What Helps? (Patreon)

So, as I mentioned in my recent round-up, I have been trying to focus on my own mental health. Part of that was cataloging what has been actually helping me during this time of transition. These are things that help me, but hopefully you can also find things that might help you! There's no "right" way to go about this, everyone has different resources and challenges, and even though we're all living through the same thing, everyone's circumstances are unique. 

This turned into two "spreads" inside my bullet journal.

The umbrella has been my metaphor for optimism for awhile. So It made sense to use it as a way to try to reframe negative thought clouds into more optimistic thoughts (the puddles at the bottom). I was able to use some legit halftone that I picked up in Japan! If not now when! 

Tracking things on a calendar has been one of the most helpful things. With so much time spent inside and without my usual day-anchors throughout the week, it has been really helpful seeing things progress on an actual calendar. I already had the habit of marking down things that I did for my art and things that I did for fun on my physical wall calendar. I also started marking numbered weeks of social distancing, and other big things that happened. (When the shops closed, when the border closed...) it has helped me to realize that it has not been so long since all of these major historic things happened. I also track the local case number on my calendar. Your mileage may vary, but seeing that local number (and how it has changed over time) helps anchor me to reality. 

Small goals and a schedule has been a huge help as well. It took me awhile to find my footing with a new schedule. It has been really really hard to motivate myself to wake up as early as I do. (Usually 6am). I go outside to exercise every day at 10am, and I have another indoor exercise session at 3. I take all my meals at regular times. I go to bed fairly religiously. I think these steps have made a big impact. 

Growing things has also been a huge help. I started a sourdough starter before all the flour in the city evaporated (lol) and it was lovely having a little thing to tend every day. I know not everyone has the luxury of a garden, or even a balcony space. I stuck some green onions in water and I've been taking care of those, as well as a sprouted clove of garlic that I crammed into a pot haha. In many weeks I'll have as much garlic as I want!!!*

*probably not

I kept some open "sun spots" for new things I might discover.

"When we meet again" is the phrase I've chosen to use with my friends. Keeping a list of things that I want to get back to with my friends has been a nice beacon of hope. Drawing it helps me to externalize it, so that I stop obsessing over it. I look forward to a time when I can use this as a checklist and realize all of these dreams. I find it remarkable how basic my desires are... haha

I get kind of fixated on "can't"... obsessing over what I can't do right now, or what I can't know or control. I'm going to work harder next week to reframe this into focusing more on what  CAN do and control. 

The next spread is kind of a catalogue of those goals. It's amazing that four weeks of this are already complete... o_o I don't understand how something can feel so suffocatingly interminable and also whiz by somehow. 

I try to do at least one thing from every category each day. Your items would probably be different, but these categories have been working for me so far! 

What has been helping for you?