007: Are You Taking Care Of Yourself? Like REALLY??
Let's have a quick community check in. I share where I'm honestly at so we can all "check our vitals" in preparation for the heavy stuff later.
HAPPY WOMEN’S MONTH AND
I’m tired y’all.
I think all us are generally pretty tired but MY GOD I’m tired. Just emotionally pooped. I recognized that I have been falling into a bad habit of hermiting, which is easy to do in COVID times, but it’s a hard habit to break. As a loose-cannon extrovert, the isolation of this past year has been really difficult and I might not be doing as well as I thought I was doing, so I’m going to talk about some steps that I’m implementing to change that and I hope it can help some of you, too.
I’m aiming to keep this week’s article pretty straightforward. If you have also been letting yourself freefall down the rabbithole mentally then let’s talk about it and make a list of what we can do to help ourselves during this not-so-fun time. Most of the things I’m listing aren’t necessarily “revolutionary” (some of these things are simple actions that I’ve genuinely forgotten to do in the midst of my personal funk) but we are still living in extraordinary times. So let’s remember: during extraordinary times, simply surviving is an extraordinary feat.
Let’s get er done!
Decluttering my space
We all have that chair or corner or closet that we throw all of the clothes that we don’t want to deal with on or into. It’s fine. You don’t have to lie to me. I have one, too. It’s piled pretty high right now with clothes that have been clean for (you don’t need to know all my business) weeks and I know I need to put my clothes away. It’ll give me not only a sense of accomplishment but reduce the disorder in my personal space (since there’s already so much disorder everywhere else). To hold myself accountable to these things, I’ll actually post before and after pictures below.
Avoiding “tragedy porn” and being intentional about what I watch
So much of the news and entertainment nowadays is tragedy and, especially when it comes to Black and Indigenous realities, much of it is framed as tragedy porn.
“Shayna, what is tragedy porn?”
Well, thank you for this open door, not-Shayna. You know how the news outlets constantly replay the videos and images of Black people getting murdered by law enforcement and for some reason, you might feel like you just can’t turn away? Or when you watch those commercials that beg you to donate to organizations that help children in Africa with a lone fly that is apparently glued to their face? Or how there is just movie after movie after tv show after tv show about police brutality in Black and brown communities that say nothing other than, “LOOK AT ALL THESE DEAD BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE! LOOK AT THEM!!!”? Yea, that. That exploitation of trauma is tragedy porn.
Now, that is not to say that all media about police brutality is tragedy porn. A prime example is the difference between Fruitvale Station and Judas and the Black Messiah. I already did a deep dive analysis into Judas and the Black Messiah (which you can read here) but I will say that both of these movies showcase pivotal points in Black US history in different ways. I found Fruitvale Station to be very traumatizing. It’s a movie (also spearheaded by Ryan Coogler) that documents the last 24 hours of Oscar Grant III’s life. For me, it did nothing but painfully detail the last moments of a Black man’s life before his murder. For me, there was no art in this (and by “art” I mean perspective or viewpoint); it was just a reopening of an already fresh wound in high definition. Judas and the Black Messiah was different. It gave a blisteringly honest look at historically accurate events and paralleled it with one of the most famous biblical pairings. It gave me metaphors, symbolism, connecting themes, musical landscape, brilliant acting (obviously), teachings and perspective. Basically, I strongly recommend.
All in all, if you want to watch something that teaches you about Black and Native history during this time, be wary of tragedy porn. Personally, I’ve been filling up my time rewatching Miyazaki’s entire Studio Ghibli collection and trashy reality tv. My current favorite? Married at First Sight.
Going outside
I occasionally forget that there is still a world outside of my apartment. I also forget that there is literally different air outside my apartment than inside. A change of scenery does wonders for my psyche but the cold, the increasing number of people who aren’t wearing masks, and having to change into and out of my outside clothes does make me want to stay all bundled up indoors. But, as some wise internet person once said, “Humans are just plants with more complicated emotions.” So, imma go outdoors. Though maybe not today because it’s 30 degrees Fahrenheit and, once again, I am sensitive.
Drinking more water
Once again. We are just moody plants. We need that H2O-YEA so I will be stocking up. (I haven’t been around people lately so don’t mind me SPEAKING OF WHICH)
Therapy
Like millions of other people in the Dystopian States of America, therapy and the long and costly search to find a good therapist is generally out of my price point. I know that sliding scale therapy is a very helpful resource for those of us in financial need. I have a location near me that provides that so I should look into their offerings more but bruh...real talk... the therapist search can be sooo draining.
Practicing affirmations
I’m a talker. Clearly. If I say things out loud I process them better than if I write them down. So when a friend of mine (shout out to Nicolette, she is a Black business owner to check out her video and website if you haven’t already) brought up the importance of affirmations in her own life I felt the need for that in mine. She starts off her day by saying kind things to herself and speaking what she deserves into the universe. I currently have one affirmation, inspired by that conversation with Nicolette: “I deserve good things.” Simple, sweet and to the point. I might add onto that later but one step at a time.
Exercise or movement
As of October 2020, most of my income has been from writing. So I’ve become pretty physically stagnant for most of the day, everyday. Which is the opposite of my nature. I have the energy of a newborn ferret rolling in cocaine, my mind and body are LOSING IT IN QUARANTINE .
My apologies for screaming. I’m back, I promise.
So I’m slowly trying to get back into the exercising groove (mostly because once I get my vaccine I’m going to need people to remember how fantastic I am in real life) but it’s hard. For me to stay motivated enough to actually stick with it, I have decided that a single 20 minute, high intensity workout every day is doable.
Am I working out to lose weight? Absolutely not. Diet culture is a scam.
Am I working out to feel like a princess-warrior dragon-slayer goddess when I enter a room? Yes.
I’m sure there’s more to this list but, let me remind you, I AM TIRED. So if I am missing something that has helped you keep your sanity and mental health during these crazy times leading up to Vaccination Nation then please share them in the comments!
Don’t forget to share and subscribe, if you haven’t already!
NEXT WEEK:
To kick off Women’s Month, I have invited fitness gurus and personal trainers, Lesley and Debbie, to share all about what is a healthy fitness mindset, their thoughts on CrossFit culture and who would they eliminate between Denzel Washington and Will Smith.
OH! They are also offering TWO DISCOUNTS for double the fun (and yes, they do train virtually).
STAY TUNED AND STAY WELL