As I re-read previous posts that Jessica has shared on The Unexpected Ever Afters, I was struck by the wide variety of topics and full range of emotions that she has written about. Her ability to articulate experiences and perspectives with clarity, authenticity, and insight has provided tremendous help and comfort in my own journey. …
It has been a long journey, almost five years, to rediscover and readjust to my new body cycles, health rhythms, and emotions. But, my biggest take-away right now is the reminder that emotions are complex, sometimes intense, and that is okay. As I have made my way through February, I have practiced pausing and identifying the emotions I actually feel. Then I gently remind myself to be thankful I can feel again, the good and the bad. Even when it is hard, this process of acquainting myself with the emotions present in all of life’s journey is often worth it.
On my “smash the glass days,” the reminder to create “space” seemed to have an opposite effect: instead of the stress escaping, the space seemed to make room for my anxiety with a reminder that “the world is a terrible place.”
Significant change, even good change, is hard. Sometimes it is enough to just get through it.
Have you ever noticed how the tiniest of interactions, even those with a total stranger, can impact your entire day?
I wondered if the difficulty in navigating the spectrum of emotions added to my struggle with spinning. I was surprised to realize that feeling intense happiness could have contributed to my feeling nauseous.
Whether it’s overseas travel, exploring local parks, or simply processing an emotion, reflecting on life, or learning something new, there’s a lot of opportunities for exploration.
As a stay-at-home parent, some of the biggest stresses for me throughout this pandemic have been adjusting to a wide-open schedule, concurrently fulfilling multiple roles, and dealing with a perpetual avalanche of thoughts and emotions.
The underlying stress of COVID-19, safety restrictions, isolation, transitions for my kids, and navigating school social work, my daily baseline is higher, causing increased stress levels due to the constant level of tension. The more I talk to other people, the more I realize this seems to be the new normal for a lot of people. And, I think that says something about this pandemic and the impact that it's having on us, even when the effects aren’t always clearly visible. As I processed my experiences, I pushed myself to be honest and authentic in writing this post, acknowledging the fact that looking back over this year has been difficult and draining.
the unexpected ever afters 