A teacher of ours, Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, posted something really fascinating the other day. The past few months have been really challenging for many of us and we are all experiencing this constant feeling of low grade anxiety. For this reason it has become more difficult for us to meet deadlines, communicate with our employers and find motivation.
Even amid this intensely emotional period of time, it has become apparent to me that I experience this with or without these additional challenges. I have always experienced days in the month or parts of the day that I feel low, unhappy, stressed and more. Rachel’s advice is simple and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of trying to avoid these feelings of lowness and beat ourselves up over them, pay attention to your body and prepare yourselves for these moments. If you make peace with the times that you expect to not feel like you have full capacity and strength, you will not judge yourself too intensely over them.
In her post on Instagram @rachel.cargle, she writes “allow yourself to ebb and flow.”
"Pay attention to your cycles. What time of the day, month or year do you usually find yourself on a ‘down swing’? Try to keep note of when your energy is naturally low, your creativity is hard to tap into or when sadness or lethargy sweep over you.
Also do the same for when your energy is high, your mood is way up and you feel seemingly limitless bouts of creativity and contentment.
I’ve been keeping track of what months, times of the day, or parts of the year I feel certain ways so I can prepare for it.
I now know for example that in late fall I get sluggish on all fronts. So instead of kicking myself for ‘not doing enough’ I recognize it as a natural ebb and flow of my energy and I lean into it with rest, nourishing foods, solitude and giving myself permission to cry as necessary because I know that my upswing is coming and it will all be balanced out."
Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachel.cargle, for more tips on personal wellness and understanding the black female experience.