My Escapes
Happy May!
Can you believe that April is already over? It seems like it just started, but now we're welcoming May and the days are getting even warmer and longer. It's getting hot and humid here in Georgia, but they don't call it Hotlanta for nothing. I didn't know it was possible for things to get more greener than they already are, but it seems to be the theme around here. More and more flowers are starting to bloom as well, adding to the color wheel of nature. I'm so excited for the magnolia and lilacs to start blooming.
When I talk to people about my depression and anxiety, they often ask me what I do to escape my feelings. I believe that it's very important to have a least one thing that you can dive into and forget about the world turning for a while. For me, the activities I'm going to talk about help me center myself, calm down, and be able to see whatever stressful situation clearer. Sometimes they even help me find solutions to the problems. Some help me better than others, but I still love them.
First and probably the biggest is music. I've said it before, but I have quite an eccentric taste in music. Normally, I listen to country or pop, but I much rather have a station that shuffles around the different genres of music. That's how I listen to Pandora. However, if I'm really in a mood, I will choose to listen to one station. If I need to concentrate, I go to my Classical for Studying station. Angry? Time to hit up the rock station. The Oldies and Disney stations are for when I feel nostalgic. My Celtic, Latin, and Trance stations are for when I'm in a wacky, partying, or dancing sort of mood. The Contemporary Gospel is for when I need a reminder of my faith. K-Pop, Pop, R&B, and Country are when I'm happy. When I'm depressed or anxious, I put on something soothing and try to loose myself in meditation.
That brings me to my next escape: meditation. Although I'm not the best at meditating yet, I find that it helps me center and ground myself. I normally do this right before I go to bed as I lay in the silence and reflect upon my day. If I find myself needing to calm down, I go to my room and lay down. I'll cast one of the 24/7 soothing/calming music from YouTube onto the TV, and then close my eyes. I try to bring myself to some place that has always aided in settling me down. In the past, it was a bridge over the Milwaukee river near my childhood home. I would imagine myself sitting on the rock next to it and listen to the sound of the water. Lately, it has been a place near Cade's Cove in Tennessee where my husband took me once. I was able to go and sit on rock that jutted out from the river while I soaked up the sun and grounded myself.
If you noticed the theme above, that's because mediation connects me to my next escape, nature. I've always been drawn to anything that has to do with water, especially the rushing of a waterfall or the crashing of waves on the beach. I LOVE hiking. I may not be in the best of shape, but I'm always happiest when I'm hiking. I've read somewhere that spending 20 minutes out in nature a day will help release endorphins as well as listening to the birds sing for 10 minutes. Some of my favorite hiking places include Anna Ruby Falls, the Chattahoochee River walk, and South Mountain State Park. I have a book full of Southern Appalachians and Great Smokey Mountains waterfalls. My goal is to hike/drive to see all the waterfalls in this book.
The last way is what I like to call "me time." These are things where I just take time to do me. Like reading or writing. When I can escape the daily hassles by opening up a book and going on an adventure, that's when I'm most happy. I'm getting to the point that I want to write to create stories again. There's so many ideas brewing in my head, but I never want to write them down. I fall into my anxiety that no one will ever enjoy these stories, but there's a little voice inside me saying that it's time to create again. Of course there's the snuggling time with my husband and my cats. They make me feel so loved and at peace. It's those moments that I cherish the most. When I get to spend time with my family, words can't explain how happy they make me feel. Yes, I feel anxious sometimes just because I want them to be happy, but I know that their love for me overcomes all. Because of them, I create things. The easiest thing is coloring. I'm not ashamed to say that I have quite a few adult coloring books that take away the stress of the day. My grandma taught me how to crochet. This has aided me in the creation of blankets. I'm branching out and trying more techniques with the crocheting, but I do get frustrated with it and have to put it down for a bit. Another thing I like to do is latch-hook. My walls have the many finished kits that I have done. I've also made pillows out of the kits for my family members as well as wall hangers for friends. I will be trying my hand in the gem art stuff soon as well. I bought myself a few kits after seeing them on Facebook, but I need to finish a latch-hooking project before I begin with that.
That's it for today. I hope this gives you a few ideas to escape from your stress and anxiety. I would love to hear from you! What are some of your escapes?
Have a great day,
Ruari 💜
Can you believe that April is already over? It seems like it just started, but now we're welcoming May and the days are getting even warmer and longer. It's getting hot and humid here in Georgia, but they don't call it Hotlanta for nothing. I didn't know it was possible for things to get more greener than they already are, but it seems to be the theme around here. More and more flowers are starting to bloom as well, adding to the color wheel of nature. I'm so excited for the magnolia and lilacs to start blooming.
When I talk to people about my depression and anxiety, they often ask me what I do to escape my feelings. I believe that it's very important to have a least one thing that you can dive into and forget about the world turning for a while. For me, the activities I'm going to talk about help me center myself, calm down, and be able to see whatever stressful situation clearer. Sometimes they even help me find solutions to the problems. Some help me better than others, but I still love them.
First and probably the biggest is music. I've said it before, but I have quite an eccentric taste in music. Normally, I listen to country or pop, but I much rather have a station that shuffles around the different genres of music. That's how I listen to Pandora. However, if I'm really in a mood, I will choose to listen to one station. If I need to concentrate, I go to my Classical for Studying station. Angry? Time to hit up the rock station. The Oldies and Disney stations are for when I feel nostalgic. My Celtic, Latin, and Trance stations are for when I'm in a wacky, partying, or dancing sort of mood. The Contemporary Gospel is for when I need a reminder of my faith. K-Pop, Pop, R&B, and Country are when I'm happy. When I'm depressed or anxious, I put on something soothing and try to loose myself in meditation.
That brings me to my next escape: meditation. Although I'm not the best at meditating yet, I find that it helps me center and ground myself. I normally do this right before I go to bed as I lay in the silence and reflect upon my day. If I find myself needing to calm down, I go to my room and lay down. I'll cast one of the 24/7 soothing/calming music from YouTube onto the TV, and then close my eyes. I try to bring myself to some place that has always aided in settling me down. In the past, it was a bridge over the Milwaukee river near my childhood home. I would imagine myself sitting on the rock next to it and listen to the sound of the water. Lately, it has been a place near Cade's Cove in Tennessee where my husband took me once. I was able to go and sit on rock that jutted out from the river while I soaked up the sun and grounded myself.
If you noticed the theme above, that's because mediation connects me to my next escape, nature. I've always been drawn to anything that has to do with water, especially the rushing of a waterfall or the crashing of waves on the beach. I LOVE hiking. I may not be in the best of shape, but I'm always happiest when I'm hiking. I've read somewhere that spending 20 minutes out in nature a day will help release endorphins as well as listening to the birds sing for 10 minutes. Some of my favorite hiking places include Anna Ruby Falls, the Chattahoochee River walk, and South Mountain State Park. I have a book full of Southern Appalachians and Great Smokey Mountains waterfalls. My goal is to hike/drive to see all the waterfalls in this book.
The last way is what I like to call "me time." These are things where I just take time to do me. Like reading or writing. When I can escape the daily hassles by opening up a book and going on an adventure, that's when I'm most happy. I'm getting to the point that I want to write to create stories again. There's so many ideas brewing in my head, but I never want to write them down. I fall into my anxiety that no one will ever enjoy these stories, but there's a little voice inside me saying that it's time to create again. Of course there's the snuggling time with my husband and my cats. They make me feel so loved and at peace. It's those moments that I cherish the most. When I get to spend time with my family, words can't explain how happy they make me feel. Yes, I feel anxious sometimes just because I want them to be happy, but I know that their love for me overcomes all. Because of them, I create things. The easiest thing is coloring. I'm not ashamed to say that I have quite a few adult coloring books that take away the stress of the day. My grandma taught me how to crochet. This has aided me in the creation of blankets. I'm branching out and trying more techniques with the crocheting, but I do get frustrated with it and have to put it down for a bit. Another thing I like to do is latch-hook. My walls have the many finished kits that I have done. I've also made pillows out of the kits for my family members as well as wall hangers for friends. I will be trying my hand in the gem art stuff soon as well. I bought myself a few kits after seeing them on Facebook, but I need to finish a latch-hooking project before I begin with that.
That's it for today. I hope this gives you a few ideas to escape from your stress and anxiety. I would love to hear from you! What are some of your escapes?
Have a great day,
Ruari 💜
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