Self Care for the days you just can't even

I've been thinking about this this morning, I have a lot of hard-earned experience with ...well, Mental Health Down Days I guess. Those days where even eating seems like a chore. I wanted to share a few tips I learned to make sure some necessities are taken care of. I'd love to hear your tips too!

1. I keep a store of food around for when I just can't cook. Microwavable pizzas for when I have the energy to do that. But I have canned chili and spaghetti that are good right out of the can. I have days where nothing sounds good and/or I don't have the energy to make anything. I have to force myself to eat and even that takes energy. So something I can pop open and eat right from the can can be a godsend.

2. Disposable utensils/bowls/plates/cups. No dishes! What sucks is I'm generating more waste but when it's the environment vs eating, I gotta go with eating here.

3. Trashcans stationed everywhere! Clutter (especially trash) drives my mental health down through the floor right quick. And then I really don't have the energy to clean...so I have trash cans in tossing distance to the places I spend the most time. So when I'm ready to throw something away, it's as easy as tossing it over. Otherwise I found it'll just pile up wherever I am because I told myself I'd take care of it when I got up and either forgot about it, or just didn't have the energy.

Kit,

This is awesome. I have to take these into account I have been through quite a few of those days as of late and really these are great ideas. I have to say the trash can thing is one I follow. Just by cleaning my house and bedroom I was surprised by how much better I felt, though it was temporary it was still relief. I just wanted to say thank you for this.

Much love, peace and respect,
Kobos

I try never to run out of mints; it's a habit thing, and I'd wear down fast without some. But I've also found that offering a mint to a someone in distress can help. Even if they don't want one it can bring a smile.

I got a mirror in my room that i use to tidy my appearance before heading down to eat breakfast (don't want to frighten my housemates too much ). Every morning, I look myself square in the eye and remind myself of a few things

1) You're a Jedi, live it.

2) Carpe Diem

3) You're devilishly handsome, let the world see it. ;P

Takes >1 min to do, changes my outlook no matter how the day started.

Also, no matter how you slept, let the first thought that passes through your mind when you awake be "Man, what a great night's rest". You can trick your mind to believe that, no matter how much you tossed and turned.

I've found it important to do some prep work with friends and family (online or local) and let them know what is helpful (and not helpful) in such times. My circle of friends tend to be very strong and independent folks dealing with way too much who have a hard time asking for or accepting help, and we've had to have some serious talks about how to help each other through the crash times so that it's not a thing that becomes a struggle during crisis. This can mean preparing a "When I'm in trouble" list of warning signs and how to help, or just establishing the basics - I let my most trusted friends have my emergency numbers, since the first one on the list after 9-1-1 is not someone anyone else would know. We find out what each other's tolerances are - one of us may need to be just left alone until ready to come out of the hole, whereas I may need someone to push me to train (by any means necessary) to get level again. The hardest thing has been to get it through each other's head that it's okay to need and ask for help, and that we trust each other enough to be honest about what we're going through, as well as to be responsible with making self-care and healing a priority.

The main thing for me, on my own, is to have a "down time planned outage" - to have a space where I put the most critical stuff that has to be done, so that I can unplug for a bit, but then immediately go to the "must do" pile so that it doesn't compound the feeling of being overwhelmed. I find that if I give myself a preemptive break before things get to panic stage, it shortens the crisis time.

I take naps and watch funny movies on my bad days. Bad days pass, I just have to let them run their course. It's just my body/mind telling me to take a break and chill. I can over stimulate easy and have to watch out for that.

Rickie wrote: I take naps and watch funny movies on my bad days. Bad days pass, I just have to let them run their course. It's just my body/mind telling me to take a break and chill. I can over stimulate easy and have to watch out for that.

Yeah! Comedy is hugely important! - speaking of which, here's something for you Kit: http://stupidfox.net/