November Mental Health Check In
*Some photos from my girls trip to New Buffalo
I’m going to start this post off with some humor.
“I FEEL LIKE I’M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!” -Mugatu, from Zoolander. I apologize if you don’t know that reference but also, if you haven’t seen Zoolander I highly suggest you go watch it after reading for some comedic relief.
It’s been a month since my last mental check in with you all and I want to make this a habit to talk about our mental health and emotional state. Last month (October 2020), we went through a lot. Still dealing with the pandemic and seeing a ton of insane content regarding the Presidential election. Yikes (but thank God it’s over and we don’t have to deal with a certain someone in office). That’s enough to give anyone some unwanted negativity.
As much as I was grateful to unplug and spend some much needed time with my friends earlier in October, I came back to face a reality that I didn’t want to totally be in. I was still slowing down when I was feeling negative or anxious to try and understand what the root cause was, but I found it was more difficult to move past these feelings.
Going through change is extremely difficult. Recently I feel like I have days where I think I have adjusted but then I have days where I am missing the life I had before the pandemic. Then I feel guilty about missing my old life. So those feelings mixed with rising COVID cases and the election. Insert the crazy pills!
After a session with my therapist I was able to ground myself a little. We talked about acceptance with the things I have faced this year, and also how important it is to be kind and gracious with how we are taking each day in. This is for sure easier said than done. Genuinely I want to always feel positive always and have a happy attitude but it is tough. Whether you are dealing with a change in your job, financial situation, relationships changing, or current events in the media, you have every right to feel negative and take time to understand what you are feeling.
The hardest thing is to decide to keep moving forward, to change your feelings. It’s not going to be easy, and as for me I’ve had to overcome my negativity a bunch of times in the last month. Some things that have worked for me are organization, doing things I love, moving my body, and meditating.
Organization and prioritization are extremely important when you are trying to overcome negativity. For me, when I am feeling anxious or sad, I look in and try to understand what is setting off these feelings, accept them, and find a solution. I have said this before, but I think finding a solution and saying it out loud is extremely helpful in making my negative thoughts feel powerless. Once I feel more organized, I get motivated and excited to do things that bring me joy. Working on my blog, styling outfits for myself, and creating YouTube content are things that I love to do!
I have been able to still do my Pilates/yoga workouts in the morning before I go to work, and I have also added a short meditation after. I have only meditated once in a while and always felt slightly frustrated because my mind would wonder around and think of weird or negative things. Anyone else experience this? It’s hard work to be able to sit for 10 minutes and just focus on your breath. This past week I have meditated every morning and I’ve really been enjoying it. There are still a lot of times that I need to refocus on my breath, but I am feeling less guilty about it. Meditating has helped to clear my mind of negativity and ground myself in who I am, the things I want, and what I value. It makes me focus on what is important to me and live by that. I do guided meditations with Melissa Wood Health (I do her work outs as well). Those you pay for, but there are so many different options if you don’t want to pay. YouTube is the best place for that! I recommend Yoga with Adriene for all things yoga and meditation. She is extremely calming and a great teacher. But do some research and find what will work best for you! I have tried a bunch of different things to figure out what works best for me.
We are going to continue to come across things in our lives that will send us into negativity. It is so important to slow down to learn why we feel this way so we can choose to move forward. We all have the strength to do so! I’m here for you and I believe in you.
