Feel the blues… without letting them take over

We all have good days, bad days, and some days in between. So how do you allow yourself to feel on those bad or just subpar days without giving in to the despair?

These days I find myself staring off into space. Either with a million and one things flipping through my mind. OR… nothing. It’s blank. Like when you are just so so so overwhelmed that even the mind has to take a break. The subconscious portion of my brain takes over and I remember to breathe through the legit pause button on life. I’m having more and more of those days with my board exam right around the corner. So I thought I’d work on a blog about how to let yourself feel the feels… without succumbing to them.

Don’t force it

Over the last 34 years I’ve learned that forcing emotions gets me in particular… NOWHERE. I can’t cry when I want to. But I definitely can cry when it is the most inopportune time.

Just like in yoga practice – don’t force a move, let your body adapt to it. If you find yourself forcing a move – whether in life or yoga practice – then you are going to end up hurt.

Listen to your body, mind, soul

Sometimes, if we just take the time to listen, we will find what speaks to us. Is your life spiraling out of control? Do you feel like your life is chaotic and hectic? Maybe it’s time to take stalk of what’s happening… what life is trying to tell you. You don’t have to be religious, spiritual, or have a belief in anything but yourself to be able to take a step back from life and just evaluate. Dissect. Really get to the heart of what the heck is happening and why. You don’t have to do it with others to make this happen. And just because you did it once, a long time ago, doesn’t mean that things haven’t changed, that you haven’t changed and then you need to re-evaluate life.

Take the moment

When I find that I’m trying to force something and it just doesn’t seem to want to happen, wont budge, etc. Well I take the moment to accept that x,y,z isn’t going to happen. I may not like that this is what’s happening, or not happening. But I’ve learned that if I keep barreling down the path that just wont work… well I end up flat on my butt, or face first in a pile of life POS.

So take the damn moment. Take the time to just breathe. To reset. To grieve the loss of whatever wont work. To just appreciate life for what is. Fabulous things don’t happen everyday. Horrible things don’t happen everyday. Sometimes the day is just a day. Take that day. Embrace the day. The moment. The change life has given you just to be.

Are you a mom surrounded by the chaos of crazy children? Take a cue from Charolette and hide in the pantry for a few minutes. I hide in the bathroom from my pets when I just can NOT deal with the day – and they aren’t 2 legged monsters.

Been cooped up for months? Just need out of the house? GO for a walk, a drive, sit in the backyard, patio, front yard, driveway.

Take the moment you need to re-center yourself.

Cry if you must

Sometimes the only thing left to do is cry. It lets the pent up emotions flow freely out and allows you to restore your baseline. Those are my bad days. The days when the actual tears come. The days when they just flow. It’s rare for me to tap into that side of me, but when it happens it’s either for minutes, or its for hours. Then I’m left numb and frozen with tears staining my cheeks. But I feel SO much better than pre-tears. SO own those droplets. Own them, embrace them, and let them take away the anxiety, fear, anger, or sadness. Let them out, then let them go.

Do something to make you happy

When you are having just an off day, try to find something you will always enjoy and do it. I like to take my dog to get our SBux puppacinos – flat whites for me, whipped cream for her. Somedays they work better than others to restart my day, but the joy on her face is a no fail smile maker.

Go to bed

Sometimes its okay to go to bed early. To take a nap. To just shut the world out for a moment. Not a lifetime. So take your nap, restart the day, or start again tomorrow. But don’t stay in that bed. You’ll get stiff, you’ll get sores, you will SMELL. SO let your bed comfort you… But don’t become part of it.

Some days can’t be saved. So when I have those days. I take a nap. And I let my body just say screw it to the day (I also have a wine glass with this saying on it 😉).

I hope this helps, but if not. Hang in their bloggers. We’re all in this life together, and apart.