Escape Day!
As I shared in Monday's blog (if you haven't read that CLICK HERE) I gave myself 2 weeks of pretty strict social distancing... That, coupled with watching the news every day (something I NEVER do) and seeing the number of coronavirus cases and death increase by leaps and bounds, left me in a really poor emotional state by Friday.
My mental health was in the toilet! I was anxious and depressed. Seriously lonely from the lack of in-person time with friends plus I noticed I was feeling a lot of fear which was coming out as anger... I was not holding up well.
Saturday was my day to help recover my mental health. I talked to my husband and expressed my needs and hopes for the weekend. We both agreed to turn off our phones (Do Not Disturb for him because he needed calls to come in if work needed him, full on Airplane Mode for me) and headed to the mountains with fire wood, lunch, and a quad to play on.
It took a lot to get out the door, there was a lot of drama that day. I stopped by the store to grab some hot dogs to roast up on the mountain and found my anxiety was so high I was getting light-headed while shopping. It was hard...
But we got to the mountains and suddenly the worries and fears and tragedies of the world fell away. Instead, I saw the mountains, sky, heard the birds, and saw the smiles of my family.
As soon as we hit the dirt rode I asked to ride the quad behind the truck up the rest of the mountain. I got on that quad, started the engine, and everything faded away but the purr of the engine, the rev of the motor, the shifting of gears, and the road as it flew by beneath me. It was pure relief from all the stress I had been feeling and I finally understand what my husband means when he talks about quads and motorbikes "clearing his head".
We spent the day buzzing around the hills in turns (1 quad, 5 people), exploring a little, sitting around the fire and eating, and all around having a wonderful time.
It was the "perfect" day. Did everything go perfectly? Of course not, this is real life here. It was super stressful getting up there, I got lost while out on a trail for a full hour, and one of the kids had a huge fit/argument at the end of the day as we left, but it still was perfect and it was exactly what I needed.
That evening, as I journaled, I wrote a prayer of thanks out to God as well as a prayer for the upcoming week. Then I wrote some goals to improve my mental health and overall emotional well being in the upcoming week (so far I'm doing a lot better this week).
How are you doing Mama? Is there anything you can do to get out, have a little fun, and let the weight of the world go for a little while? I highly encourage you to, if your able!
Much love and hoping you are safe and healthy,
-Joy
My mental health was in the toilet! I was anxious and depressed. Seriously lonely from the lack of in-person time with friends plus I noticed I was feeling a lot of fear which was coming out as anger... I was not holding up well.
Saturday was my day to help recover my mental health. I talked to my husband and expressed my needs and hopes for the weekend. We both agreed to turn off our phones (Do Not Disturb for him because he needed calls to come in if work needed him, full on Airplane Mode for me) and headed to the mountains with fire wood, lunch, and a quad to play on.
It took a lot to get out the door, there was a lot of drama that day. I stopped by the store to grab some hot dogs to roast up on the mountain and found my anxiety was so high I was getting light-headed while shopping. It was hard...
But we got to the mountains and suddenly the worries and fears and tragedies of the world fell away. Instead, I saw the mountains, sky, heard the birds, and saw the smiles of my family.
As soon as we hit the dirt rode I asked to ride the quad behind the truck up the rest of the mountain. I got on that quad, started the engine, and everything faded away but the purr of the engine, the rev of the motor, the shifting of gears, and the road as it flew by beneath me. It was pure relief from all the stress I had been feeling and I finally understand what my husband means when he talks about quads and motorbikes "clearing his head".
We spent the day buzzing around the hills in turns (1 quad, 5 people), exploring a little, sitting around the fire and eating, and all around having a wonderful time.
It was the "perfect" day. Did everything go perfectly? Of course not, this is real life here. It was super stressful getting up there, I got lost while out on a trail for a full hour, and one of the kids had a huge fit/argument at the end of the day as we left, but it still was perfect and it was exactly what I needed.
That evening, as I journaled, I wrote a prayer of thanks out to God as well as a prayer for the upcoming week. Then I wrote some goals to improve my mental health and overall emotional well being in the upcoming week (so far I'm doing a lot better this week).
How are you doing Mama? Is there anything you can do to get out, have a little fun, and let the weight of the world go for a little while? I highly encourage you to, if your able!
Much love and hoping you are safe and healthy,
-Joy
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