Still thankful, I awake refreshed. Sun shining, air crisp, it’s December 1st; exactly twenty-four days until Christmas. It’s amazing how I’ve been managing to stay calm despite the calamity in my life. I’m extremely excited about what lies ahead for us as we shed the dead weight of our past and step into the greatness of 2022. The positive mind set has given such a clear path of the possibilities that lie ahead.
Starting out by being in the BLACK allows us to enter into a new season with a limited amount of stress. We have an understanding that we are only dealing with what we can control; one project, one day at a time. Being able to come to terms with and finally do something about mental illness is extremely difficult. Anyone who attempts to address their issues, in my opinion, has taken the most important step. Following through and continual consistency is imperative in order to continue to pull through. As with any physical illness, if the treatment plan is not followed, the results won’t be achieved. The key is to focus so much on you and what you want to achieve that there is no time to waste on negativity.
As the days until Christmas draw closer, the assignments come with more stringent deadlines. The goal is to be as stress free as possible to prevent any triggers. Getting things that seem like tasks and minor details out of the way, always makes things much easier and can prevent anxiety attacks from becoming overwhelmed with stress. Part of managing stress is planning and sticking to a schedule. The daily activities that have been planned over the last seven days seen minor, however, trying to do several of these tasks at once can cause stress if a mental health issue is already present.
By now, we should be more than prepared
Day 1. Make a contact
Day 2. Start decorating
Day 3. Buy Christmas cards
Day 4. Create a budget and Christmas list
Day 5. Make Christmas day plans
Day 6. Make Christmas card list
Day 7. Begin Christmas shopping
The days are going quickly. Before we know it, Christmas will be upon us with the stress of it all. Keeping the positive energy will help to brighten our mood and the mood of those around us. Now is the time to show our true selves.; to be honest about who we are. Engaging with those around us so that we may band together and support one another through some of the dark days ahead.
A strong mental health, like anything, takes much more than changing a routine or prayer, or medication. Like anything, it requires a combination of self-love-self-affirmation, determination, change of lifestyle. As with physical health, what we put into our body affects our mind. This not only refers to what we eat and drink, but who we spend time with. During the first few years of my marriage, things were much easier for me mentally. I was the bread winner; making more than double my husband’s salary. At this time, I worked retail management, and my salary covered all of our bills. My husband’s salary only covered food and two small bills. Because of my hectic work schedule, I asked if he wanted to stay home and return to school; I would work, and he refused. Eventually, he asked me to leave my job. This is where it changed. Once I began to work outside of retail for the first time, I was unhappy. The pay was horrible—half of what I was making. I was working a 9-5 schedule and he was never home. He felt I should be home more yet we still weren’t spending time and we were now struggling financially. The hypocrisy was unnerving. Like with anything, after a while, it gets to be too much.
Doing some of the routine but staying in the same negative mindset with the same negative people, will have us with the same negative results. They are the same people who watched our downfall rather than help lift us up. If we’re spending our time with people who don’t truly value us, we must evaluate our value for ourselves. The more we surround ourselves with people who motivate and speak life into us, the better we begin to feel about ourselves; the stronger our mental health becomes and therefore becomes a new way of life.
Dying to be Perfect 