At some point in your life, did you ever feel that life is meaningless, that you lack direction, and missing that sense of accomplishment?
Many of us reach a stage when we wonder what it is we want. Our lives seem to be an endless roller-coaster and when we lay ourselves down to sleep at night we are full of regret that we haven’t accomplished what we set out to do.
Productivity suffers, and your performance is interspersed with bouts of self-doubt, your relationships seem to be running into problems. You can’t get a handle on your chores and commitments, and you feel stressed when you think of your ever-increasing To Do list.
At the root of all these issues could be a lack of asking the fundamental question “Why?”
How Self Care and Mental Health Are Connected
In this age of social media, it’s entirely possible that you’ve come across the concept of self care. Perhaps you’ve tried exploring it a bit more, or maybe you’ve assumed it’s just another buzzword that’s trending right now and will soon be replaced by something else.
Self care is not about being self-centered, selfish or self-indulgent. It means that we value ourselves, have the right amount of self-esteem and self-worth, become the best possible version of ourselves, and are able to work towards achieving our maximum potential.
It means we take care of our physical, social, environmental and mental health, while engaging with all the information available to us on these matters.
Unfortunately, we have all been brought up to admire the virtues of self-sacrifice, and putting ourselves last. We worship heroes and heroines who at great personal cost work for the good of others. While this is no doubt admirable, in ordinary life, we seldom face such situations. Yet, we continue to hold up as examples the mom who gave up her career to become a home-maker, the dad who denied himself every luxury to ensure that his family got the best.
What we fail to note is that these examples seldom end with a “Happily Ever After.” Instead, people suffer from a variety of physical and mental conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma or anxiety, sleep disturbances, sexual dysfunction, stress, anger and more.
This is where the concept of self care comes in. We must prioritize ourselves just as the airline safety guidelines tell us - Pull down your own oxygen mask before you try to help another person.
If you can’t take care of yourself, you have low energy and motivation, poor connectivity with people, experience a range of negative emotions and cannot perform at your best.
Incorporating self care into your regular routine means that you make quality a priority in all spheres - whether it’s food, entertainment, rest, chores, timely repairs, or time spent with loved ones. Self care demands that we be as kind to ourselves as we are to others. We need to set boundaries, stay connected to our inner selves, and reject negative self talk.
With these changes in attitude and behavior, mental health will certainly take an upward turn. You learn to seek professional help when you need it, recognize signs of stress, identify the triggers and learn ways to defuse them.
From being in a constant state of Fight, Flight or Freeze, you will gradually embrace the Rest and Digest state more often.
Bullet Journaling : A Brief History
Bullet Journaling or BuJo started off as a solution to the problems that faced digital product designer Ryder Carroll. He had ADHD, and found it difficult to deal with procrastination, distractions, attention deficit, hyperactivity and the resultant anxiety and stress. He used a dotted grid journal to schedule his daily tasks, reminders, to do lists.
But as time went by, he found himself feeling emotionally empty, though he had reached the peak of his career. At this point he transformed his journal from a working one into a “being” one. He began to explore the inner workings of his mind, so that he could understand himself better. It helped him to understand the why’s of his life.
To get yourself started, purchase a simple, good quality, dot-grid notebook, writing pens, color pencils, gel pens, stickers, sticky notes, stencils and anything else that you feel will help you create memorable notes. Find more bullet journal ideas here.
Some notebooks come with pre-printed pages titled meal plans, day planner, life goals, achievements, thoughts for the day and more. You can create your own index and page numbering, along with weekly or monthly summaries and your own personal key/tab to the contents. Ensure you have a goal-tracking system that you update regularly.
You can also purchase a complete BuJo kit online.
BuJo For Self Care and Mental Health
Clarity: Writing down your thoughts as they occur or as you process them helps to get things clearer. It’s a way to acknowledge and accept your emotions or opinions. When you come back to these notes later, it gives you a firm foundation for your later actions and views.
Scheduling: Getting your work and your time organized helps to reduce that feeling of being overwhelmed. You can schedule the appropriate time and duration for every task and use other devices such as a Pomodoro timer to ensure that you stick with the schedule. This prevents work from piling up and helps you meet deadlines comfortably.
Stress Buster: When you know you’re on top of all the work you have on your plate, your stress and anxiety levels are instantly lowered. Additionally, penning your innermost feelings relieves you of the burden of wrestling with them on your own. You can plan for better nutrition, exercise, fitness goals, connecting with friends, trying new skills and hobbies, and traveling.
Mood Tracking: The BuJo habit allows you to track your moods, anxiety and depression triggers, what makes you happy, calm, excited, bored, scared, lonely and more. Noting your feelings down in a mood-tracker page on your BuJo gives you more control over your moods and tells you why, how, where and when you felt that way. You can quickly resolve conflict, and use stress-busters such as yoga, going for a run, listening to music, gardening or art.
Mindfulness: The greatest advantage of BuJo is that it allows you to live more mindfully. It helps you to recognize, locate and acknowledge changes in both body and mind. You learn to practice gratitude and to enjoy your life the way it’s meant to be to its fullest.