don’t ignore - explore

Life is full of challenges, and especially in our always-on world, it can be tempting to turn a blind eye or bury your head in the sand when you feel like you need a break.

Working through things can be messy - and there’s the fear of getting stuck in the mess or not having the answer.
But it’s only when you do look at the reality of challenging situations or acknowledge a hard truth that you can make peace with it and, potentially, even do something about it.

Ready to learn how to face challenges with openness? Grab your journal, find a comfy spot and try the following mini exercises.

• Remember that it’s not either/or. You don’t have to only care about your own bubble or only focus on the wider world.
• Give yourself space to have a healthy balance of both. What’s been on your mind recently? Can you write down one challenge that’s in your bubble and one that’s in the wider world?
• Seek out role models. One of the sweetest examples around community and acceptance that came to mind for me was Eeyore, the gray (often glum) donkey from the Winnie the Pooh children’s stories. His friends include him in their activities without forcing him to be a ray of sunshine.
• Find an example that works for you, and use it to provide you with ideas and perspective.
• Make space for what is. Pretending something isn’t a challenge for you can make things harder than they need to be.
• Although it might seem counterintuitive, allowing yourself to struggle - and taking the time to identify your needs and desires underneath that struggle - can actually be better for you in the long run.
• Consider what’d help you feel supported. Instead of putting energy into trying to convince yourself that something isn’t or shouldn’t be hard, honest acceptance allows you to pivot toward assistance.
• Write down a challenge that you’re facing, give yourself permission to say that it’s hard for you and explore what support could help. 
• Re-evaluate. Much as we wish it were true, challenges often aren’t a one-and-done thing; they’ll continue to pop up throughout your life, and things will affect you differently throughout the different stages of your life.
• Take some time to think about a challenge that keeps popping up in your life. Are your old coping mechanisms working, or is it time to find some new strategies?

With practice, exercises like these can start to feel easier, but you might find it helpful to have someone to notice where certain patterns pop up, to encourage you to check in with how something feels in your own body and to help guide you and your body toward recovery. 
Reach out here to let me know where and how you'd like to receive support.