Finding routines…

January 14, 2022 by thrutheashesblog, posted in #bloggingbranding, #Changes, #Depression, #Education, #Growth, ;, Acceptance, Accountability, adaptability, Anxiety, Balancing Mental Illness, Belly of the beast, borderline personality disorder, branding, Colour spectrum, contemplation, Contentment, Creativity, DBT Skills, Depression, Discipline, END THE STIGMA, Fuck Mental Illness, Goal Setting, Goals, grief, growth, Habits, History, Hope, journalism, keystone habits, Learn from history!, Legacy, loss, Making time for what's important, Mental health, Mental Health awareness, Mental Health recovery, Mental Health Tools, Mental Illness Awareness, Motivation, my story isn't over yet., Perspective, Prose, ptsd, Pushing myself, reporter, Self-care, Self-confidence, Self-Discipline, sheep dogs, sparks, suicide survivor, TheOnlyEasyDayWasyesterday, Uncategorized, University, Writing Therapy

I think something that has been helping my mental health so much lately has been a matter of routine.

Getting up and going to bed at around the same time every day has really helped with that.

Usually, my first alarm goes off at 0640-hrs, with me normally out of bed a little out of seven.

On home-office days, I’m usually in my office with coffee in hand by 0720, doing some school reading and/or blogging until 0900. On Stettler-office days, I try to be out the door, again with coffee in hand, by 0745.

Regardless where I am working, home or office, I try to break for lunch sometime in between 1130 and 1230 for anywhere between 30 to 60 minutes.

On nights I don’t have meetings, I try to wrap up my office work by 1730, allowing me to have supper with Lynn, then unwind for a couple of hours in the evening, though truthfully I’m lucky if it works out that way three or four nights a week.

Because sleep is so important in keeping me grounded and emotionally healthy, I try to head to bed in between 2130 and 2230, and to be asleep by 2300 to 2330.

Weekends do allow so variation on the routine, but for the most part I do try to keep things relatively consistent.

I’m sure the routine will get tweaked a little as I settle into my new position with the company, but since I’ve been doing the job for a few weeks already I am not anticipating any huge changes.

Something I have found during my mental health recovery journey is that rest and routine are extremely important for important for me. One of my biggest triggers for my mental health is when my sleep gets messed up, and the last couple of times I’ve started struggling I’ve been able to get back on track by simply resetting my sleep pattern.

I don’t have all the answers for mental health, but I do know the lessons I have learned in my last decade of dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. Not everything will will work for everyone, but through time and perseverance people who struggle can learn their best way through.

Kevin