Dear Nichole:

In the last post, I mentioned organizing your feelings. Here is just a bit of what I wrote to you about feelings (and more) 3 years ago:

January 2019: “Pause between feeling badly and automatically reacting to the bad feeling by doing something impulsive (and often damaging). In that pause calm down and think logically. Focus on functioning effectively”.

“Take breaks from anxiety and distress by exercising, taking walks, hot baths, any variety of activities that can be considered to be healthy distractions… Practice Mindfulness”.

February 2019: “Anxiety is the human condition, everyone is anxious. I didn’t meet yet in person or online a person who is not anxious. Key is to not get alarmed when you experience a spike in anxiety… You are lonely and anxious, some days more than others, you experience fluctuations of moods because you are human and the brain fluctuates, everyone’s brain fluctuate”.

“Function as if you are okay and sooner than later you will feel okay again. Endure the spikes in anxiety, calm yourself best you can when that happens, don’t panic, don’t catastrophize, function sensibly and life will be better”.

“Healing is not about repeating the same old same old attempts. It is about giving up on what doesn’t work and attempting something new that has a chance to work“.

March 2019, you wrote “I have actually been more realistic and am looking at things for what they are instead of what I wish they were”, and I responded with: “this is what mental health is about, seeing reality as it is. Ignoring reality doesn’t work because reality doesn’t ignore itself, it keeps being what it is”.

I hope you are well today, March 15, 2022!

anita