We all have days like this to varying degrees.
What I’m talking about here is the kind of day that you really don’t know how to get through. The challenges that you are facing feel insurmountable. You’re so far beyond exhausted that you don’t know what day it is. There’s no support anywhere (at least that is how it feels). No one gets it (again, that is how it feels).
But you have no choice. You have to get through this day.
These are the days when my therapist would tell me to dig deeper. And I’d tell her, sometimes politely and sometimes less politely, that I could not possibly dig deeper. I’d hit bedrock. I was as deep as I could go. I had nothing left. Then she’d smile at me and tell me to dig deeper.
And you know what, somehow, I always did. (Those are the moments when I both love and hate your therapist for being right).
It’s been years since I had an entire day that I wasn’t sure I could get through. I’m very mindful and incredibly grateful for that. But there are still LOTS of moments like this in my life. Lots and lots and lots.
Focus on the basics – safety (physical and emotional), shelter, food
Break the day down into the smallest possible steps and moments (focus on the process not the outcome)
Stop what you can stop (some things, thoughts, people, activities, habits are going to have to go)
Keep asking for help until you get it
– What do I do when my partner won’t listen to my concerns?
- Find (and celebrate) the wins
- Practice self-care
- How am I supposed to practice self care when I can’t even go to the bathroom alone?
- Don’t believe everything you think – develop a growth mindset and become aware of ego
- Believe what you know to be true – listen to your intuition