With every negative there is always a positive, you just need to think beyond your mind's misery in the moment. Everything, no matter how painful will pass. Staying connected during self-isolation when you have no choice, like now in the current pandemic, will help with ensuring good mental health and keeping you sane.
This post is about consciously choosing self-isolation in order to get to know what the relationship with yourself is really like. It takes practice to enjoy being alone, so never expect miracles to begin with.
Have you ever thought about what your relationship with yourself is really like? Think about the conversations you have with yourself when you are alone and start being conscious of how these conversations make you feel. If the voice in your head is telling you that you are useless, stupid or afraid, it is important to understand how you communicate with yourself subconsciously dictates how you will feel and react. So it's important to stop and listen to what you are saying to yourself in your head.
Isolation allows you to question who that voice in your head belongs to. Is it someone from your past still affecting your future? Chances are, it is and you have become so used to it, you never question if it is telling you the truth or not.
Subconscious memories are always there and are triggered by many different things. If you were constantly told by your father as a child or by an abusive partner that you are pathetic or useless, eventually you begin to believe it but it is not your truth. When you have actually stopped and listened to your internal chatter, ask yourself this question. Would you speak to someone else the way you speak to yourself?
Self-care is all about looking after you and your own mental health. The relationship you have with yourself is crucial to your own well-being, and vital for creating happy healthy relationships with others. Being kind to yourself and learning to catch the negative chatter before it begins, is one of the greatest benefits of spending time alone in splendid isolation. Always remember your strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin. And the only person to compete with and be better than is the one you were yesterday.
Relying on other people to inject you with confidence, love or any other of the necessary feelings you need to survive is never going to help you develop into a mature, self-reliant happy individual, this you must do yourself. Once you learn to sit alone in a room in silence with an empty mind and kindness in your heart, you will begin to create your own voice in your head and this voice will begin empowering you, instead of devouring you.
1. Meditating for 10 minutes a day is where you begin your journey to getting to know yourself better, the real you. The person you lost years ago buried underneath all the pain and misery from circumstances and experiences gone by. Mindfulness meditation every day allows you to relax and clear out the cobwebs in your mind making way for fresh new ways to think and feel. Being courageous is all about being curious, understanding there is nothing stopping you from moving forward except you.
2. A daily walk is essential and must not be missed.
Being alone is truly an amazing thing if you learn to listen to only the positive side of the coin. The Buddha called this "The Second Arrow" Start to feel productive by making a list of all those things you would never really get round to and in between meditation and a walk in the fresh air.
3. Be productive.
Sort out your wardrobe, your kitchen cupboards or do some gardening or experimental cooking. Doing small new tasks like this will make you feel productive giving you a sense of accomplishment, making you feel calmer and more positive.
Listen to your body as well as your mind. Too often we focus too much time interacting with others, we forget to cultivate a good relationship with ourselves. Try to drink only when you're thirsty, eat only when you're hungry. Once you get to a place where you feel comfortable, confident and kind towards yourself, you might find you have much more positive relationships and experiences with other people.