Step 169: Laying in bed is not a solution to feeling overwhelmed
This morning was a Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Morning. I’m not going to go into the boring and depressing whys, but they include things like medical bills, the DMV and a rebelliously incontinent cat.
The problem with feeling depressed and out of control is that it is so, so easy to wrap those feelings around you like the world’s least comforting blanket and then stay in bed until you’re covered in emotional and physical bedsores. This is usually exactly what my brain suggests in these situation, and did this morning. But instead, I tried to think of small things I could do, and then did them.
There will never be a time in my life where everything is under control, when there are no swirling scary difficulties making me feel small and powerless. But there will also never be a time when there isn’t something I can do to improve things, or at least my outlook on them. I can get out of bed, put on a cute outfit, tidy my house, write a thank-you letter to my wonderful uncle, go work out, plug my amazing little sister’s new magazine, call the DMV and try to sort things out, and so on.
And even though they don’t necessarily solve the problems that I’m worried about, they solve a larger problem by reminding me that I have control over some things, and can make decisions to make my life a more orderly and happy place.
