If you’ve been feeling extra grouchy, more stressed than usual, more tired or unproductive - hmmm - I wonder if you might be carrying too much on your shoulders. (Hint - probably yes.) One of the reasons that we get overwhelmed and lack energy is because we don’t ask for help. Not asking for help can also cause a lot of yucky thoughts and feelings.
Are you tired of the struggle to stop comparing yourself to others? Here we are at the start of a new year and oftentimes we are making resolutions or setting new goals for ourselves. But we can get stuck in some of those same patterns that have played out in our lives...including comparing our progress with others’.
When we’re struggling with any kind of depression (major depression, mild chronic depression, seasonal depression, or some other form), all we want is to find something – anything – to help us feel better. I used to wonder, are there really things that you can easily do on your own to beat depression? Well there ARE things you can STOP that will help significantly!
Everyone is talking about the new normal. No one really knows what that will look like. Currently, normal, at least for me and most people I know, is staying home, staying within the confines of our own personal space, and going outside of that only for necessities. Today is day 49 of “staying at home” 95% of the time. You know how you feel on Sundays, knowing you have to go back to work on Monday morning?
So much is out of our control. And, with the way the world is today - we don’t even have control over whether we can leave the house. Of course, we stay home, because we want to be safe and do our part to keep others healthy, but it’s freakin’ hard. That’s why it’s important for us to remember the things we do have control over.
Feeling anxious, anyone? Right now, with everything going on, it’s no wonder we are experiencing higher levels of anxiety. Of course, we’re concerned with our health, safety, and well-being (and our loved ones), but there are lots of other reasons for this heightened level of anxiety that aren’t necessarily that obvious.
I bet you do something special for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day and even on lots of other days that aren’t “Hallmark Holidays.” So, can I assume that you do special things for yourself on these days too? Because you ARE one of your loved ones, right? Ok, so you’re saying, well…...sorta, yeah. Maybe it’s more likely that you put yourself last.
A lot of holidays are associated with gift giving and receiving, and for me, that brings to mind the feeling of having enough. During this time of year, there is a huge focus on stuff - buying stuff to give to others,stuff to decorate our homes, stuff to wear for holiday events, stuff to take to holiday events, stuff to host events, etc. etc. etc. Many of us will be out the night before the holiday, buying more stuff, because it never seems like enough. Can we ever have enough stuff?
You know those times when you’re on edge and unable to focus and you either sleep a lot or can’t sleep at all? There are a lot of reasons we might see these things playing out in our lives; one that seems to show up a lot is emotional exhaustion.
Before I started meditating, I wasn’t sure what meditation really was. Like me, you might think it’s new age “woo woo” stuff, sitting on the floor, legs crossed, eyes closed repeating a “mantra” over and over. You may be hearing a lot more about meditation and mindfulness lately and wonder, “Hmm, is there really a meditation practice that would work for me?”