Q: I have been feeling very out of balance this past year. Can you offer some suggestions on getting back into balance?
A: Many people have felt out of balance in this pandemic time. Much was lost and so many changes occurred. Often, when this happens, we can feel as though we’ve been hit with a 2 by 4! You like many others wish to reset your life back into balance. It is important that you learn all of the lessons you can and take stock of your past. It may take some resiliency skills (bouncing back from adversity) to help you more successfully navigate change in your world. The following are suggestions to help you reset and successfully navigate your life for a new and healthy beginning.
- Allow for Healthy Grieving. Many things were lost in the pandemic from loved ones to jobs, to housing, consistent income to restarting one’s life to adapt to a new one. At some level, we all lost personal freedoms. While you can acknowledge those losses, needs time for grieving. There is no time frame in which to come to acceptance and growth from these losses. Just recognize them and grieve them, regardless of how large or small. Unhealthy grieving manifests in many ways including anger, complaining, whining, victimization, and maladaptive coping. The process of healthy grieving invites us to go through the pain and come out on the other side. Resiliency then conveys strength and courage. It also manifests self-compassion, something we all need to have.
- Tickle Your Funny Bone Daily. In simple terms, laugh. Humor is such a necessity and we adults forget about laughing. We get way too serious when we need to be laughing daily and seeing the humor and fun in life. I know, you may be thinking how can we see anything funny in our crazy world these days? Keep an eye out for silly moments, and yes, there are many. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Create a tiller notebook and start gathering funny jokes, watch your favorite comedians, and learn to be your own best audience.
- Spend Time in Nature. Even cities and urban areas have parks or take a drive to a wooded area or beach to spend time in nature. Nature is healing and realize that we are a part of nature. Spend time with an animal in nature if you can. A walk or a swim can be so relaxing and meaningful. Get outside daily in the fresh air and sunlight. It’s good for your soul. Watch a sunset or sunrise and revel in the beauty of nature.
- Minimize social media. Unfortunately, social media has taken on an addiction all in itself. We are glued to our phones, computers, and the internet and we have truly lost our humanness. Unplug. Take time away from it all and talk with one another, write handwritten notes, and as mentioned above, be in nature, and reconnect with the beauty all around you.
- Get a good night’s rest and exercise your creative muscle. Sleep is essential for healthy day-to-day functioning. Try and go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. You may need a guided meditation to get to sleep and that is fine. Regarding creativity, get those creative juices flowing by putting a photo album together, planting herbs in a garden, create a new music playlist, at any given moment, we all have a choice to return to a lifestyle that natures stress, or choose joy and happiness. Hopefully one or some of these suggestions will help you with returning to balance and wholeness.