Shuttered In
Are you feeling shut in with the mid-winter blahs?
Or perhaps beyond the harsh weather, are you avoiding or attempting to deny the emotional impact of something that feels frozen inside? Or know someone who seems locked in this state?
You are certainly not alone. Please click here for my post on Psychology Today’s web site, where I am thrilled to begin regular blogging (and will aim for twice a month) in their Personal Perspectives section. My posts will be gathered under “Unspeakable Gifts.”
No one really believes these things are ever going to happen to them—whether addiction, chronic illness, or sudden loss. When it does, and the lights flicker off, perhaps that’s exactly the time to button up and face the elements.
This season has a way of compounding isolation for many who are enduring life’s trials. Hopefully you can step outside of the literal or figurative shell that’s around you, or reach out to someone who needs to hear from you.
Yo Yurup,Even adventurers get the blues! From sonmeoe with a few years under his belt (no comment necessary!) … life is a series of exciting uphills downhills twisty mountain roads wavy benches and dipping your toes in the waters. We get energized by the adrenalin that it takes to be happy and successful, to feel good … to have fun in the most broad, generic sense You do all of that so well, especially as a team. So when we come to a plateau we miss the effect of the energizing the thing is that we need the plateaus as much as we need the challenges and the adventures. They give us time to celebrate, to reflect, to evaluate, to catch our breath, to rest, to revisit who we are, where we’ve been, how we feel about ourselves, and get some sense of direction or directions (some might connect this to homesickness, if that’s the case we all have it! that’s okay!). When you are in a plateau, switch into cruise control and relax (you’ve already heard that you’re not alone in the Expat blues), play some great music that you haven’t heard for a long time, sip some wine, scrapbook a bit, do lunch with a friend … you’ll know when you’re ready to move on. As partners, respect and value each others plateaus as much as you do other achievements.I thought I’d throw this into the mix, the Expat situation has very unique factors that I haven’t experienced and that colour what I’ve commented on but I think that they may relate to basic human nature in similar ways. It’s a bit lecture-ish and I apologize for that … a hazard of my (former) profession. I think taking your blues to the blog was brilliant … it’s not only good to blog it out but it’s doing the pebble-in-the-pond thing for others. Good-on-ya!Lots of love … Palms Pops