My mental emergency kit
My dogs, Mochacakes and Skysky - Janell Sihay on Flickr
The past few weeks have been pretty challenging, and I say this with evidence in the form of acne breakouts and rashes - historically a physical manifestation of stress.
I learned from the therapy program I joined a while back that when things start to south (i.e., I observe signs that I might be going into an anxiety and depression episode), I should go through my "mental emergency kit."
It contains a 'recipe' of meditation exercises and a list nourishing activities. Here's what it looks like:
- Mindfulness meditation (about 40 minutes): 10-minute breathing exercises, 20-minute Breath-Body-Sounds-Thoughts-Emotions exercises, or any mindful activity
- Looking at beautiful photos on Flickr
- Editing my photos and videos
- Journaling (by hand) my thoughts, emotions, reflections
- Reading books, preferably at the library
- Anything that involves creativity
- Talking with my loved ones
- Playing with my dogs
- Being immersed in nature
I should probably go do a few things off this list now.
PS: My previous post made it to the top of the Trending page. I don't know how to feel about it, but a part of me feels uncomfortable that a lot of people know about my thoughts (which is really stupid, I know....why the heck am I on here!!). But, I'm grateful to the people who made an effort and shared their two cents, especially from opposing views. At least I know I am not inside an echo chamber. I have so much more to learn.