april work

monthly theme: [tension]

The work of healing is up to you--it’s about self-awareness and making small shifts, deciding to live and react and experience life from a new perspective. Of course the work is a lot more arduous than that single sentence can hold; and if you’re new to the concept of healing outside of the pastel infographics on IG about mental health, may I suggest taking a stroll through the “self-help” aisle of your favorite bookstore (mine’s Half Price Books). 

[ If you’re more of a podcast person, there’s a good one from Brené Brown and the Nagoski sisters at the end of this post. ]

I always like to reiterate that I’m not a professional, but it doesn’t take a professional to care. My suggestions and prompts below are based on my own experience, research, and musings concerning the emotional and cultural changes you might’ve felt this time last year.

I’m right here with you, walking down this grimy memory lane. The questions below are merely a guideline and I hope you pave your own path through tension, towards healing, and into a clearing of your own answers and plan of action.

So let’s dive into some of that self-awareness
and see where it might take us:

What is the work of tension? 

• For me it is release. 

• Release - to free from confinement, bondage, obligation, pain, etc.; let go (dictionary.com) 

• Does release take work? Is letting go an active or passive act? 

• What does this look like in your daily life? In your relationships?

How do we release?

1. Locate tension 

2. Find tension’s source 

3. Cut off the source 

4. Work out the knots 

5. Give it time. 

   1. Time to see if the approach is working 

   2. Time to see if you need to adjust 

   3. Time to try something new

What do we release? 

• Expectations 

• Memories 

• Guilt 

• Shame 

• Anger

• [Write in your own]

We can also ease tension: 

1. Soothe 

2. Remove 

3. Snooze 

Why do we release? 

• Feel more at peace 

• Make room for new experiences and habits 

• [Write your own reason] 

What happens when we release? 

Are you working with, against, or through tension? 

There’s not a wrong answer. You just need to know your approach.

And now, here’s that podcast I promised ya:

Listen to this episode from Unlocking Us with Brené Brown on Spotify. Burnout. We're all experiencing it and we're all desperate for a way through it. In this episode, I talk to Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski about what causes burnout, what it does to our bodies, and how we can move through the emotional exhaustion.

healing activities:

click on any image below to access an entire Pinterest board of healing resources: