Hello, my lovelies. Today is day 4 of The Depression Chronicles. I've made it this far in doing both a vlog and a blog entry every day. I honestly didn't know if I could make it doing both for this long, so I count this as a very small but important victory. It's not easy to keep this pace up in a normal day to day setting, let alone compounding it within the throws of an emotional or mental downward spiral. But, I'm making it work; for now.
So, a bit about the day. As you most likely know by now, it's just hard to get out of bed most days. It was, however, a bit better this morning. I'm exhausted, of course, but I decided to roll out of bed, move through the house and just start my day. But, I thought, oh, yes. I need to take a deep breath and remember to try to change my outlook and attitude on the day. So, it began.
I started my chores. I was trying to find the joy in the simplicity of a routine. Animal chores got done, I got to pet every one of my dogs, cats (even the strays), guinea pigs and sugar gliders, and that elevated my mood a bit. Then came the coffee. Oh, it has to be one of the elixirs of the Gods. It makes me perky, it's warm and cozy, and tastes divine. It's one of those things that really helps set my day in motion for the better.
Little things that I do, like having and really enjoying my coffee in the morning, help me with some self care. We all need time to decompress and just take a deep breath; most especially in the height of the a breakdown. So, what sorts of things did I do, to give myself that critical self care that I so desperately needed? Here are some of the things that I have done and some I actually did today.
Gardening or being out in nature. Spending time in the garden, connecting to the earth, gathering energy; that is an amazing way to decompress.
Family. Being with my grandson, while exhausting some days, I get far more benefit out of it than the detriment of being exhausted mentally and physically. He is such a light in my life. I cannot imagine this world without him, now. My kids, my husband and my friends that are more like family than not. Those are the people that make my life worth living. I would have and be nothing without their presence in my life to enrich it.
Long, hot baths. Taking a hot bath with some essential oils, Epsom salt, and a nice candle or diffuser going makes a much more relaxing and pleasant me to deal with. The deep breathing and concentrating on relaxing helps to clear my head.
Meditation. I find that when I really get into a rhythm with meditating at night when I go to bed, with the deep breathing and feeling my body relax and my chakras open, I sleep better and I wake up much more pleasantly. Using my diffuser through the night with lavender and peppermint helps with relaxation, as well. Depending on my mood, I will change the essential oils to help calm and clear my mind.
Sleep. I don't get enough of it and it's not very often that I wake in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to face the day, which is probably why I never feel good and why my depression and anxiety tend to roll over me mentally and emotionally. Good sleep is very important for good mental, emotional and physical health.
There are a plethora of things that you can do, to help keep your mind from working overtime and compounding the emotions that you are feeling. I highly recommend taking at least 10 minutes out of your day, to sit in a quiet place, with no real distractions, breathe deeply and intentionally, to release the stress that builds throughout the day. Think of it as a kind of recess, like we had in school. We got to go out for 15 minutes a couple of times a day, so that we could blow off some steam and come back refreshed and ready to learn. We still need this as adults.
We often forget that even though we're adults and have responsibilities, we need a recess, too.
I hope that today was a better day and that you have an even better tomorrow. Remember that you are not alone.
If you'd like to keep up with everything I'm doing, please make sure you check out my YouTube channel Royal Amethyst Acres,Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages.
Blessings.
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