Wednesday, August 5, 2020

How The Pandemic Has Shaped My Mental Health





Hi friends!

So for this week's post I want to be specific about my experience with my mental health through this pandemic. This post will be a little shorter because I don't want to ramble too much and I am trying to encourage our community to be a bit more interactive so we may learn different perspectives from one another.

I know my experience is different than a lot of people's since I do not live alone anymore and I still have my job, but I want to offer what my mind saw as a different angle of perspective to you all. There is always something positive in something so negative, we just have to train our minds to look for it.

For the last five years my mental health has been a constant battle. It is beyond true that the worst critic lies between your own two ears.

It feels like my mind has been on a hamster wheel - constantly going around and around only to make no progress and ending up with the same outcomes. I was mentally exhausted and I desperately needed a break - especially after all of the trauma from my bad car accident.

When the news of the pandemic began heavily circulating I found myself calm. I typically do very well in staying calm in chaotic situations - I credit my time as a 911 dispatcher for learning that valuable skill. As things began to shift, everything started closing down and we started working from home.

 I noticed for the very first time in a long time my world finally was put on pause and then in slow mode. The hamster wheel broke and I was finally able to catch my breath.

Once the shut down hit, I had JUST finished about eight weeks of therapy. I suddenly had more free time to dive deeper into the mindfulness techniques and other new perspectives my therapist taught me. It was also when I launched this blog and community group!

I was able to focus on breath work and yoga. From practicing yoga I found the art of meditation. Since you know everything was shut down, I no longer felt guilty for not hitting the gym four days a week - I worked out at home - or not making it to this place or that place. My mind finally erased this mile long list of obligations I was in chains to and if I did not do I would beat myself up about it. 

As I dove deeper into meditation I felt the beginning of my awakening. I was letting go of the old templates that no longer served me. I was letting go of things that were installed into my head as a child that no longer brought value to my life or mentality.  I finally had the alone time to work on healing abuse from my past and dealing with the difficult things I've been putting off for so many years. 



I finally received the quiet time and stillness that my soul so desperately needed and it has improved my mental health more than ever.

It is still not perfect but heavy improvements have been made and I plan to continue them.

This has shaped me into the spiritual person I am to this moment. The Universe always has a way of giving you what you need in order to adventure on to the next phase in life. I needed this slow down in order to receive the clarity and instructions for my next chapter. 

The universe has our backs we just have to trust and surrender ourselves to it. 

No matter how bad this year gets, you can still thrive if you have the right mindset!

Please, do not ever feel ashamed for asking for help if you are struggling with your mental health. Always reach out to someone!

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