Girl Get Up!

Breathe! Breathe!

Now get up and stop feeling sorry for yourself!

I had these conversations with myself many times before. Our minds send messages to our bodies to retreat when it feels fearful. When something in our present reminds us of something from our past.  We simply want to run away from it and not deal with that feeling again. But what if I tell you that the best way not to keep “feeling” it recurrently is to face it head-on.

The way we react to our current situations is our mind protecting us as it always had been. We created a way to stay safe and we trained our minds to believe that how it is reacting is the best way to protect us. Even long after we have passed through those situations our mind continues to believe that we want it to react in that way.

So, when you feel fearful and you retreat as some people do by staying in bed and not answering messages its because your mind believes that’s the only way to protect you.

I was speaking with a lady who rarely wanted to get out of bed and out of her house. When I asked her what she felt at that moment she replied, “I am scared!” It’s important for you to know this person is a grown woman with life’s responsibilities and yet fear had locked her in her house.

Once we got to the root of her issue, her fear originated from a few incidents in her past. She was three-years-old when she had to hide in her room and couldn’t come out until the perceived danger had passed. She was nineteen-years-old when she trusted, and that trust was violated. And so, this woman with life’s responsibilities was still working from the scenes of her past when she trained her mind what it had to do to keep her safe.

There are many of us out there like this. We remind ourselves of the old scenes and our minds choose to protect us based on that old movie reel. Here are some of the things you can do to help yourself to get up.

• Seek out someone you can confide in. This can be a challenge if you do not trust others. Allow your inner voice to be your guide. This was how this young lady reached out to me.
• Talk about what you are feeling and work on identifying the root cause. This will require that you tap into some scenes from your past that may be unpleasant. Remember it just an old movie.
• Immerse yourself into things that make you feel good about yourself. Let your creative side out. Write, draw, paint, garden, sing, dance whatever makes you feel joy.
• Exercise does not have to be done in a gym. Take walks outside so you can get fresh air. Set aside this time daily. You can start with as little as fifteen minutes and increase it each day.
• If you have children allow yourself to submerge into their worlds for a moment. The world is a different view from their perspective. I often jump on the trampoline with my ten-year-old daughter and play hands games as I did as a child. Within that moment the cares of the world dissipate and I can only see her smiles.
• Practice some self-care by getting your nails, hair, and face done. Looking good on the outside can help boost that inner beauty.
• Don’t shy away from getting professional help! Any help you give yourself is another step toward your healing

Get up! Breathe! The world is waiting for you!