Hello J-J
How are you going? Dropping by to check up on you. I went back to your first post where you asked what others do to get well or keep well. As I said above you are already helping yourself by helping others.
So what else? Being completely open and honest with your psychologist is a major 'must do'. Eating good food may sound prosaic but I have found cutting various foods from my everyday diet has changed how I think, react to others and cope with being overwhelmed. Sugar is one of my must not do. I thought I was getting good at this until I discovered how much sugar is put into our food, e.g. milk. No wonder we become sugar addicts.
The other major no-no for me is bread. I love eating slices of fresh bread and butter. Physically it does me no good but the real surprise was the effect on my mood. Amazing. Combine that with vegies etc and I am a different person. It has unfortunately not cured my craving for bread and butter but if I do not buy bread I cannot eat it. Hopefully I can get over it. Well either that or start a support group called Bread Anonymous.
I meditate and so do many people. An app easily available is called Smiling Minds. I have not used it but many people here do. They all say how good it is.
Exercise is good. Physically of course but also mentally. Lots of data on this.
Of course all this is self care 101 but it's surprising how many people ignore this huge part of their lives. Add proper amounts of sleep and we are cured. No? What a shame. Back to the hard way.
We need to nourish ourselves doing those things which bring us joy and peace. I love needlework. My wolves avatar is one of my making. I get a kick creating lovely things. Of course lovely is a subjective word but it really does not matter what others think so long as we feel we have created something that speaks to our souls. I am a member of a book club that meets monthly.
A group of ladies meet at my home every fortnight for discussions and my meditation group meets monthly for discussion. I think we need to take care of our intellect as well as everything else. Use it or lose it. I enjoy talking and being with people so being part of a pastoral care team is great.
It's what gives me joy and satisfaction even on those days when I roll out of bed saying, "Do I really have to?" Never underestimate the power of a shower to wake you up and put life back together. I hope that helps.
Mary
