Be mindful
This has been a difficult time for all of us and the impact of COVID-19 is having a different effect on each and everyone of us. For me, I have struggled with an increase in depression and anxiety. Like most of you I have had highs and lows and I am working to create and then maintain a sense of inner-peace.
I enjoy meditation and I believe that meditating on a near-regular basis while pregnant with Bean is the reason that not only did I have a great pregnancy but also why she will take deep breaths with me when she is having a tough time. I also believe that implementing it on a more regular basis these days and beyond will help provide me with a sense of peace. Not everything works for everyone but I highly recommend Headspace if you are interested in getting started. Right now, any health care worker and educators, I believe, are getting free membership to the app until the end of the year.
I am obviously a reader and have been reading quite a bit more these days. I read a lot of suspense and childcare's fiction daily but I try to read something that is positive and/or inspirational self-help before bed. The current book I am reading is called, "Becoming Super Woman: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Go from Burnout to Balance", by Nicole Lapin. There are some really great tips and tools in there to help balance all of the juggling acts in life. Something that she talks about is going on a social media hiatus...I have done this before and it is freaking amazing. I have deleted the Instagram and Facebook apps off of my phone and will only go on when using a computer or my laptop. Doing this has limited my time on social media significantly. I would say I am only on Facebook and Instagram an average of 3 to 1 times a day respectively. Before deleting the apps, I would scroll mindlessly through newsfeeds and pictures for no other reason than boredom. How many times have you wanted to look at something your friend posted and ended up on someone else's page 45 minutes later? Been there, done that. I am only a few days in, but I feel as though it is helping my mental health. I am not sitting there comparing my life to everyone else's 'highlight' reel. I thought about maybe using tally marks in my planner and once I got to five for each platform I would call it quits for the day, but I know for me I need out of sight, out of mind, and for now it is working. I also decided to delete my work email from my phone as well. I find that I am 'always on' and if I see an email from a coworker come through I need to respond immediately. This is giving the impression that I will always respond immediately. This has been the hardest for me to do because I need to appear as the perfect employee who needs to be the 'go-to' girl. Well I'm saying fuck that, I'd rather be a good enough mom and wife that an unrealistic perception.
In addition to meditation and social media detox I am working on being more mindful. This is very tough to do by myself and I am starting with little things like a cup of coffee. Taking time to smell the coffee, taste and enjoy it. Another thing I also try is when in the shower and washing my hands. If you know me well, you probably know that I am not a play in the mud kind of girl. Like, I will go for a hike, a run, a leisurely stroll, but ask me to go camping, and I would say how about glamping? <--Is that really a thing? Gosh, we have a word for everything, and I don't hate it ;) In any case, I've been spending A LOT of time outside and in nature. Fresh air always does a body good, but Bean wants to spend every possible second outside...she would do all the things outside if she could. Being outside with Bean helps me to be mindful and appreciate all the good around us. Sure, she has a shit ton of toys, and more on her wish list, but give this girl some rocks and a bucket and you're good to go. Bean and I walk every day to the farm to see horses, we sit in the dirt and dig, we touch bugs and let them walk up our arms. I freaking dislike ants with a passion, but I don't want her to see my irrational fear of an ant. I want her to make her own judgements and irrational fears all her own, not something pushed on her subconsciously. This time with her in nature has given me a new appreciation for the world around us and the headspace (see what I did there) to embrace it.
Now, I know that not all of these if any of them will work fo you but I encourage you to try and find something that may help you if you are struggling. In therapy the other day my therapist said that I should finally get to enjoy my life and I couldn't agree more with her. I am going to do more of what makes me happy, and I hope you do too. You and I deserve it.
I enjoy meditation and I believe that meditating on a near-regular basis while pregnant with Bean is the reason that not only did I have a great pregnancy but also why she will take deep breaths with me when she is having a tough time. I also believe that implementing it on a more regular basis these days and beyond will help provide me with a sense of peace. Not everything works for everyone but I highly recommend Headspace if you are interested in getting started. Right now, any health care worker and educators, I believe, are getting free membership to the app until the end of the year.
I am obviously a reader and have been reading quite a bit more these days. I read a lot of suspense and childcare's fiction daily but I try to read something that is positive and/or inspirational self-help before bed. The current book I am reading is called, "Becoming Super Woman: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Go from Burnout to Balance", by Nicole Lapin. There are some really great tips and tools in there to help balance all of the juggling acts in life. Something that she talks about is going on a social media hiatus...I have done this before and it is freaking amazing. I have deleted the Instagram and Facebook apps off of my phone and will only go on when using a computer or my laptop. Doing this has limited my time on social media significantly. I would say I am only on Facebook and Instagram an average of 3 to 1 times a day respectively. Before deleting the apps, I would scroll mindlessly through newsfeeds and pictures for no other reason than boredom. How many times have you wanted to look at something your friend posted and ended up on someone else's page 45 minutes later? Been there, done that. I am only a few days in, but I feel as though it is helping my mental health. I am not sitting there comparing my life to everyone else's 'highlight' reel. I thought about maybe using tally marks in my planner and once I got to five for each platform I would call it quits for the day, but I know for me I need out of sight, out of mind, and for now it is working. I also decided to delete my work email from my phone as well. I find that I am 'always on' and if I see an email from a coworker come through I need to respond immediately. This is giving the impression that I will always respond immediately. This has been the hardest for me to do because I need to appear as the perfect employee who needs to be the 'go-to' girl. Well I'm saying fuck that, I'd rather be a good enough mom and wife that an unrealistic perception.
In addition to meditation and social media detox I am working on being more mindful. This is very tough to do by myself and I am starting with little things like a cup of coffee. Taking time to smell the coffee, taste and enjoy it. Another thing I also try is when in the shower and washing my hands. If you know me well, you probably know that I am not a play in the mud kind of girl. Like, I will go for a hike, a run, a leisurely stroll, but ask me to go camping, and I would say how about glamping? <--Is that really a thing? Gosh, we have a word for everything, and I don't hate it ;) In any case, I've been spending A LOT of time outside and in nature. Fresh air always does a body good, but Bean wants to spend every possible second outside...she would do all the things outside if she could. Being outside with Bean helps me to be mindful and appreciate all the good around us. Sure, she has a shit ton of toys, and more on her wish list, but give this girl some rocks and a bucket and you're good to go. Bean and I walk every day to the farm to see horses, we sit in the dirt and dig, we touch bugs and let them walk up our arms. I freaking dislike ants with a passion, but I don't want her to see my irrational fear of an ant. I want her to make her own judgements and irrational fears all her own, not something pushed on her subconsciously. This time with her in nature has given me a new appreciation for the world around us and the headspace (see what I did there) to embrace it.
Now, I know that not all of these if any of them will work fo you but I encourage you to try and find something that may help you if you are struggling. In therapy the other day my therapist said that I should finally get to enjoy my life and I couldn't agree more with her. I am going to do more of what makes me happy, and I hope you do too. You and I deserve it.
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