March 20th

March 20, 2018 marked 7 years free of self-harm. When I realized that it was 7 years, I felt some happiness for making it this far but mostly I felt disappointed in myself. I realize that 7 years free of self-harm is a huge accomplishment but when I think about how my self-care practices could have been much better. It’s hard to want to celebrate an achievement like this when I’m still upset with myself for taking no breaks and ignoring my mental health the depressive and suicidal weeks after my last birthday.

I use my birthday as a time to reflect and recommit to healing, growth, and self love. While I know that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself because recovery and healing is important ongoing work, I know that I did myself a disservice and continue to do so when I ignore my mental health and put self-care on a back burner. I knew it was bad practice then but I figured that I just hadn’t had the time to adjust yet to balancing my mental health and my first full time job. I tried to make a commitment then to creating stronger boundaries and taking mental health days. That didn’t last too long and I was often overwhelmed by guilt from taking a day off with work not 100% as well as the dread of having to catch up on anything missed. It doesn’t help that sometimes it feels like there is a target on my back when I’m out of the office. When my job performance suffered following this post birthday suicidal depressive mess, I decided to be honest in hopes that being honest with my feelings would help me be more honest with myself and gain more support in my environment. I was reminded to prioritize my paperwork and my practice self care.So I did and I told myself that I wouldn’t take a day for myself unless everything was 100% done. I quickly realized that this is not possible. With that understanding, I tried to create boundaries and recommit to self care but unfortunately, that did not last very long. More than anything, I've been overwhelmed by guilt and disappointment for not taking better care of myself.

I'm trying to remind myself to be gentle with myself as I try to find balance. I deserve that much. I've put my mental health on a back burner and the more I realized this, the more I became upset with myself. For that I owe myself an apology. None of this is easy. I look at my deserving tattoo multiple times a day and know that I deserve to be here and I know that I deserve to put as much work and energy into myself as much as anything else. I'm working on no longer ignoring these truths because I am deserving. Reflecting on this anniversary and my affirmations, I'm going to commit to taking it one day at a time. I'm forgiving myself and committing to not being so hard on myself. I don't belong on the back burner so I'm not staying there anymore. I'm happy to be alive. I'm happy to be here and I'm worth all the hard work that healing requires. I'm prioritizing myself and my mental health because I am deserving.

There is a romance brewing here

Between joy and I.

I deserve her and she deserves me.

                               -Upile Chisala

Take A Break

Sometimes during our day we forget to stop and take breaks. We get busy. We want to get as much done as we can. We think that we'll fail if we stop. However, it's okay to take breaks. Sometimes we need to let ourselves rest a little. It's important not to overwork ourselves. That's not good four our emotional, physical, and mental health. So when you're taking care of yourself, remember to take breaks.

Depending on your schedule, what you do to take a break may look very different. Here are some examples of what we can do to take breaks.

• Take a nap. If you're working on a schedule or have a deadline, make sure you set an alarm.
• Color. You can find coloring pages by searching through google. Most local dollar stores also have coloring books.
• Watch YouTube videos. Again, if you have a deadline, try not to get lost on the internet.
• Timed visits to your favorite websites. 
• Make a cup of tea or coffee and then sit down and enjoy it
• Blend your favorite ingredients together for a great smoothie or milkshake and then sit down and enjoy it
• Lay down and listen to music for a while
• Play your music as loud as you want and have a personal dance party
• If you find cleaning relaxing and it's not the thing you need to take a break from, then take some time out and clean up a little bit
• Watch your favorite show or movie
• Yoga
• Some gym/workout time
• Take a walk
• Go to the bathroom
• Light your favorite scented candles and take a nice bubble bath or hot shower
• Paint your nails
• Have something sweet. Ice cream, cake, peanut m&ms, etc.
• Have a healthy snack. Maybe turkey bacon wrapped avocados? 
• Call someone special to you and talk to them for a while
• Do something productive that doesn't hold so much pressure. Meaning that it's something you do for yourself, not for a deadline or assignment, and you feel accomplished when it's done. Some examples are making cupcakes/cookies, cleaning/organizing, cooking, or creating a family on the Sims. 
• Write your feelings down
• Visit these cool websites:
• The Quiet Place
• Rainy Mood
• The Nicest Place on the Internet
• Cute Roulette
• The Thoughts Room
• Watch these videos/Listen to these Songs:
• Everything's Gonna Be Okay
• Beautiful Flower
• Private Party
• A Pep Talk from Kid President
• Still I Rise
• Make Positive Affirmations
• Look in the mirror and tell yourself good things. You're going to make it. Believe in you!

Hopefully some of these can help you. Don't forget to take care of yourself today.