Maintaining Self-Care During Depression
The past week I’ve been going thru the motions a bit. It’s been more of a challenge for me to get tasks done, stay focused, and stay alongside my schedules that I pre-plan at the beginning of each week. Sometimes I would cease working early, feeling “over it” and retire to reading, watching Netflix, or spending unplanned time on social media. I had fallen into my “bubble”, which I sometimes call my #BlackCat. #BlackCat is another word for “depression” for me.
I am not clinically depressed. I’ve never been diagnosed, but I know what it feels like to experience waves of feeling down, out, and not very worthy, even temporarily. My #BlackCat moments are always situationally triggered by something specific, very rarely random, but even still, for the past week, I found myself sitting beside the looming Black Cat all week long and it was not a good place.
Climbing out of that bubble and making the Black Cat walk away from me has been a bit of a challenge. It is something that I have found I have to work thru in order for her (the Black Cat) to leave. I absolutely hate being in a negative head space to the point where I forcibly push myself out of it, if I feel I have been in it for too long. That is, I realize, a fortunate part of my own cycles, as I do realize that not everyone is able to just force themselves out of it. I completely use the power of my mind to just PUSH as hard as I can………..after I let myself feel the feels a bit, of course.
So here are some things I’ve done to try and push myself from that negative space I found myself in this week. Hopefully this list helps someone else as well:
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Talk with close friends and family
Talking with the loved ones I am close with has helped me quite a bit. As a person that keeps a lot close to the belt, trusting others can be a challenge for me. However, when I am able to share with others and trust, I feel a lot better about things. Sometimes I feel inspired and encouraged.
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Doing something that makes me happy
The one constant that seems to always bring me back to center is the nail salon. I feel a sense of peace and relaxation. At any time where my anxiety and even depression is at an all-time high or low, heading to the nail salon really seems to make me feel better.
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Reading a good book
I have always been a book worm, hence the “What I’m Reading” tab at the side of this blog. Reading, for me, is a form of self-care. Picking up a book that directly correlates with my business or in empowerment helps me to try and stay focused even when I am down. Right now, I am reading this book!
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Immersing myself in WORK!
I’ll be the first to admit- this hasn’t helped me that much this time around. While I have tried to get work done and stay focused on my tasks at hand, the reality is….my attention would wane elsewhere. So in turn what I have tried to do is simply get as much done as I possibly can.
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Journaling
Writing helps to fuel my spirit and sit the things in my mind in their proper place. Things I cannot nor have not yet spoken about, I am able to write them down and get a better perspective on a particular topic that is plaguing me. As I said earlier, my Black Cat episodes are always situationally triggered. Because of this, journaling always helps me to put things into perspective so that I try to approach things in a different and better way.
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Meditation
For the past week, I have meditated every morning. Sometimes meditating has helped me and other times it has simply made more exhausted. One thing I would like to eventually do is meditate on a regular basis, when I am feeling good as well. This way, when I need to meditate as a form of self-care, it can be more purposeful for me.
If you have ever had a Black Cat or Black Dog moment or moments, perhaps doing a bit of these things to help you push out of the funk may help.