I hope everyone had a good weekend! Mine came and went as they usually do for most of us I am sure.
This morning, I did an origami project with the kiddos, we made those little fortune teller pieces that I am sure most of us did in school! I found great relaxation doing this with them as I enjoy origami and so many other arts and crafts.
I believe the biggest reason for this is the control I have with them. As someone who cannot control the mental illnesses I deal with, I find so much joy in controlling what I can. I wanted to discuss this with you more today.
Lacking Control
When you have a mental health issue, or anyone really, a lack of control can make you feel even worse. With anxiety you cannot control that it is there, you cannot control when it may take hold either. You can control what you do with it.
With bipolar, you cannot control that awful mania or depressive episode. Nope, but taking steps to limit them or seeking help is in your court.
With depression you cannot control how the emptiness makes you feel or not feel for that matter. Nope, but taking steps to further diminish that can help.
With ADHD you cannot control the impulsive feelings you have, the jitteriness you feel. No. Again, taking steps to diminish this can help.
Control is something that seems to escape us a lot. While there are many ways in which you can help with your disorders, you may not feel that you actually have the power. Perhaps you don’t.
What you do have is the power to control certain surroundings and actions.
Taking Control
Have you ever noticed that when your surroundings are a disaster you too feel disastrous?
I don’t always take this into account. But here is what I noticed. When I finally get to organize my desk, I feel better. Accomplished. I can focus more. When the house looks gross and I finally get a chance to focus more on it, the way I feel afterwards is like I can finally take a breath.
Control is something that many people crave. Maybe you don’t see how those little acts help them grasp just that.
It isn’t about the fact that the desk or house is dirty. It isn’t about your dirty fish tank, your dirty car. Nope!
This is about how you can literally take that control into your hands. It might be silly and mundane, but instead of focusing on that task you just did, make yourself feel the way it feels to accomplish getting it done. Improve your physical surroundings and help your mind feel less chaotic.
It doesn’t just have to be about cleaning either. It can be about any small or larger thing you can take hold of. A physical and tangible thing to help represent your mental well-being. Take care of it.
Looking Forward
When I started this origami project with the kids this morning, one of my sons says “I hate origami! I am not participating!” He really had no interest in trying to do it with us.
I made him anyways, and not even halfway through he started enjoying it, and when he finished it and figured out how the thing worked the way his face lit up was amazing. He decided afterwards that he loved origami. He suffers from ADHD and ODD, making him participate in this just turned his whole day around.
I don’t know if you like folding paper or doing other crafts, but the physical act of controlling how that paper works even when it starts out as frustrating, is downright awesome when you finish.
Something else I do often now is baking. I thought I would suck at this; I mean I totally burned the crap out of easy boxed brownies before. But the patience of doing it and forcing myself to ensure I do it has been a great process in helping me with my control.
The finished products and knowing that I could do it made me incredibly happy, and it has truly helped with my mental status. Also, it tastes freaking awesome! I plan on getting a cottage food license actually to be able to sell these kinds of products.
You may not be interested in cooking or crafts, but you are interested in something! Actively seeking how you take control of your physical surroundings each day helps with the mind in my experiences.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are an active outdoorsperson, a baker, a crafter, a surfer, whatever it is, choose to see what you are actually controlling with it. Even if it is small, perhaps this will help you control other aspects of your life.
We cannot control that we have a mental disorder. But just maybe you can control an aspect of it that you hadn’t realized before. That little thing might help in really big ways, you just have to take a chance.
Best regards,
~TKNott~
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