoy in life. Whether you love reading or baking, gardening or hiking – these are the things that you’re instantly going to want to fill your time with more.

Take Up a New Hobby

Or, maybe you really want to start a new hobby. Something that you’ve always been interested in. It could be that you love the idea of learning to sew and want to invest in something from Fenton Sew & Vac or that golf has always interested you but you don’t have time to try it out. Now that you do, don’t hold off from trying something new.

Exercise

Love it or hate it, exercise is always an important thing for you to spend more time doing. Not only is it good for your health, but you’ll find that it also helps you to feel calmer and more energized too. So maybe now is the period of your life where you want to feel revitalized and alive. If so, it’s a good idea to try out new workouts, sports, or types of exercise like yoga, swimming, pilates, or tennis.

Join Groups

Another way to grace your free time with much more enjoyment is to socialize. Maybe you’re feeling a little cut off at the moment. When that’s the case, you could absolutely look to join different groups and clubs! Whether it’s based on an interest you have, like a book club, or a local group that meets weekly, it could be something that adds value to your life and gets you out and about.

Travel More

And lastly, you may find that you want to be able to travel more. This can often be more appropriate when you’re an empty-nester, because you may not be able to go off to the Mexican Rivera for weeks on end when you still have children at home. But days out and little weekend trips could work for you instead. But ultimately, if you have found yourself with a lot more time on your hand, why couldn’t you look to travel more?

https://pixabay.com/photos/pasta-fettuccine-fresh-pasta-1181189/

We can all benefit from having more hobbies in our lives, but when it comes to choosing the right hobbies, we may want to opt for things that are more useful. So, with that in mind, here are some of the most useful and productive hobbies that will benefit our lives.

Cooking

Undoubtedly, it's one of the most useful hobbies out there. You may have a number of dishes in your repertoire, but rather than just refining those, you can also start experimenting. The great thing about cooking is that you can start mixing different flavors to see how you can upgrade that old favorite into something completely different! Cooking is also beneficial because it forces us to be there in the moment and to focus on that, rather than paying attention to our surroundings, which can be amazing for our sense of self and our mental health.

Knitting

Knitting is something that we should only start later in life, but knitting and sewing are amazing tools to help you make do and mend with your current clothing. And you can also use it as a way to make clothes for others, rather than you spending money on gifts. But it's also fantastic for productivity. While there's many different tools and accessories, from quilting gloves to thimbles, really all you need to begin with is good old-fashioned needle and thread!

Gardening

It is not just relaxing and pleasant, but it helps you to unwind because it helps you to conserve your energy in some different ways while also teaching you various project management skills. When you have a garden full of different plants, you have to learn how each one thrives. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to looking after your plants. There's also plenty of mental health benefits of gardening that will help anybody if they're going through a tough time in their life. It allows you to stop and literally smell the roses.

Woodwork

Woodwork is an amazing hobby because it's not just about you having to focus on what you want to build, but it's an incredibly physical hobby that over time will do wonders for your health. The problem most of us have when it comes to creating something through practices like woodwork is that we don't do enough of it. It's important to make sure that you are protecting yourself when you're doing woodworking by wearing a mask, but you also need to ensure that it becomes a hobby that stays with you for life, helping you to refine your creative muscle.

Playing Video Games

You might think that it's a complete waste of time, but if you see your child sitting in front of their favorite video game, you may want to sit down and join them. It is an amazing way to get the family together, but it's also an amazing tool to help you improve your focus, problem-solve, and cooperate. All of these traits can make anybody better in so many different aspects of their life.

Source - CC0 License

Ensuring you can look after yourself is as much to do with how handy you are as well as the mental health side of things, and this is why the “make do and mend” approach to life can be amazing, especially when it comes to our clothes. Learning to fix up our clothes by repairing or upgrading them is just as important as reusing and recycling our old clothing, but what are the benefits of learning to fix your clothes?

It’s Free

It's such a simple thing, but the fact is a needle and thread may be all you need to upgrade your clothing and make it stronger and last longer. Learning to repair your own clothes literally costs nothing apart from time. There can certainly be some challenging repairs out there that may need to go to a professional, but more often than not, this isn't true, and most people have a needle and thread in their home. If you are someone who normally gets a new item of clothing as soon as it's got a hole, this can be the perfect way for you to save money in the long run.

You Can Be Creative 

Sometimes we can benefit from upgrading our clothes to make them look a bit more special. Learning to fix our clothes is one skill, but we can also learn how to add amazing patterns and designs to them with a number of other tools. Using something like a rhinestone setter can instantly add some sparkle to an old and uninspiring T-shirt! The great thing is that once you've attempted a few new designs on some of your old and tattered T-shirts, this is the perfect time for you to start upgrading all of your clothes if you want. Sometimes we can uncover a hidden talent, and this can inspire us in so many other ways. If you really like the idea of upgrading old clothing, it's not a stretch of the imagination to start your own clothing business! But of course, if you're happy just to be a bit creative with your own clothes, you can do that too.

You Will Generate Less Waste

The biggest problem most of us are facing is the threat of climate change, and therefore, we've got to now be a lot more aware of our own impacts on the environment. It seems that recycling is not going to cut it, therefore, we need to start thinking more about our purchases. If you, like most of us, are guilty of indulging in fast fashion, learning to fix your own clothes means that you will generate less waste and, of course, you will save a lot of money, but even if you think that buying a cheap item of clothing that you are more than happy to throw out in a few months' time will not impact the environment, the reality is that most of us think like this. Instead, it's far better for us to take a bit more time out to ensure that we can fix things.

In addition, it can be an amazing skill that most of us don't have and as most of us are not very practical, having this ability to fix up our clothes can do a lot for our sense of self.