Rediscovering My Healing Outlets

May 15th 2022

I will try again and again and again and again until I find what sticks…

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my own mental health and the outlets by which I encourage my own healing. I am beginning to realize that the part of my life that I felt most connected to my true self was when I was devoting an adequate amount of time to doing things that made my soul feel nourished.

I was balancing a vibrant social life, healthy work life, ample active time, my quest for knowledge about my various passions, and maintaining a consistent posting schedule on my blog, all while making time for rest and self-care. Since then, I have come to the realization that I went from living a perfect levels of selfishness and selflessness to being almost exclusively selfless.

One would think that selflessness is a positive trait, however, without proper moderation, even the most positive of traits can be turned into something toxic. For me, I have been so focused on creating a positive environment for others that I often forget myself, deny myself adequate time for personal development, and catch myself feeling overshadowed by others because of the lack of energy invested in myself.

So I am making it my mission for the rest of 2022 to rediscover the outlets that encourage my healing most. And I figured this would be an easier process if I broke down the areas in which I wanna see growth and fulfillment. So here is my list:

1. Physical activity- I used to do yoga for 1-3 hours a day, 5 days a week at my prime. Now I want to give myself a bit of grace and get back into physical activity at least 1 hour twice a week. I would love to get back into yoga, try pilates, or get into some sort of aerial movement class.
2. Dietary improvement- I used to love eating healthy sheerly because I enjoyed the food and it felt easy. I want eating cleaner to feel easier and more fulfilling for me.
3. Continued education- I love to learn, particularly about mental health, yoga, personal growth and, more recently, dog training (because I just got my own fur baby and I want to train her myself). I loved reading for education and pleasure and want to reignite my passion for it. I started with “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck” which was fantastic and I want to start doing self-help book reviews and journals as I get back into it.
4. Improved aesthetics- I love clothes but have recently grown to hate getting dressed due to lack of confidence. That being said, I want to challenge myself to dress well again. Then I want to get inspired enough to clean out my wardrobe and fully utilize my favorite pieces and incorporate new pieces over time.
5. Self-care time- Lastly, I want to dedicate more time to myself. I want to take walks with myself, write journal entries, take selfies because I want to admire myself, and just give myself time and patience to grow.

This isn’t my proclamation that I will be who I was back then, but it is my proclation that I am going to start being more cognizant of what needs to be done in order for me to heal.

So I hope to see you back here soon~

Jess~

PS here is my dog. Her name is Olive and you can follow her on Instagram @_oliveisnotafood🤍