Support Groups Blog

Some weeks seem harder than others, just when you think you have this life thing down, it always seems to throw you a curveball, doesn’t it? Life, it seems, doesn’t do easy, it does interesting and sometimes scary, with lots of “what the Fork is going on” moments (“The Good Place” Reference), but it rarely seems like smooth sailing, at least for long periods of time. But the interesting thing is, we keep on going.

Anyone who have ever dealt with anxiety can tell you, it isn’t like the movies, it isn’t always the sweaty, fall to the floor, rock in a corner sort of thing. It is often the feeling in the pit of your stomach, the nausea, the thoughts racing, the headache, the command in your mind that you just have to paste a smile on your face and act the part until you can fall apart in private. It feels like the end of the world, when rationally, you know it to be a bump in the road, something you will survive (you hope).

I am not sure when I first heard this saying, but it is one of those urban sayings that have snuck into my vocabulary. I like sayings that are visually descriptive and this one reminds me to slow down, put on the breaks and think about what I am doing or saying before I (here’s another good saying) put my “foot in my mouth.” It is important to remember in life that we can’t slow down time but we can take moments to step back and evaluate what is going on in our life, make a mental list of what is serving us well and what things need to change.

Most of us don’t wake up and immediately think, “thank you world, universe, God/Goddess for another day on this planet!” Mine is usually, where is that sound emanating from, oh right, alarm clock, turn off alarm clock, don’t fall back asleep, get up, NOW!!!! But I want to challenge you to start your day with gratitude; then carry it through your day and see if this little change makes a massive change in your overall well being.

Every weekday morning, unless I am on vacation or really, really sick, I am up before 5:30, some days I unexpectedly bounce out of bed, other days I turn off the alarm and feel like I was yanked out of the abyss and I lay there wondering what planet I am currently residing on. I get up because I have made working out before my kids get up, and the morning rush starts, a priority.