Hi Reader,

On Saturday I was in a MOOD. Grumpy, frustrated, annoyed, a little depressed. It was an all around ugh state of being.

The kind of mood that used to flow into the next day, and the next… the week or month… I never knew how long it would take to shake off.

But now I know how to stop it before it takes over.

Here are all the things I did to get through my mood without repressing my feelings, and come through the other side content with myself:

Step 1:

I talked about it. I didn’t even know exactly what I was feeling other than I was feeling like yuck, so I talked it out with my sweetie. As I shared my feelings with him, I started to make the connections. Oh right, this is how I often feel when I get back from Costa Rica. Oh right, I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed by my responsibility to my mom and I just had a nice long break from that, of course it’s going to feel really heavy now. Talking it out helped me figure out what I was feeling. It became definable rather than just feeling like a pile of yuck.

Step 2:

I got a good night’s sleep, which included taking cold medication because I was sick, something I can be hesitant to do at times. But it was a gamechanger. Sleep is a huge factor in how I feel and Saturday night’s sleep was solid.

Step 3:

When I woke on Sunday and felt inspired to get up, I did, even though my sweetie was still fast asleep. This was big for me because we’re still in the early-ish stages of dating and it was our first night together since I got back. I felt like I “should” stay in bed so when he woke up I was there with him - hello, people pleasing! - but I did what I needed to do and left him in his slumber to take advantage of my new found motivation.

Step 4:

I super hydrated. These days I’m using LMNT which has 1000mg of sodium in each packet and no sugar. With POTS, salt is the secret and these electrolytes are a great way to help me start the day strong and clear. And yes, they are salty!

Step 5:

I had a protein packed breakfast smoothie. (Access to good protein powders is one of my favourite things about being home!)

Step 6:

I wrote to you. It wasn’t one of those easy flow poetic emails but it was good to get my thoughts on the page. Between talking about it and writing about it, I felt like I really got my mood sorted. I could see what was bothering me so I could tend to it well.

Step 7:

I did a little workout! Not an easy thing for me with POTS but I was doing well physically in Costa Rica and I want to try to maintain that here. I did 5 minutes on my recumbent (POTsies got to take it slow, especially when sick) and did my exercises from Tracy Rodriguez’s HEAL program (sooooooo good if you have POTS, EDS, chronic pain, etc).

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All that, and my mood was back on track… for most of the day anyways… later in the afternoon I started to feel myself dip. I didn’t know what I wanted. The yuck feeling was creeping in.

I told my sweetie and he suggested I go lie down for an hour. For the longest time I have resisted napping, feeling like I’m wasting my time. But I’ve realized that if I don’t nap, I waste the time anyways - scrolling on my phone, staring at the wall, generally dazed and not doing anything meaningful. So, I took his advice and went to bed. I woke up an hour later refocused and happy.

It’s not easy being a woman with big moods and lots of needs, especially when you’ve been taught to put your needs away to be in service to others, to please others. The last few years have been steady practice in identifying, communicating and tending to my needs. Honouring them. Learning to deeply respect them.

And of course, the better I care for myself, the better I feel and more able I am to love others the way I want to.

I may not be starting this week with the gusto I wish I had but I’m starting from a regulated state. I’m starting with self-compassion and care, and that’s more than enough.

What needs do you need to tend to today? This week? How can you show yourself compassion and care?

Let's all take great care of ourselves this week.

Parrish
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P.S. I have space for a couple more Mental Health Coaching clients right now. If you’re in need of support to figure out how to better care for yourself, you’re welcome to book a 20-minute chat to discuss working together. Or, if you have a friend or family member you believe would benefit from this type of support, feel free to share the link with them.

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