The pandemic has been taxing on my mental health.
Truth be told, I’m doing better than most. I’ve managed to keep my physical fitness a priority, I’ve continued to eat well and I’ve made a point to meditate and to proactive in my self care.
But hey… some days the state of the world creates a fuzz of anxiety for me.
Can you relate?
I couldn’t sleep last night. I was up till 2 thinking of all the bad habits I’ve developed during quarantine. There are things I would like to clean up in my life. I’m feeling unfocused, disorganized and without drive.
Here are the changes I am going to make.
No more Starcraft - I truly love playing Starcraft, but it has turned into a bad habit that I fall into when I feel like isolating. There are better ways for me to spend my time.
No more Twitter on my phone - It’s too easy to “get bored” and pull out my phone and start scrolling through nonsense. I love Twitter, but it is a platform where people are constantly pretending to be cooler and more successful than they really are. It could be leading to some self comparison. It needs to stop.
At least 20 minutes of fitness a day. (Walks on weekends) - Even on days when I really don’t want to workout, I will commit to doing at least 20 minutes on the rowing machine or doing a 20 minute HIIT style workout with The Body Coach.
Calling one friend or family member each day - When I’m bored, I call my sister. She’s been my life long best friend and it’s awesome to have her in my corner. But, it’s also a comfort zone safety mechanism. There are other men in recovery, there are other members of my family, there are friends who I have lost touch with due to the pandemic. I will commit to reaching out to them more as well.
A lot of times when I start feeling down, I make huge changes and convince myself that everything in my life needs a drastic overhaul. In this current moment, that isn’t the case. I need to make some small changes that will lead to big results.
You can take my word for it. These changes will be made. Take it to the bank.