Category Archives: chronic pain

The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #70

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The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #70 | Dr. Alexandria Szeman 12 March 2023


Mindfulness

Why Your Best Thoughts Happen in the Shower or When Walking | Psychology Today

Seemingly mindless activities are mindful experiences that put us in the moment and can lead to the state called “flow.” Ceasing from deliberate thought can yield unexpected insights from ideas incubating in the subconscious background. Solitary activities let us disconnect from the outside world….


Migraine

Why You Might Want to Give Green Light Therapy a Go for Migraine | Migraine Again

Are you looking for a non-medicinal approach to easing your migraine attacks? There are plenty of natural remedies out there, and one of the newest might be worth a go: green light therapy, a noninvasive therapy that has shown promise for helping those with migraine as well as other conditions,…


Trauma and Sexual Abuse

Trauma distorts our sense of time and self. A new therapy might help | Science News

Trish Tran narrates her life in staccato notes. “I remember carrying my little sister on my back because she’s too tired and walking through the huge sunflower fields … and me feeling so tired I didn’t think I could walk another step.”

RAINN Online Hotline

Do you need help dealing with sexual assault, rape, or incest? Call @RAINN ‘s Hotline 800.656.HOPE (4673) to talk to a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Don’t feel comfortable talking? Use chat/text instead.


Mental Health

3 Hidden Stressors That Are Sabotaging Your Mental Health | Oprah Daily

Outsmart them with these easy habit adjustments.

Decluttering When You Don’t Have Time: 4 Tips to Make Progress Today | The Simplicity Habit
Use these tips for decluttering when you don’t have time to sneak in decluttering tasks to start making progress immediately. Do you feel totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of clutter in your house – but don’t have the time to truly tackle your mess?

Books

How the Victorians Created the Modern English Novel | Literary Hub

Over 120 years since the Victorian era ended, its literature continues to have huge staying power in the collective imagination of the English-speaking world. We all have a clear idea of what “Dickensian” London looks like. We know what it means to be a Scrooge, or to be a bit Jekyll and Hyde.

9 Books That Rethink Our Narratives About Health and Healing | Electric Literature

In their Grammy-winning comeback song “Not Ready to Make Nice,” the (formerly Dixie) Chicks sing, “They say time heals everything but I’m still waiting.” The lyrics claim power in not healing, in refusing to shut up and let it go when those in power continue to benefit from that very expectation.


Cooking and Baking

Bread Folklore: Medicine, Divination Tool, and Love Magnet! | Icy Sedgwick

You wouldn’t think something as humble as bread would have so much folklore attached to it. Yet many of us encounter bread folklore when we’re young. I’m sure we’ve all heard the old wives’ tale that eating your bread crusts would make your hair curly.

Sourdough Ears 101 | Sourdough Brandon

This post may contain affiliate links for products and ingredients I use and recommend. For more information, see my disclosures here. One of the most popular sourdough baking topics I’ve been asked to write a guide about is how to get sourdough ears.


My Books

Naked, with Glasses (the story)

This is how the plan to kill your husband could begin. You come home early from work. You have a headache. A terrible headache. The worst headache of your life. You have this grant proposal to write. It’s not finished, and it was due yesterday.

Books by Alexandria Constantinova Szeman

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Filed under Baking, Books, chronic pain, Cooking, Health and Wellness, hemiplegic migraines, Meditation and MIndfulness, Mental Health, migraine, Migraine with Aura, Migraine Without Aura, migraines, Newsletters, PTSD, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence, The Alexandria Papers Newsletter, Trauma

The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #69

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The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #69 | Dr. Alexandria Szeman 5 March 2023


Mindfulness

Study Finds You Can Treat Chronic Pain With Mindfulness Instead of Addictive Opioids | Everyday Health
In a series of novel studies led by Eric Garland, PhD, director of the Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, researchers have found that mindfulness training can reduce chronic p

Migraine

Self-Care Practices for People with Migraine | Migraine Again
During recent years, “self-care” has become quite a buzzword that you’ve likely seen hashtagged all over social media. But how can those of us with migraine put self-care into practice? A good place to start is by viewing it as a two-pronged approach: using strategies acutely during an attack, and…
Grieving With Migraines and Other Chronic Illnesses | Psychology Today
Migraines and other chronic illnesses share grief stages and a tendency toward depression. Understanding the fluidity of these stages may help us better cope. Eventually, many of us reach some sort of acceptance or resignation that migraine is and will be a part of our lives.

Trauma and Sexual Abuse

7 Self-Care Strategies To Help Manage Trauma, According To Experts | Bustle
The effects of trauma can be complex and far-reaching, and no two responses to trauma are exactly alike. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), trauma is generally defined as an overwhelming, life-altering experience that can cause ongoing pain and distress, and sometimes…
RAINN Online Hotline
Do you need help dealing with sexual assault, rape, or incest? Call @RAINN ‘s Hotline 800.656.HOPE (4673) to talk to a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Don’t feel comfortable talking? Use chat/text instead.

Mental Health

How to Cope with Anxiety: 13 Simple Tips | Healthline
If you deal with anxiety, there are strategies you can use to avoid feeling consumed by it. Here are some quick solutions to help you address the situation immediately, as well as long-term methods to combat a recurring issue. Know that feeling of your heart beating faster in response to a…

Books

The 5 Best Books Trauma Therapists Recommend | Forward Counseling of the Mid South
A great way to heal from traumatic experiences outside of the therapy room is to educate yourself and learn from leading researchers and clinicians who are dedicated to providing the best information about the psychological effects of trauma and the methods that have helped others heal. You are not…

Cooking and Baking

51 Easy Crock Pot Recipes Perfect For Busy Evenings, 2023 Edition | Brit & Co
There’s nothing like the slow cooker to make dinner easy , but on weekdays, it can still be rough to get a tasty home-cooked meal on the table. Happily, with minimal prep time required, these easy crock pot recipes make cooking dinner on busy nights practically effortless.
The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake | King Arthur Baking
Recipes Bread Crusty bread With just five everyday ingredients, simple instructions, and no advanced baking techniques, this recipe for European-style crusty bread is a great introduction to yeast baking. It truly is “the easiest loaf of bread you’ll ever bake” – thanks in large part to the…

My Books

Glue-Boy (Memoir)
His real name was Daniel David Davison III, but nobody called him that except Sister St. James and the principal every time he got sent to her office for disrupting class. He used to make fun of his own name all the time, saying, “3-D. I’m 3-D,” erupting into uncontrollable laughter.
Books by Alexandria Constantinova Szeman
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Filed under Baking, Books, chronic pain, Chronic Pain Treatment, Cooking, Health and Wellness, hemiplegic migraines, Meditation and MIndfulness, Memoir, Mental Health, migraine, migraine self-care, Migraine with Aura, Migraine Without Aura, migraines, One-Dish Meals, PTSD, Recipes, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence, The Alexandria Papers Newsletter

The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #68

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The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #68 | Dr. Alexandria Szeman 26 February 2023


Mindfulness

Stuck in a Rut? Here’s How Mindfulness Can Help | Mindful
When the same old same old isn’t serving us as well as it used to, our mindfulness practice can broaden our perspective and help us see different pathways that may have been there all along. I was driving through Ohio with a colleague when the GPS informed us that we were facing an hour-long delay…

Migraine

What Are Signs and Symptoms of Migraine? | Migraine Again
Migraine is associated with a surprising array of symptoms that can vary from person to person or attack to attack. In fact, while some refer to migraine as a migraine headache, a headache is only one of several symptoms people experience.
Chronic Pain Checklist: 9 Places to Look for Affordable, Effective, Low-Risk Treatments | Everyday Health
Many Americans live with pain. Indeed, according to a February 2022 article in the journal Pain , 50.2 million people in the United States reported experiencing pain on most days or every day. If you’re one of them, you know the many struggles of coping with persistent pain.

Trauma and Sexual Abuse

14 Self-Care Tips for Sexual Assault Survivors Suffering from PTSD | brighthorizonsne.org
For those suffering from acute or long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, there are often times when these become so overwhelming that it can be difficult to even accomplish the basic functions of daily living.
RAINN Online Hotline
Do you need help dealing with sexual assault, rape, or incest? Call @RAINN ‘s Hotline 800.656.HOPE (4673) to talk to a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Don’t feel comfortable talking? Use chat/text instead.

Mental Health

Mental health: it’s not always good to talk | The Conversation
Few of us would question the need to break the silence around mental illness. Countless campaigns have drilled into us that such silence is harmful and that we should try to break it wherever we find it. Britain Get Talking is one such campaign.

Books

The Best Books of 2023 So Far (Updated February 2023) | People
It’s been decades since 17-year-old Thalia Keith was murdered at Granby, her New Hampshire boarding school. The man convicted of the crime- Granby’s athletic director-remains in prison. But when Thalia’s former classmate Bodie Kane returns to teach there in 2018, she and her students take a…

Cooking and Baking

Small-Batch Cheesy Focaccia | King Arthur Flour
Recipes Bread Flatbread Focaccia has many admirable qualities – the golden crust; the olive oil aroma; the tender, fluffy interior! – but a short shelf life. It’s best enjoyed the same day it’s made. That’s where this small cheesy focaccia comes to the rescue.

My Books

Auggie Vernon and the Eclipse (a poem)
He has everything he needs set up in the back yard: two triangular UPS shipping tubes held together by duct tape in the middle, with a pin-pricked piece of foil on one end and a piece of white paper on the other end of the box, but he’s not interested in the eclipse itself
Books by Alexandria Constantinova Szeman
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Filed under Baking, Books, Childhood Sexual Abuse, chronic pain, Chronic Pain Treatment, Health and Wellness, hemiplegic migraines, Meditation and MIndfulness, Mental Health, migraine, Migraine with Aura, Migraine Without Aura, migraines, Newsletters, PTSD, Sexual Abuse, Small Business, The Alexandria Papers Newsletter, Trauma

The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #67

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The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #67 | Dr. Alexandria Szeman 12 February 2023


Mindfulness

The stress secret: 12 ways to meditate – without actually meditating | The Guardian
Meditation isn’t for everyone. Or at least not when life has taken you so far from calm that your brain is soup. “It’s the nature of the mind to have this ongoing conversation in the background,” says Joy Rains, a mindfulness practitioner and author of Meditation Illuminated: Simple Ways to Manage…

Migraine

Morning Migraine Again? How to Wake Up Pain-Free | Migraine Again
One of the most common migraine patterns many of us experience is going to bed feeling fine then waking up with debilitating headache pain.
Learning About Long COVID From Other “Invisible” Illnesses | Psychology Today
People diagnosed with ME/CFS must manage extreme fatigue, and their experiences have implications for those with long COVID. A challenge of managing an illness like ME/CFS is its invisibility to others, despite its severe impact on a person’s ability to function. Ensuring people feel believed is…

Trauma and Sexual Abuse

Self-Care for Trauma Survivors Dealing With Noisy Newsfeeds | Psychology Today
Sexual abuse fills our daily newsfeeds. Just this month alone, there is sexual assault news from the Boy Scouts, Catholic Church, US Hockey, Hollywood, and the White House. How can victims and survivors heal effectively while being constantly triggered as the stories, lawsuits, and judicial systems…
RAINN Online Hotline
Do you need help dealing with sexual assault, rape, or incest? Call @RAINN ‘s Hotline 800.656.HOPE (4673) to talk to a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Don’t feel comfortable talking? Use chat/text instead.

Mental Health

4 Questions That Can Reveal Your Psychological Needs | Psychology Today
Self-reflection can help you better get to know your psychological needs and how these are being met or not met. Try these question prompts for learning insights into yourself. The best compliment I received this year was when I was telling my doctor about breastfeeding struggles with my newborn.

Books

How Chaucer’s medieval Wife of Bath was tamed and then liberated in the 21st century | The Conversation
Chaucer’s Wife of Bath is one of the most famous characters in English literature. Since appearing in the Canterbury tales in 1387, her tale has been rewritten and adapted by authors from the French philosopher Voltaire in the 18th century to the contemporary author Zadie Smith in 2021.

Cooking and Baking

The rise: a history of American biscuits | King Arthur Baking
Flaky, fluffy, buttermilk or baking powder, biscuits are as old (and as complicated) as the country itself. Trace their history and their evolution across centuries.

My Books

The Lies Our Parents Tell Us (a poem)
The Lies Our Parents Tell Us begin in childhood: you’re not dumb, you were not an accident, the sight of you doesn’t make us sick, we don’t think you’re ugly, and we swallow the lies, with open hands and grateful hearts, because we’re so hungry, because the lies are all we have.
Books by Alexandria Constantinova Szeman

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Filed under #CSA, Baking, Books, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Chronic Illness, chronic pain, Cooking, health, Health and Wellness, hemiplegic migraines, Meditation and MIndfulness, Mental Health, migraine, Migraine with Aura, Migraine Without Aura, migraines, PTSD

The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #64

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The Alexandria Papers Newsletter #64 | Dr. Alexandria Szeman 15 January 2023


Mindfulness

How to Use Mindfulness for PTSD | VeryWell

Using mindfulness for PTSD may be a good way of coping. Mindfulness has been around for ages. However, mental health professionals are beginning to recognize that mindfulness can have many benefits for people suffering from difficulties such as anxiety and depression.


Migraine

Guide Me: How Can I Prevent the Next Migraine Attack? | Migraine Again

It’s easier to prevent a migraine attack than treat one. Discover evidence-based strategies for prevention, including natural and alternative remedies.


Trauma and Sexual Abuse

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Trauma Survivors | Psychology Today

Trauma survivors struggle to take care of their mental health as much as their physical health, but this should be prioritized in the new year. Unmet needs in childhood often manifest in adulthood, leading to unhealthy behavior patterns-but 2023 can be the year to start unpacking.

RAINN Online Hotline

Do you need help dealing with sexual assault, rape, or incest? Call @RAINN ‘s Hotline 800.656.HOPE (4673) to talk to a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. Don’t feel comfortable talking? Use chat/text instead.


Mental Health

How to spot an eating disorder | Psyche

When you are close to someone – a family member, a romantic partner, a longtime friend – you are likely to be fairly attuned to subtle changes in behaviour that could signal a shift in that person’s wellbeing. For many people, these changes are connected to eating.

How to Start a Self-Care Journal | Read Poetry

If you’re a writer, chances are you have a stack of journals tucked away in the back of your closet, likely filled with memories, heartbreaks, and musings. Many of us as a means of self-care to process thoughts, feelings, and experiences. But have you ever created a journal solely for self-care?


Books

Awards: Best Memoirs of 2022 | SheReads

Every year thousands of our readers vote for their favorite books of the year in the She Reads Awards. Find out more about the books that were nominated and see which book was voted the Best Memoir of 2022. The winner of the Best Memoir of 2022 is . .


Cooking and Baking

30 Easy Bread Recipes for Beginner Bakers | Taste of Home

Baking bread is more popular (and easier) than ever! If you’re new to it, don’t be intimidated. Consider these easy bread recipes and become the baker you always knew you could be! Be sure to check out our ultimate bread baking guide, too.


My Books

While the Music Lasts: Poem to My Younger Self

Each night, standing in the hallway at the open / door of the bedroom, I see you lying in the / fading light, his arms around you, your head on his / chest, his lips against your hair, and I want to tell / you everything. 

Books by Alexandria Constantinova Szeman

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Filed under #CSA, Baking, Childhood Sexual Abuse, chronic pain, Health and Wellness, hemiplegic migraines, Mental Health, migraine, migraine self-care, Migraine with Aura, Migraine Without Aura, migraines, Panic Attacks, Poetry, PTSD, Rape, Sexual Violence, The Alexandria Papers Newsletter, Trauma