Being alone can be hard for a lot of people to conquer, be comfortable with, accept, and even for others to understand.
But I think that allowing yourself to be alone sometimes can be a very good thing. It can be healthy for the mind and strengthening for the soul. We spend a lot of time surrounded by others. May it be at school, at work, at home, or even when we are just out and about like at an amusement part of the grocery store.
But very rarely do we ever find a single moment in the day to just be by ourselves. I’m talking absolutely no one is around. The only noise that is present is the noise that you are creating. The only person you can talk to is yourself (which can be a good thing by the way).
You are alone, in complete solitude.
Or maybe your solitude is being surrounded by people, everyone is different.
But really what I’m getting at is allowing yourself time to be alone with your thoughts and your emotions. This serves as an opportunity to check in with yourself. Reflect on how you’re really feeling, where you are in your life, any personal changes you have made, and any areas in your life where you may need improvement.
I call this mental health day.
A day where you just mentally check in with yourself and your emotions to make sure that you are still in one piece. A day dedicated to you where you actually listen to what you currently need in your life, and you make it happen. Whether it be a spa day, cleaning house, or going out to lunch with some friends (which I know doesn’t count as being alone).
And I realize that for some taking a full day to dedicate to yourself may be nearly impossible, so strive for mental health moments if you can’t make a full day.
Either way we all need to allow ourselves times to process the things that are happening around us. Sometimes we get so caught up in making sure everyone else is ok that we forget to make sure we are ok as well.
And I was always told you’re no good to anybody else if you’re no good to yourself.
I enjoy my time alone (which has been really hard to find the past couple of months). My time alone, mental health day or moment, helps me re-center myself and plan out my next moves in great detail. I think it’s important to know the next steps in your life no matter how big or small they may be, because they help you stay focus on an overall goal.
So how do I cope with missing out on these days or moments? Well I can tell you one thing, not being able to have them has left me under a lot of stress. But I consider myself an optimist and naturally I’ve taken something very valuable away from all the stress I’ve been under lately. Life is short. Life has meaning. Only we have the power to make our life what we want it to be, and I want it to be amazing.
So how to recover from stress overload? Well there are plenty of ways, writing this post and engaging in this blog for you guys is one of the ways. But another way that I’ve neglected for a while is by sweating it all out.
I love working out but have been neglecting it a lot lately due to just being stressed, which leaves me too tired to really want to do anything. But these past couple of months I decided that I needed to find an outlet or all this stress. I didn’t want to be so tired, angry, and isolating day in and day out so I needed to get back to releasing my stress in a positive way. I needed to get back to caring for my body and putting my mind back in a positive headspace.
I needed to get back to taking my mental health days and moments. Which meant that I needed to get back to working my body out.
The amazing thing about working out is that it doesn’t require a gym. No. Not at all. There are plenty of ways that you can give your body a good workout without getting a gym membership, and going to the hassle of committing time to go to the gym so that the membership doesn’t go to waste. You can workout at home (which is my favorite) and even outside no matter where you are.
And working out isn’t limited to 30 minutes or more of weight lifting, crunches, or the ever-pleasant squats. No people, you’ve got to think outside the box.
You can get a good sweat walking your kids to the park and running around with them, or just going on a walk because it’s beautiful outside. Cleaning your house will work up a good sweat and help relieve a lot of stress and anxiety. If you love Netflix like I do, don’t just be a couch potato (even though it’s literally the easiest job in the world). Do some exercises while binge watching that TV show you’re currently obsessed with. Your bed, chairs, the couch, tables, and even the floor are the perfect workout tools to get your heart rate up.
The general message to take away here is that time spent alone provides time for self-reflection. When you’re having, a hard time finding the time to be able to do that, find other ways to check in with yourself. Whether it’s working out, writing, or venting to a close friend, don’t harbor in your emotions.
We need that release in order to be in our best frame of minds. I am thankful my ability to take mental health days and moments.
Self-reflection is a good thing. It’s healthy, and everyone should take advantage of it whenever you can.
By the way I am by no means a health expert or workout guru. This is just something that I have been able to find meaning in and love enough to utilize as a coping skill to get me through most of my days.
But I do encourage you all to find something that can do the same for you.
-Xo
Kimora