Taking 15 minutes at a time

This was Thursday and it's still with me when the cloud of anxiety and low mood casts it shadow. It's here as a tight ball in the pit of my stomach - nobody to know but me. It's too boring and repetitive to tell anyone else. 

I could easily spiral into self pity and let my emotions overwhelm me... Not today I put my therapist hat on and take charge of myself and put copying strategies into action. 

Priority is to live in the moment - take the next 15 minutes at a time and make them purposeful. 

1. The first is to get out of bed

2. Have a shower, soap yourself in some lovely smelling body wash - currently it's coconut - to remind me of my Caribbean holiday. Clean hair and also spend a few minutes feeling grateful that I have hot running water pouring over my head. Now there are days that I don't feel the love for these thoughts or even to do it. But I make myself because I know the first step in feeling better about yourself is self care. So lastly not forgetting to clean my teeth. A simple task like this one can be a struggle on a bad day. 

3. Get dressed - clean knickers if nothing else 

4. Hot drink, pen and paper - now you are thinking why not breakfast? Well my insides often take a while to straighten themselves out after being horizontal. For several hours so it's better let them all shake down so to speak. 

5. Now it's make a list - plan, pace and challenge myself - might even be the small things - dirty clothes in the laundry basket and make our bed - that is if the cats not on it. Black or blue pen with a bright colour to cross through when I've completed. 

6. So to action I tell myself - the first small  task and then another - I set a timer of my phone - 15 mins then a sit down and reward myself a couple of pages of a book, 15 mins then back to the list and the cycle starts again