My mental self-care during Coronavirus time - 3 tips

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Now is the time when we should take special care in our mental self-care. When everything changes unexpectedly, the part of us that is called ‘a survival instinct’ goes crazy. It screams: ‘Danger! Danger! Run away!’. Not only because the virus made us scared of our lives. Also because our life routines fell apart and we lost the thing that is called ‘a comfort zone’. Without it, we lose the feeling of safety and it is challenging to find a place in the new reality. It is natural that we struggle with negative thoughts and heavy emotions. That’s why today I share with you my mental self-care tips for the moments of crisis. I hope you will find them helpful! 

INNER CHILD PRACTICE TO COMMUNICATE WITH EMOTIONS 

A natural reaction of the mind when we feel bad is to escape from our emotions. That’s the time when many of us instinctively look for something to do or think about. That’s the time when it is difficult to stop scrolling Facebook or watching a video after a video on Youtube. But the more we deny our emotions, the more intense they become. They demand our attention like a crying child who needs to be comforted. It can lead to depression that is like paralysis for the overwhelmed mind. And it can cause a breakdown, the state when you explode and you can’t control your reactions. 

As a person who lived in a violent family, I experienced both, depression and a breakdown. I was suppressing my emotions for years, lying to myself and others that everything was ok. Then a breakdown happened and I started learning how to communicate with my emotions to notice and honor them. And I discovered that it is worth to invite heavy emotions to my life. When I do it, they change and I can feel good again. When I escape from them, they have the power to destroy me. 

My tip to communicate with my emotions is to regularly imagine my inner child, a little girl who I was years ago. If I feel well, when I close my eyes I see little Kasia smiling and playing. When I escape from my emotions, she is far away from me, sad, and still. When I am scared, she is hiding somewhere.

It is not easy to communicate with difficult emotions. The human mind has a lot of defense mechanisms to avoid difficult feelings. That’s why our imagination can be such a powerful tool to check how we are. That’s the symbolic language that is out of control of the rational mind. If you don’t believe me, believe Carl Jung, the father of psychotherapy! Anyway, I recommend to you the inner child practice in order to be in touch with emotions, especially when you struggle with difficulties. Awareness is the first step to a change!

More at https://www.kasiamay.com/blog/my-mental-self-care-during-coronavirus-time/

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