Category: Helpful Ramblings

CatchMyPain App Review

Helpful Ramblings / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
Areas

I came across this amazing app called CatchMyPain thanks to a member from a facebook group I am on. It is available on both the Google Play Store and the Itunes store by searching ‘CatchMyPain’. The app allows anyone with Chronic pain to track and log their pain. It even lets you send it via email making it really easy to share with Dr’s etc!

Catch My Pain

When you use create a pain entry there are 7 pages to complete. On the first page you are presented with a picture of the body and 5 colours to use. Mild pain – Yellow going all the way up to Dark red – Unbearable.

Using these colours you can colour in the area’s which are painful. You can then use colour to specify how intense the pain is in that area. I love this as I find it hard to explain why I am in so much pain. This way I can show people where and how much it hurts so they can get a better idea.

image
Pain Intensity options

The body rotates allowing you to colour wherever on the body you need to and theres an eraser if you want to start again.

image

On the following page are you are given the option to edit the time frame of your entry. This means you can log exactly when the pain started and for how long it lasted.

I find this handy if you have a particularly bad day and don’t feel up to making an entry until you are feeling better. Allowing you to track your pain accurately as you can enter earlier dates and times too!

Pain Intensity

Next up is the overall ‘Pain Intensity’ which you are given a slider to move. The slider starts from No pain up to Worst pain imaginable.

On the fourth screen, you are given a list of ‘Descriptions’ you can select. These describe the types of pain and you can even add your own. Perfect if you can’t find the right description in the list. You can add as many as you like too which is ideal.

image

Condition

‘Condition’ is the 5th screen where you are asked how you felt during the time frame selected on the second screen. You do this by choosing a face to represent ‘Happiness’, from a crying sad face to a smiley face.

image

As I have found this app so useful I chose to add on the Stress and Fatigue sliders too for only £0.65! I don’t tend to pay for in-app add ons but this seems a great feature.

image

The sixth page is the weather here you can adjust time or date and sync it with your location. You can also enter it manually and it will log the temperature which you can adjust if needed.

Extras

As you can see on the sixth page there is also the option to buy the full weather feature for £1.96. I am currently earning Google Play Store credit using the Google Opinion Rewards app! (Thank me later haha!)

image

On the final screen you have the options to add in any comments you wish.

Pain Chart

Having filled out several Pain entries I visited the Pain Chart to see what it showed. I was impressed that it had literally logged everything including the percentage of the body affected by pain!

image

I like how it shows Happiness, Stress and Fatigue on here as it also gives people an idea of how the pain affects me. Using this chart I can also work out what actually helps me calm down and relax too. Blogging and Knitting are definitely helping me this week!

Medications

Another part of this app is ‘My Meds’ where it enables you to add any medications you take. You can edit the details of the drug as seen below and you can set the frequency they are taken too.

Again I decided to pay £1.14 so I could add on the Drug intake reminder as I am absolutely awful with remembering to take my tablets at the right time!

image

There is also a built-in community, so you can chat with others, when you do this you are asked to set up a username and your display picture becomes the body from your last pain entry showing where and how intense the pain was/is.

Having had a look around the Google Play Store for a similar app several times before I was really happy and impressed when I tried this one out.

What more could you want? It helps you track everything, its an easier way to show friends, family and Dr’s if like me you are very forgetful and forget how to ‘word’ at times and all the data can be saved and emailed to anyone you want! This is a great app for a lot of #spoonies and I just had to share for those that hadn’t come across something like this before.

*This post is in no way affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by any of the companies mentioned in this post.

Calming Hobbies For Anxiety

Anxiety / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
Knittting a blanket

I’m focusing on calmig hobbies after I wrote about anxiety last week and how I’ve really been struggling. It is really affecting me, along with depression mostly because I suffer from chronic pain.

Calming Hobbies For Anxiety

I asked readers for tips to help me feel less anxious constantly. One tip I recieved was to write down every thing I want to get off my chest at night and the other was to find a hobby to keep my mind focused.

I have managed to pick up the yarn I needed to finish my knitting project and half way through knitting a scarf too. I have been making an effort to knit a few rows every few hours.

CBD Oil

While not a hobby, per se, since we’re on the topic of anxiety, I felt like CBD was worth a mention as something that you could take alongside doing these hobbies to give you a little extra help, since CBD Oil can also be extremely helpful for anxiety, among other things. There are so many companies that sell a variety of products containing CBD oil including gummies, creams, and capsules, such as Blessed CBD. Having tried them myself I can safely say they do provide some health benefits, however dosage may need playing around with to find the perfect dose for you and your individual needs

Writing And Knitting

Every night on my notes I write down everything that has been frustrating me. Knitting, along with writing whats on my mind each night, does feel like its helping. As I write, it feels like a weight is being lifted. With knitting, I think about less and less with every stitch focusing only on the next stitch.

I noticed a lot of my writing each night is about how my pain has limited me throughout the day. It makes me feel useless as I tend to end up sat on the sofa, trying to focus on not moaning too much. However, over the last day or so, I’ve been focusing on my knitting whenever I’m on the sofa. Doing this, I at least feel like I am achieving something, watching my projects grow.

Coping Better

My pain levels have escalated throughout the day but im still feeling positive. I havent had an attack in a few days now and I feel a bit more positive in general so I’m going to keep up the writing and knitting and once Ive finished Izzy’s blanket and scarf I plan to attempt learning crochet!

calming hobbies
Almost complete!

Thank you for the tips and keep them coming in if anyone has any others 🙂

Do you craft? Feel free to link up your makes, I love seeing what other people have created!

Watch this space…

Helpful Ramblings / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Watch this space! The Insiders have once again allowed me to participate in one of their amazing campaigns. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

In a previous post I mentioned I received the LGG4 and LG Infinim headphones to test and review and posted a short & sweet review here.

This time However I have been invited to test out the Samsung Smart things! Im very excited to see what is in the box as the description describes the Samsung Smart things as being “the best way to cheaply and easily keep you connected and in control of your home.”.

I’m expecting the box to arrive within the next fortnight and will be sharing with you all just what exactly is in the box and my thoughts on the product itself so watch this space!!

Survey sites, do they really pay?

Helpful Ramblings / 8 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

A lot of people that know me know I use survey sites as well as write product reviews and constantly ask me how to get started and how they all work, so here’s a few Q&A’s. Check out my latest post on Survey sites here too.

Survey sites

Survey Sites do they really pay?

Q. Do they really pay out?

A. Yes. If you are actually willing to put the effort in. Come on people you cant expect a miracle, if you’re not the type of person that can sit at a computer for hours on end asking similar questions properly then just don’t even bother setting up accounts, to earn you have to be dedicated.

Q. How long does it take to earn my payout?

A. This one I cant give a time frame for as it all comes down to the individual site, survey frequencies, and time put in completing surveys. Some sites can build up in weeks others literally will take you years.

Q. How do these sites payout?

A. Some pay via BAC’s, bank transfer, Paypal, Amazon credit, High street vouchers & gifts.

 

Q. Which sites are best?

A. Each site is unique so it all depends what your interested in sharing your opinions on, how regularly you want to be doing surveys, and what rewards you would prefer.

Q.How long does it take to receive my rewards?

A. Some sites are instant others can take up to 6 weeks, I have noted on each listing below how quickly they payout.

Most survey sites will give you free prize draw entries on completion of surveys, some you can use your points towards more entries too.

Here is a list of survey sites I find the best for me.

  1. YourSayPays – Another good site to check daily! This site is the simplest one out of them all. You are paid anywhere from 5p per survey and can redeem once you reach £20 via PayPal or Amazon vouchers. I rarely receive emails from this site but log on daily and usually have at least 1/2 surveys a day to fill out. I average a £20 payout every 4-6 months. Up to 30 days to receive payouts.
  2. OnePoll – This site is similar to YourSayPays and is well worth checking daily. The payout threshold is £40 paid via BACS or paypal. It can take anywhere from 6-12months to build up depending on how regularly you check the site. Payouts can take up to 28 days.
  3. I-Say – This site regularly has surveys and if kept on top of you can easily earn the 1380 points (£10) every 2-3months. This site pays out via vouchers (Compliments, Amazon, John lewis & Leisure). Amazon vouchers are received via email & the others are posted out. This site gives from 5-25 points even if you don’t qualify for a survey. Takes up-to 4 weeks to receive vouchers.
  4. Univox Community – This site I’ve been signed up to for a while but forgot about it until recently, in the 2months I have been checking daily for surveys I have reached the $25 Amazon payout (£16.05). Most surveys I dont get through however the 5 points you get per survey you are disqualified from soon builds up! With the addition of the univox community forum & polls you have an even better chance of reaching your threshold sooner! Payouts can take up to 30 days to process.
  5. GlobalTestMarket – This site always has surveys available however I get through on very few yet still manage to get a payout once every 3-4 months. This site is great however the minimum requirement to redeem your points is 1000. This site pays out in a huge variety of ways including Paypal, Amazon, Nectar, Itunes, Boots, and many MANY more! I tend to go for Paypal (544 points x 2 to redeem = £30!). Physical merchandise and paper vouchers will generally be delivered to winners’ doors within 4-6 weeks from order date, unless otherwise specified in the Rewards Zone. Truck-shipped and speciality items are generally delivered within 6-8 weeks from order date, unless otherwise specified in the Rewards Zone.
  6. MySurvey – GlobalTestMarket sister site, this site works in a similar way however unlike global where you need 1000 points and have to order over 1000 points worth each time this site allows you to redeem your points as soon as you reach your target. Again this site like its sister site pays out in a huge variety of ways including paypal & Amazon from as little as £3 paypal.
  7. Vivatic – This site allows you to earn cash doing a variety of things including surveys, connecting to accounts, cash offers, polls/competitions, tasks & writing jobs. I cant put a time frame on payouts for this site as I tend to forget about this one, which is a shame as when I spend a bit of time on this site I can build up cash quite quickly. Payment threshold is £20 via paypal only and is credited to your account on the last working day of the following month.
  8. MyVoice – This site sends you emails regularly for surveys, once you reach 2000 points you can redeem a £20 voucher including Amazon, Argos, Boots & more. If you are screened out of a survey it pays out 5 points. (Taken from Myvoice FAQS – We gather your Amazon voucher requests and send them to Amazon once a week. We send Amazon codes every Thursday/Friday. If you requested your voucher on a Thursday therefore it can take up to 7 days to get it. If you requested your voucher on a Wednesday it will be up to 2 days.)

I have received payouts from all of these survey sites listed, some quite regularly with no issues so far.

To receive more surveys keep your profiles updated regularly, some such as Univox even credit you for updating your profile too!

Answering questions honestly and to the best of your ability enables you to access more surveys more regularly.

You do occasionally have hiccups where a survey might not work, usually passing on the details to the survey panel helps resolve the problem so the survey can be reissued, some will credit your account and others just acknowledge there was an error but it was unresolvable.

All in all if you have some spare time and are generally sat on a pc/laptops this is a brilliant way to make some extra cash, its never going to be a permanent well paying income but it helps out with birthday’s and Christmas and is well worth doing.

There are loads more survey sites out there this is just a broken down list of some I use the most however you may find others that are more suited to yourself, take a look around, read some reviews and see what you think.