I don't journal but my emails to my best friend serve as my journal, I think.
I exercise. Not a huge amount at any time, but four or five days a week I either hop on the Peloton during a lull in work (or a lull in whatever's going on over the weekend) or I go down to our building's exercise room and put a desk attachment on the treadmill there and work from the treadmill for an hour or so with a couple breaks to do five minutes of strength training. It's sure not the routine I had pre-pandemic, when I belonged to a women's gym that had a childcare area and I'd go for 90 minutes or two hours every weekend day and get in a long workout and a shower and maybe some hot tub time while my kid played, but it's critical to my sanity and the reasonable function of my back.
And I walk. The first pandemic year, my average daily step count cratered -- I love to walk but historically I really want to be going somewhere, not just walking to walk -- and I've raised it each year since, and I'm trying to get it up again this year. I'm working on enjoying walking even when I have nowhere to go.
I don't walk anywhere very interesting when I walk – just up and down my street, although my street is pretty! — but yes. It is enjoyable even if you're seeing the same old things every day!!!
I spent a few years pre-pandemic training for endurance events like half-marathon and half-ironman events. The regular exercise was great for my mental well-being but could be really time consuming. During the pandemic, my husband and I started walking every day. We’ve walked at least one mile (mostly together, with the dog, sometimes separately) everyday for almost three years — and we haven’t missed a day in two years (when I had a stomach bug; he still went , so his streak is longer than mine!). I’m amazed at what daily walking does for my whole body (core strength!) and mind.
I keep a blog for kid/family updates and photos, mainly for my parents and far away friends. I privately call it my gratitude practice, and there’s really something to it. I love being able to go back in time (I started in August 2012 when my boys were 3 years old and 8 months old), and the process of journaling this way is therapeutic. I read recently that it’s impossible to feel both anxious and grateful at the same time. (Is that true? It feels true, but I don’t know if there is real science behind it.)
WOW, that's quite a walking streak! Amazing! And I love that you call the blog your gratitude practice — cultivating gratitude is SO important. I don't know about the claim that you can't feel anxious and grateful at the same time.... I'll have to look into it!
I carve out at least 15 minutes every day to read something that is pure imaginative fiction- fantasy, scifi, something that takes place in another universe. I have found that this is so important to me to keep me feeling inspired and hopeful about humanity, and creative throughout my day. I noticed my kid has a strong need to fuel his imagination, and I think it's true for me too!
This question could not have come at a more opportune time. This week and next week, my 12 year old is going to art camp at a community college located a 45-minute drive north. We aren’t even through the first week yet and I’m already so beaten down by having to drive there and back twice a day, plus driving my 8 year old to/from his camp which is located closer to home (also north of home, which is a relief). And I’ve started to feel like I don’t have it in me to do anything but drive and veg/nap on my soft recliner. And I drive past the water park three times a day and my eyes stretch out at it in yearning. So last night I had a session with my therapist wherein I discussed this feeling, and how in the morning I absolutely cannot add anything to my already packed to-do list of making breakfasts and lunches for both kids and being out the door by 8:30, so I can’t add packing a bag so that I can go to the water park alone after I drop them off. But talking it through, I realized that I could pack the bag most of the way the night before! So right now I’m writing this from Playa Bowls, which just opened on the way home from the college, and totally honors my fetishization of summer that I’m trying to indulge so that this week doesn’t feel as oppressive. And when I finish my coffee I am going to go straight to the water park and relax in the wave pool and then stretch out on a lounge chair with a newly acquired novel I’m excited to read. So I can still have my summer! Meanwhile my husband did the afternoon drive one day this week, which helped a little but I don’t know how many days he’ll be available to do that. But just talking through all of this with my therapist helped me figure out how I can make things feel a little more self-caring and not let the brutal driving schedule run my life.
I’m proud of you! If I’m reading between the lines correctly, you and I are similar in this regard, and what you are doing for yourself is not easy to make happen.
YAY, I love this!!! And I love how therapists can sometimes give the simplest of suggestions that can make such a big difference. I hope you find other fun places to explore this week!!!
Yeah, it was literally just the act of talking it out, what I’m experiencing and what obstacles are in my way and hey, maybe if I just did this one thing...and it was great. I was so happy to be in the water and the sunshine.
I will say that, after trying daily meditation for a year, I practiced self-care by giving it up because I still hated every single minute of it! So anyone else who can't stand meditation, I'm here with you!
I find being outside, whether walking or biking or just sitting on my porch swing, really helps me cope. I spent the majority of 2020 on my porch swing. I also make heavy use of music -- it kind of doesn't matter what it is, just putting my headphones on lets my body relax, no matter how stressed or angry I was.
Finally, I've started taking painkillers when I notice something hurts. I've finally realized that my ability to cope goes way down when I'm in pain, and that it's dumb to try to power through when I have quasi-magic pills that (often) make the pain go away. If you have something that makes pain lessen or go away I think you can improve your quality of life by using it rather than thinking "oh my head/back/stomach/hands/hip isn't that bad, I'll save it for when it gets worse".
Hahaha! Meditation certainly isn't for everyone. And to be clear, I only do it for 5 minutes at a time.....
And I'm glad you're managing your pain. I too often try to "power through" headaches and such but you're right, it really does affect your state of mind and ability to cope with the little things. I love that you're doing that for yourself.
I exercise every day - either Peloton or Yoga. I end my morning shower with about 45 seconds of cold water - it's SO good as a re-set button for your Vagus nerve. I've been doing this for close to three years now (started in December of 2020) and it would feel really weird to NOT do it ever day. I take our dog for a walk most days once it cools off. I practice mindfulness/meditation when I have the time to sit - otherwise, I breathe intentionally a few times throughout the day. Three BIG breaths can also re-set the Vagus nerve and tell your body that in THIS moment, you are safe, you are okay, you are well. I'm a Health Educator working with expecting and new families and I always tell them, breathing is NOT just for labor and birth!
Roller skating. I have a 2y and 5y and last September I started roller skating classes. That 1 hour a week of learning on various evenings and a 2 hour practise session on a Sunday morning has been so good for my mental and physical health.
Pottery class! There's something so settling about getting your hands (and arms.. and legs... and you get the point) dirty while making something. I love the creativity combined with the physicalness of it.
But it's also a good exercise in patience and, well, letting go. You can never predict what's going to happen when a piece goes into the kiln. Is it going to crack? Is the glaze going to look the way I want it to? It made me so anxious at first but now it's more like that Christmas morning feeling. Whatever comes out of the kiln, it's physical proof that I've learned something new - even if it's just that I should never, ever use those two glazes together again!
I don't journal but my emails to my best friend serve as my journal, I think.
I exercise. Not a huge amount at any time, but four or five days a week I either hop on the Peloton during a lull in work (or a lull in whatever's going on over the weekend) or I go down to our building's exercise room and put a desk attachment on the treadmill there and work from the treadmill for an hour or so with a couple breaks to do five minutes of strength training. It's sure not the routine I had pre-pandemic, when I belonged to a women's gym that had a childcare area and I'd go for 90 minutes or two hours every weekend day and get in a long workout and a shower and maybe some hot tub time while my kid played, but it's critical to my sanity and the reasonable function of my back.
And I walk. The first pandemic year, my average daily step count cratered -- I love to walk but historically I really want to be going somewhere, not just walking to walk -- and I've raised it each year since, and I'm trying to get it up again this year. I'm working on enjoying walking even when I have nowhere to go.
I don't walk anywhere very interesting when I walk – just up and down my street, although my street is pretty! — but yes. It is enjoyable even if you're seeing the same old things every day!!!
I spent a few years pre-pandemic training for endurance events like half-marathon and half-ironman events. The regular exercise was great for my mental well-being but could be really time consuming. During the pandemic, my husband and I started walking every day. We’ve walked at least one mile (mostly together, with the dog, sometimes separately) everyday for almost three years — and we haven’t missed a day in two years (when I had a stomach bug; he still went , so his streak is longer than mine!). I’m amazed at what daily walking does for my whole body (core strength!) and mind.
I keep a blog for kid/family updates and photos, mainly for my parents and far away friends. I privately call it my gratitude practice, and there’s really something to it. I love being able to go back in time (I started in August 2012 when my boys were 3 years old and 8 months old), and the process of journaling this way is therapeutic. I read recently that it’s impossible to feel both anxious and grateful at the same time. (Is that true? It feels true, but I don’t know if there is real science behind it.)
WOW, that's quite a walking streak! Amazing! And I love that you call the blog your gratitude practice — cultivating gratitude is SO important. I don't know about the claim that you can't feel anxious and grateful at the same time.... I'll have to look into it!
I carve out at least 15 minutes every day to read something that is pure imaginative fiction- fantasy, scifi, something that takes place in another universe. I have found that this is so important to me to keep me feeling inspired and hopeful about humanity, and creative throughout my day. I noticed my kid has a strong need to fuel his imagination, and I think it's true for me too!
I love reading fiction, but I don't usually choose fantasy... I love the idea of reading fantasy as an extra escape from reality!!
I love talking time for myself by walking, running, and hiking. I love to get outdoors for exercise but that is not always possible!
This question could not have come at a more opportune time. This week and next week, my 12 year old is going to art camp at a community college located a 45-minute drive north. We aren’t even through the first week yet and I’m already so beaten down by having to drive there and back twice a day, plus driving my 8 year old to/from his camp which is located closer to home (also north of home, which is a relief). And I’ve started to feel like I don’t have it in me to do anything but drive and veg/nap on my soft recliner. And I drive past the water park three times a day and my eyes stretch out at it in yearning. So last night I had a session with my therapist wherein I discussed this feeling, and how in the morning I absolutely cannot add anything to my already packed to-do list of making breakfasts and lunches for both kids and being out the door by 8:30, so I can’t add packing a bag so that I can go to the water park alone after I drop them off. But talking it through, I realized that I could pack the bag most of the way the night before! So right now I’m writing this from Playa Bowls, which just opened on the way home from the college, and totally honors my fetishization of summer that I’m trying to indulge so that this week doesn’t feel as oppressive. And when I finish my coffee I am going to go straight to the water park and relax in the wave pool and then stretch out on a lounge chair with a newly acquired novel I’m excited to read. So I can still have my summer! Meanwhile my husband did the afternoon drive one day this week, which helped a little but I don’t know how many days he’ll be available to do that. But just talking through all of this with my therapist helped me figure out how I can make things feel a little more self-caring and not let the brutal driving schedule run my life.
I’m proud of you! If I’m reading between the lines correctly, you and I are similar in this regard, and what you are doing for yourself is not easy to make happen.
YAY, I love this!!! And I love how therapists can sometimes give the simplest of suggestions that can make such a big difference. I hope you find other fun places to explore this week!!!
Yeah, it was literally just the act of talking it out, what I’m experiencing and what obstacles are in my way and hey, maybe if I just did this one thing...and it was great. I was so happy to be in the water and the sunshine.
I will say that, after trying daily meditation for a year, I practiced self-care by giving it up because I still hated every single minute of it! So anyone else who can't stand meditation, I'm here with you!
I find being outside, whether walking or biking or just sitting on my porch swing, really helps me cope. I spent the majority of 2020 on my porch swing. I also make heavy use of music -- it kind of doesn't matter what it is, just putting my headphones on lets my body relax, no matter how stressed or angry I was.
Finally, I've started taking painkillers when I notice something hurts. I've finally realized that my ability to cope goes way down when I'm in pain, and that it's dumb to try to power through when I have quasi-magic pills that (often) make the pain go away. If you have something that makes pain lessen or go away I think you can improve your quality of life by using it rather than thinking "oh my head/back/stomach/hands/hip isn't that bad, I'll save it for when it gets worse".
Hahaha! Meditation certainly isn't for everyone. And to be clear, I only do it for 5 minutes at a time.....
And I'm glad you're managing your pain. I too often try to "power through" headaches and such but you're right, it really does affect your state of mind and ability to cope with the little things. I love that you're doing that for yourself.
I exercise every day - either Peloton or Yoga. I end my morning shower with about 45 seconds of cold water - it's SO good as a re-set button for your Vagus nerve. I've been doing this for close to three years now (started in December of 2020) and it would feel really weird to NOT do it ever day. I take our dog for a walk most days once it cools off. I practice mindfulness/meditation when I have the time to sit - otherwise, I breathe intentionally a few times throughout the day. Three BIG breaths can also re-set the Vagus nerve and tell your body that in THIS moment, you are safe, you are okay, you are well. I'm a Health Educator working with expecting and new families and I always tell them, breathing is NOT just for labor and birth!
Roller skating. I have a 2y and 5y and last September I started roller skating classes. That 1 hour a week of learning on various evenings and a 2 hour practise session on a Sunday morning has been so good for my mental and physical health.
Pottery class! There's something so settling about getting your hands (and arms.. and legs... and you get the point) dirty while making something. I love the creativity combined with the physicalness of it.
But it's also a good exercise in patience and, well, letting go. You can never predict what's going to happen when a piece goes into the kiln. Is it going to crack? Is the glaze going to look the way I want it to? It made me so anxious at first but now it's more like that Christmas morning feeling. Whatever comes out of the kiln, it's physical proof that I've learned something new - even if it's just that I should never, ever use those two glazes together again!
Yoga, walks with audiobooks/podcasts, gardening, making an effort to be vs do, do, do