You Are Not Alone
Today I went for a walk alone in the woods off a road in our neighborhood. It is a beautiful and quiet path. It felt nice to be out in nature, breathing in the fresh air, watching the gentle falling snow with the silence and the solitude.
I should be getting my period any day now and in the meantime, I’m experiencing many of the annoying PMS symptoms: tension, anxiety, depressed mood, crying spells, mood swings, irritability, insomnia, poor concentration and social withdrawal… I really just want to be alone and to sleep.
As a health coach, I’m trying to think of all the things that I can do to get back into balance. I took some extra supplements to help me sleep better last night and I slept soundly. I drank my smoothie, I went for my walk in nature, I ate a warm and healthy soup.
The foggy brain, fatigue and agitated mood have not yet gone away. I may have to deal with it for a few more days. I’ll continue to do my best to drink lots of water, move my body, walk, do some stretching or yoga and eat nourishing foods. This weekend will be a good time for extra self-care, listening to beautiful music and reading a good book.
Trying to rally myself to head downstairs to make dinner, I decided to take a quick shower to get refreshed and hopefully lift my mood a little. While I was showering, the thought came to my mind “You are not alone.” I thought to myself, how funny, because I would like to be.
As an introvert, I recharge my battery with alone time. However, as I thought about it some more, I was prompted to reach out to a few of my closest friends, who are also health coaches, to ask for their ideas to help me get out of this funk. Thankfully I remembered that I don’t have to figure it out all on my own or do it alone.
Before I even picked up my phone to text my friends, I felt a surge of hope and energy that I hadn’t felt all week. Just the act of texting them and asking them for their tips made me feel better. It really didn’t matter how they responded, just knowing that they understand, they care and are there for me was all that mattered. Their helpful tips were a bonus!
Right now, as I am writing this, one of my teenage daughters just came in and asked what was for dinner and when we were eating. I told her that she could cook some broccoli and rice or brown rice pasta to go with the sesame tofu. I could have closed my computer and headed downstairs to make dinner. Instead, I asked for help and kept typing. Writing this blog helps me to process my thoughts and energizes me, knowing that it could be encouraging to you.
I hope you know that you are not alone, that you don’t have to figure it all out on your own and you don’t have to do everything on your own either. We all need support and a friend or family member to be there for us. We all need someone to care, to understand and encourage us too.