I will be honest with you I find it hard time to time.
It´s like moving on the wave where one day I am on top surfing smoothly and the other I´m smashed to the very bottom by a strong tide.
Mostly the whole process is happening inside of me yet all I want to do sometimes is scream and cry. There´s no shame in it – it is a huge change to process taken out of our hands. It is good to face these feelins and not push them down.
If you are sensitive individual as me even if you are the most optimistic and positive, it´s just too much to handle and process at once.
For me as being partly introverted first few weeks were joyful. Finally, I have time for myself and things I love. I can do art and play guitar (apart of few hours working and studying).
After some time, the ´social´ nature (even if much smaller than most people out there usually have) starts creeping in. I can´t go out to mountains, I can´t meet physically anyone I care about.
I think 5th week was so far the hardest one.
My focus went down the hill, I couldn´t hold the thought and basically do anything what involved my mind. Whole past month felt like one blur and fact that absolutely everything is now happening in one room without any transition in between started taking its tall.
I got past it (thanks to @healingtherapycebtredinburgh and their art-therapy group collage session) and in past few weeks I found my new routines which I would love to share with you now for possible inspiration…
- Exercise
I’ve been doing morning yoga for some time now but it proved to be not enough.
It was great before to wake up and start the day with calm 10-15 min yoga, but it doesn´t really do much about my accumulated energy. I had to add something else throughout the day.
My fitness levels are very poor and low nowadays so it needs to be something easy. I´ve started with 20 minutes’ random fitness exercises on YouTube. It felt great but I couldn´t stand up and sit for 2 days after 😀
I´ve started way too strong.
Obviously after some break I went down 10 minutes and it´s just perfect for now. Another evening 10 minutes’ yoga before sleep and the body gets some missing physical activity.
- Dance
Every 2-3 days if not every day I dance.
Either I listen to my favourite dance music or just random or I am lucky and there is some online concert of independent musicians going on and I simply dance.
As I would be in a club, as no one is looking…well no one is really looking 😀 and as I have so much space around which I don´t.
I jump, move around, shake the head and oh my…endorphins afterwards are just the right boost.
- Music and art
There doesn´t go day by I either play or do something artistic at least for a little bit.
Even before all this mess I knew that my only way how to get through life in general is doing art and music.
It is not only something I love the most but it is my best coping friend and always has been since I can remember (even if I tried to deny it in times). Now it is even more important. Some days I play or paint hours’ others only maybe half an hour as all sorts of arising emotions from within need some release.
I feel calmer every time I either hold the brush or touch the strings.
Music is present on the background throughout the whole day. As the lock down started I went through days of classical music, to songwriters, to reggae and now I ended up with Ed Sheeran. I do follow my inner feeling what feels right to listen what makes me feel nice.
- Balanced diet
It might not feel as important, but food has a huge impact on our mood and emotional state. It doesn´t have to be nothing fancy but try to make sure you get fruit and vegetable every single day the best in raw form.
They make us happier.
- Talking to people
Even if you are introverted after some time we all need to talk to someone.
If you are extroverted introvert as me once you recharge your batteries, you might experience need to get out to get rid of energy again in between people.
Well we can´t do that but for our own good mental state talk to people online – to your friends, to your family, or even strangers on social medias…it helps.
- Smile and laugh
This one is probably the most important.
In every day I find at least one thing to laugh about. It can be simply good episode from ´Friends´ or a joke from a friend or funny video, or my jumping all over the place, or laughing at myself as I managed to do something stupid, but every day I need to laugh at least a little bit.
- Be grateful
There is a lot we can´t have or do at the moment and it is very easy to get down the spiral of what else than what is now we would like to be doing. We won´t get rid of these thoughts and we shouldn´t really fight them as it gets worse.
But there is a cure, probably the most effective I have ever tried.
Gratitude.
Be grateful for whatever you can be grateful for.
Is it your garden where you can spend some time in these days, is it nice neighbourhood you can walk through, is it your caring family, is it time you have for yourself, is it meal you have on the table, is it a roof above your head and bed where to sleep at, is it a job you still have, is it a time you have with your family now….
There is always and I mean always what to be grateful for no matter what we are going through.
So those are my lucky seven coping strategies in these days. Maybe you find some inspiration for yourself. Maybe it will lead you to something completely different. Just listen to yourself we are all different and for every each of us works something different. It´s good to be inspired though.
What is it you need and your body is asking you for? Can you find a way to do so even now in all this? There is always the way.
I am courious about your strategies. Let me know down below. 👇💭👇
Take care and stay safe.
Lots of love.
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