Funky February!
Every February is a personal challenge for me. I'll spare you the details of each specific thing that's happened and the reasons behind the struggle. But this year hit me harder than most.
So why share? Because I'm still standing. During the depths of the challenge, I've wallowed in self-pity, thought "why me?" and often thought of how life can be so unfair. I'm a pretty positive person and don't often allow myself to wallow long, but the frequency of it is how my Februarys go.
By my outward appearance, you'd never know. In fact, unless you asked and it was a place I could open up, you'd really never know. There is always a smile on my face. While prepping for a few of my clients, I found a great tool on anxiety. It was a remarkable tool for that client. So much so that I had my own child and sister do it too. I was curious to measure the types of anxiety-causing "things". Interestingly enough, my anxiety was much higher than my latter test subjects.
How we push forward is such an individual mechanism. We can choose to stay busy, we can choose to sit on the couch and cry or we can find something in the middle. I was a bit more in the middle. I personally needed the time to sit and collect my thoughts. There were also times I couldn't process it because I was too busy to let it get the better of me.
But you know what? There is no wrong way. However, when you are manic about keeping busy or never want to get off the couch, I plead with you to get professional help. I did have my own appointment with my counselor this month because of that feeling I get when I feel "it" coming. My normal calm and clear mind starts to get frantic and worried about things out of my control. It's an indicator I need my pro!
So here it is, almost March 1st and I'm still standing. I've gotten through funky February. I've done a lot of deep breaths, reminders to be kind to myself, have patience with others and surround myself with things that I enjoy. It's not always easy in the depths of depression, sadness or whatever it is you're experiencing, but the key? Take it one day at a time. Even minute by minute if that's what it takes. YOU are worth it. Be kind!