Member-only story
Emotional Blips Happen, and That's Okay.
It's what we do to get through them that matters.
Last year, I wrote a few essays about my struggles with my mental health. Well, last week, I had a blip. It was a struggle to get through the week, and I did things that were not effective for my mental health.
How I identified the blip
The signs were my sleep schedule went bad, not enough sleep and not enough deep and rem sleep. I struggled to find the motivation to do things I enjoyed.
I do Interstisital Journalling, where I note when I start an activity and make a short note about it. Many of my notes were along the lines of 'phaffed about and couldn't focus' Or 'Gave up, no motivation.'
I would pick up my journal but not write anything because I didn't want to listen to my inner voice. She wasn't very happy, and it would be an unpleasant conversation with me.
All of these symptoms rang my alarm bells. A lot of my systems are there to ring the alarm when things start to go pear-shaped. I knew two things.
It was the situation. I was sick and hormonal and had taken some feedback on my writing too personally. It then dug into my mind and pushed all my buttons. I wasn't good enough, I would never be good enough, and why did I even bother?
Secondly I just needed to keep getting up and opening the curtains, and I would get better. My natural optimism would return, I'd silence that mean inner voice, and this would pass.
So, here are the three things I did I do to ride this wave of sadness and self-doubt.
Get up and do my best
I showed up to my work and my writing groups. Doing these helped me make the personal connections that we all need.
Often, when we are feeling bad about ourselves and struggling with mental health and addictions, we hide away from those we love primarily out of a sense of shame and embarrassment—or not wanting to be a burden on others.
Even though it was hard to be present on calls and meet with friends, I did it. This leads to the next step in my process.
