September 18 Friday Update

1.

My next page in my anxiety/depression handbook asks me to do the following:

"On this page, describe yourself when you are feeling all right.  Use descriptive words (e.g., bright, talkative, outgoing, energetic, humorous, reasonable, etc.) as well as notes about how you feel, think and behave when you are feeling ok (e.g., dress nicely, take a walk at lunch, respond to texts right away, tend to give others the benefit of the doubt, able to keep problems in perspective, feel confident about my ability to reach goals, etc)."

My list includes:

• energetic
• decisive
• creative
• able to listen to other people's struggles without internalizing them
• strong
• open
• clearer thinking
• can imagine positive outcomes
• peace, feeling like things will ultimately work out

It follows it up with:

"On this page, describe those things that are important do every day to maintain your wellness. Use your Wellness Toolbox for ideas. Writing these things down as a daily reminder to do them is an important step toward wellness. When you start to feel 'out of sorts,' you can often trace it back to not doing something on this list."

Adding anything to a daily list feels a little overwhelming, but I think I can make a list of essentials. Let's see.

• eat at least two meals
• fill up my water bottle twice because I'm drinking it
• spend at least 15 minutes moving
• meet any today immediate deadlines for work
• spend time checking in with my regular group chat
• spend quality time with Jacob
• engage with something creative (read, watch a movie, write something, etc.)
• spend time with God

And the final piece we got to in my mental health handbook:

"On this page, make a reminder list for yourself of things you might need to do on any given day to keep yourself well.  Check this list daily to see if there is anything on it that would be important or helpful to do that day. You'll avoid a lot of the stress that comes from forgetting occasional, but important tasks."

• schedule a virtual hangout time with someone
• clean a space that is making me feel stressed
• do laundry

And I guess that's all I have so far. We'll see if I come back to add any more.