ANXIETY DISORDERS/WORKING THROUGH THE RECOVERY: MAKING DECISIONS
There are certain situations where we may be under stress, but feel we cannot do anything about them. We can spend days and nights worrying. As hard as the situation may be, we need to understand how it is affecting us. If we have done everything we can do and the situation remains unchanged, we need to let go of the worry. Sometimes these situations may revolve around other family members or friends and may be extremely serious. It comes back to making a decision to let go of the worry. We are only losing valuable energy worrying or trying to change a situation we can’t.
Sometimes there are very difficult decisions to be made. Once we make a decision we need to let it rest. Many people use their energy continually reviewing the decision. It doesn’t matter whether our decision is ultimately right or wrong. Worrying about a decision is putting our recovery on hold. Our recovery must be our number one priority.
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ÑHILDREN’S SLEEP PROBLEMS/BUILDING THE BASICS: EXERCISE FOR DETERMINING YOUR CHILD’S SLEEP ASSOCIATIONS
Describe your usual bedtime routine:
What events precede bedtime? (Examples: give bath, put on pajamas, quiet play, put baby into bed, sing lullaby, turn down lights, say goodnight, leave the room.)
Describe the sleep environment. (Examples: lights low, child in own bed, stuffed bear, blanket in bed.)
Who takes the active parts? (Examples: Dad does quiet play, Mom puts child in bed.)
Describe your middle of the night response:
What happens when the child wakes up? (Examples: he cries, he comes to our room.)
What is the child needing from you? What do you do in response? (Examples: feed him, give her the pacifier, scold her, etc.)
Who takes the active parts? (Examples: Dad calls back to her, Mom nurses, etc.)
Assess your child’s sleep associations:
From your answers above, summarize the set of circumstances that your child seems to need and expect to get to sleep -the things that signal to her that all is okay and it’s time to go to sleep.
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COUCH – MEDICINES
There are medicines to help dry up phlegm. They can have the disadvantage of making it stickier so that it is harder to cough it up. They will also give you a dry mouth and nose. Chemical names of some of these are pseudoephedrine HC1, phenylephrine HC1, atropine sulphate and hyoscine hydrobromide. The first two make some people feel unpleasantly agitated and restless, so ask what is in your cough medicine and whether you can have a different one if you have this symptom.
If your cough is dry, it is safe to take medicines to try to stop it. Chemical names of some are pholcodine, hydrocodone tartrate, codeine phosphate, dextromethorphan hydrobromide and nor-methodone. These are closely related to painkillers, in fact some of them are quite good painkillers as well. They can cause similar side effects, especially constipation, nausea, and drowsiness. For the first of these it is best to take preventive steps as described on pages 130-31. The other two tend to wear off, so persevere for a few days before deciding that these medicines don’t suit you.
Quite a lot of cough mixtures contain antihistamines, which are not of much help for cough from any of the causes listed above. Antihistamines may make you either drowsy or overactive and restless. Ask whether one is in your cough medicine if you get these symptoms, and if so, ask to have a different cough mixture that does not contain an antihistamine.
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