Here is an interesting article on ‘time-in’s as opposed to ‘time-out’s, by Mona Delahook: Do Time Out's Work?
Some strategies for dealing with isolation
Some strategies For dealing with isolation
-Go for a walk. Appreciating nature is a wonderful way to stay grounded.
-Give eye contact to people you interact with. Looking at the people around you can help with feeling more connected to them.
-Call a friend and talk on the phone. Hearing someone else’s voice and relating to them can help you step outside of your own struggle.
-Join an outdoor or online fitness class. Exercise is an easy way to boost your mood by releasing endorphins.
-Talk to yourself! Pro athletes do this all the time, it’s a proven way to boost your mood and confidence.
Coping With Grief Over the Holiday's
https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/1393174595828/?jwsource=cl
The Holiday’s can bring up many difficult memories and can accentuate grieving. It is a time of heavy societal expectation and, a time to ‘rejoice’ with your family and friends. Well, things aren’t always perfect; family members fight, pass away and friends can disappoint, our health can be fickle. Grief has a way of finding us, no matter the season, it just becomes that much more poignant and painful when the expectation of a joyous season is on us, grief doesn’t know this though. Grief is an experience of the past, a pain that follows us into the future, indefinitely. I believe that one of the best ways to lessen, albeit not dissolve, grief is to be with others. That is to say, share yourself with others. This requires an acknowledgement of the initial desire to seclude oneself, and then an intention to exercise control. When we isolate ourselves, like grief wants us to, we go deeper into the state. This can be very therapeutic, to be embraced by grief is an act of acknowledging our own suffering which I believe is crucial to coming out the other side. However, we need to come up for air. This holiday season, take an intentional small break from your grief; visit a person who matters, offer a gesture of kindness, step outside of yourself, even for a moment and come up for air.