Returning to Normalcy After Life Gets Messy
What is your self-care routine?
Today’s follow-up post is an interactive one. I’d like for you to share your best tips in the comments.
But first, tell me if this describes you:
Once one thing starts going haywire in your life, it’s easy to let everything else slide, too.
One summer I worked really hard to manage my auto-immune disorder through a rigorous diet and exercise routine. It worked! And the 17 pounds I lost were an added bonus.
Life was pretty good from September of that year until April of the next when we had a car accident. Being sore and uncomfortable from that made it all too easy to fall back into old patterns, like eating takeout too often and skipping workouts.
Pretty soon thereafter, my clothes started getting tight again.🥴 Which led to me feeling shitty about myself, thus making it harder to get back on track. This was before I learned the simple perspective shift from the audio below.
Remember a few years ago when we are all locked in our homes? Talk about disrupting our lives! 😷
And this summer has been one long swirl of haywire and chaos. From my aunt’s passing, to my dad’s recent heart attack, all while trying to orchestrate a cross-country move, AND living in an active construction zone, it’s been a lot.
I’m tired. And racked with anxiety. Listening to Re: Dracula in the dark morning hours probably isn’t helping!
So while these tips on pre-grieving are a good start, how do you get your life back on track after a major disruption?
Put your tips in the comments for how you take care of yourself. Even if you see them repeated below.
ICYMI:
Combatting the Downward Spiral
What I have found when I feel stuck in a messy downward spiral is to take one simple part of my normal routine and focus on that.
Maybe it’s the tea latte I start each morning with, or the standing Monday morning meeting with my fellow indie podcasters, or even just the 2 pm break I take every day.
Having something routine to look forward to acts like an anchor to keep me rooted, and the rest of my day can be arranged around that. If I only have to concentrate on something I already plan to do, and prioritize that, everything else almost always falls into place.
Like magic! Or because my perspective has shifted to a more positive outlook, even if only in a small way.
In a similar vein, this reminds me of a training I did last year for a small group. It was about using your calendar to look forward to events that celebrate you, and how conjuring up happy memories can help reset your well-being. It’s another way to encourage a perspective shift.
Consider this step 2 after anchoring yourself. Here’s the audio of that training (recorded in July 2022, TW: mention COVID and lockdown):
So what are your best tips for when you’re feeling unfocused or unmoored by life events? Leave ‘em in the comments! 🔽🔽🔽