Mental Wellness Challenge
2022, February 10
Hello Blog
Longer days, warmer weather – not terrible!!!
Last week my challenge was to:
- Blow off some steam – unload some stress. Take some exercise. Write a little. Watch a funny movie and laugh – laugh belly laughs…. Or maybe sit quietly and let your stress flow away from you.
- Lend someone a hand. Hold the door some someone at the store, clear your neighbor’s walkway if it snows, brush off your partners car in the morning…
- Take a holiday from the news. No news for 48 hours. The world is still going to turn, it will still be there in a couple of days – but leave the news alone for a couple of days. (I know this one is going to be tough for me – but I’ll give it a go)
AND LAUGH I DID! My wife and I spent some time together watching some very funny video. Belly laugh sort of laughs – it was very good!
I could have done more on being more mindfully helpful… maybe we all could? I did make certain that I went out of my way to lend a hand to another.
48 Hours – no news – this was more difficult for me than I thought it would be. I did make it through 48 hours of no news – but MAN OH MAN… it wasn’t easy – AND THAT TELLS ME THAT I “TAKE” TOO MUCH NEWS… Was an eye opener. I do recognize that a lot of the news outlets hype or sensationalize the news – I just didn’t realize how much of that hype and “sensationalization” I “consume” or “take”… like a stimulant… Sincerely – my “news hit” is a stimulant for me… stronger than caffeine I’d say… and I likely use too much of that too… Certainly something for me to consider…
I’ve been feeling mentally and emotionally… hmmm… “more capable” this past week. Thank goodness for the support of my medication AND friends AND family AND routine AND longer days AND warmer weather… I’m still very much experiencing a weight… The weight is the depression… and while – like in a boat where weight as ballast can be a good thing – that’s not where the weight is… for me – the weight is located “above the gunwale” – so its more likely to cause instability than it is to stabilize my journey… if that makes sense.
I’m more able to balance that “top heaviness”… that’s what I mean when I say that I am “more capable” mentally today, than I was last week or for the number of weeks before. In this place I have to make certain to not start “rocking the boat” too much… keep to my routine, don’t add more stressors, and work harder and dealing with the heaviness as best I can.
I know that the world is still going to happen and I need to be ready for a mental “wind storm”… that might upset me or blow me around too much. Sure – I could drop an anchor – but I don’t want to end up with a gale hammering my “boat” from the side and toppling me into the water… sometimes its better for me to “go with the flow”…
Analogies – they really are my tool for explaining to others what I am feeling, experiencing and a little of how my “disorders” affect me. I don’t expect any other person to really know what I am feeling, experiencing, or living – because my experience is – well – my experience.
So – today, in my head, its not a terrible day. Sure, I am experiencing definite side effects of my medication and those things aren’t very nice – sometimes downright gnarly, but mood wise – I’m feeling OK today, right now.
My challenge this week is:
- Watch a sunrise.
- Draw a geometric shape that represents how you feel. Then color it – give the emotions you are feeling right then – some colour. There’s no right or wrong for colors – I might see joy as yellow, you might see joy as blue, someone else might see joy as red. Maybe don’t try to “think” about this too much – maybe try to “feel” more about this.
- Encourage a friend, a co-worker, or even a stranger. Offer them some words of praise or encouragement. They might just need that little boost.