Over the last 7 months I’ve worked with kids and young adults as an occupational therapist at an outdoor day program. A lot of my clients have anxiety, amongst other diagnoses, and many of them focus heavily on what’s coming next….. like MOST of our society does. In our sessions together, one of the things we work on is practicing being in the present. SO we take some time to worry about the future, think about the past and then we try to distract ourselves with activities or mindfulness to be in the moment.
I also have anxiety, and I have used this pandemic time to relax and allow myself to do things that keep me in the present…. essentially, working with these kids have reminded me that I need to create some of my own self care strategies. One of the things I thought that might help would be focusing on the beauty of each day (something my clients and I reflect on together). So this year, I started doing the One Second Everyday videos. Aside from trying to focus on one positive thing everyday, it has also fostered a sense of pride as I have stuck with something for a full month! I am someone who gets overly excited/hyperfocused on something and then forgets about it a few days in, so the fact that I’ve stuck with this through longer than a month is very exciting to me!
Anyways, this post was just me proudly sharing the positive moments I have had and the pride I feel in my attempt to do good things for my mental health this year. Aside from the video (shared below), I also have been trying to read more, to listen to more music, paint, relearn the piano and to take time to just BE.
Be Your Own Sunshine 