It is finally September and I am in a place of phew.
This week has been pretty intense —Mercury Retrograde rages on, hurricane Idalia was in town, we’ve got a new moon in Pisces, and I was laid off from my full-time job (more on that in item #4 below).
It’s been said that neurodiverse folks can have a bit more difficulty with change. I don’t know how it feels to be a neurotypical person so I can neither confirm nor deny — though, I don’t think you need a diagnosis to have a hard time with uncertainty.
I can, however, share that for me, change often comes with some really uncomfortable symptoms — including:
debilitating anxiety, panic
insomnia
lack of appetite
depression
lack of emotional regulation (a whole lot of Kim K level ugly crying)
The sense of losing control over my environment can lead to a series of big emotions and hyper-fixations. It also produces a shocking increase in my electric bill, because I like to take daily scalding hot bubble baths in times of mental crisis.
Over the past couple months, a lot of you have reached out to share that you too have been experiencing some rocky times. Many of us are in a period of transition.
1. Cutting any unnecessary expenses
Similarly to how I forego ad-free streaming when money feels tight, cutting down on unnecessary emotional and mental expenses is important when your overall capacity feels smaller.
Earlier in the summer, I pressed pause on a lot of things. I cancelled my Mindful Inbox Hour workshops, stopped taking consultations, stopped writing this newsletter and Mindful Little Emails, unsubscribed from a lot of newsletters, and barely touched social media. I stopped working on a course I was really excited about.
It may be time to consolidate and take inventory of what activities are really needed right now. You can always pick things back up if/when you’re ready. What are you forcing that doesn’t need to be forced?
2. Getting back to basics
It’s easy to want to try to fix or control everything that feels wrong or uncontrollable. Unfortunately, when you’re already in a state of chaos, taking on more than you can chew can do more harm than good.
Also, being a sleepless, hangry ghoul is not sustainable (or helpful) when navigating rough waters.
I personally decided to focus on eating. Building up habits of nourishment (with the support of an incredible nutritionist) is slowly but surely touching many other problem areas in my life — sleep, movement, mental health and stress management, etc.
What’s one basic human need that could use your attention right now? Just focus on that and see where it gets you.
3. Intentional distractions
I am SO GOOD at fixating on a problem and allowing it to consume every spare second I have in the day. It hasn’t made me feel any better about the situation, nor has it produced any creative solutions. {Brief side note, this is my second time using “nor” in this post. Who do I think I am? Lol}
Taking time to unwind and distract is essential. For a while, I’d gotten really into watching Korean or Chinese television shows on Youtube because they required my full attention to understand what’s going on / read the subtitles. I also love a two-hour scroll on TikTok, or binge-watching an entire season of a procedural crime drama from 2015 in one day.
What’s something mindless you enjoy doing that can help you escape for a little bit? There’s no guilt in forgetting about your problems to enjoy yourself (responsibly, of course!)
If you need some ideas, I have a self-care Trello board for that!
4. Asking for support
I saved the hardest for last. Asking for support can be difficult, even when you need it the most. I know it is for me. I like to think I can take care of everything on my own and rarely want to bring other people into my mess of unregulated emotion.
I am fortunate to have many places to get the support I need. If you don’t have access to that right now, please reach out and hopefully I can provide some relevant resources. If you do, I encourage you to reach out to someone in whatever way you may need to this week.
I mentioned in my intro that I was laid off from my full-time job this week. As I figure out next steps, here is how you can support me right now:
Like, comment on, and share my newsletter. If anything I post has resonated with you, I would love for you to share it with your community/network. It’s free to do and helps spread the word about Type C Creative.
Become a paid subscriber. I’m going to have a lot more time on my hands to cook up some fab paid-only content. You also get access to monthly virtual co-working sessions for only $5/mo. P.S., Thinking of making those weekly while I have the time in my schedule!
Buy me a cup of tea. If my free services, events, or content have helped you and you feel so inclined, you can buy me a cup of herbal tea -- which I promise to drink while writing more chaos-induced content for you.
✨ P.S. If you are a Mindful Little Email subscriber, I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. Hooray! I’ve missed y’all.
Peace, love and workflows,
Andrea