Last night after a trying day (which day isn’t) I was sitting on my bed typing and trying to formulate my thoughts, to pen a blog post. This was proving very difficult as Lyle was literally having an emotional meltdown. Every little thing seemed to trigger a full blown cry fest, including loads of snot and uncontrollable coughing. Nothing he said was intelligible and nothing seemed to soothe him. As a tired mom, unless your child is hurt or the apocalypse is upon us this type of hollering is just “pull out your hair” frustrating.
I looked at him after what was probably the sixth outburst for the evening and just sighed, experiencing a mix of resignation, empathy and honestly, a bit of envy. I could see that he was just totally emotionally maxed out, whatever got him to that point of feeling so overwhelmed had gotten the better of him and he was just letting it pour out. I could relate, there have been so many days when I wish I could just let it all out like that, cry it out and holler (with snot and all).
HAVE AN OUTLET
Dear Self,
As much as I was able to empathise with Lyle, it is not really an option for me to walk around having a meltdown every time I feel overwhelmed and overdone with the stresses of life. So what is the alternative? How do we strike that balance between on one end of the spectrum, bottling everything in like a ticking time bomb and on the other, letting it all hang out true meltdown style. There must be a healthier way for us to be able to let go of the burdens of our days, an outlet for us to find release and renew to push on to the next day.
We all have something, this one thing (for some of us its more than just one) that brings us joy, it brings us serenity. Whether it is meditation or art, or it can be yoga or exercise like going for a run. Listening to music , writing a blog, or chatting with a friend. For some of us its spending time with others and feeding off of the energy that they give, for some its alone time where we can be reflective and recharge. We all have something, yet many of us find ourselves too busy to use our outlets, sometimes we guilt ourselves for carving out that “me” time because of the never ending list of things we could be otherwise spending our time completing or the many other obligations that we have to fulfil. We put off the opportunities to discard our woes and find some peace and pleasure in the things that renew us. In the end though, when we deprive ourselves of that outlet we all run the risk of having a Lyle moment (or moments) at maybe the most inopportune times and becoming so overwhelmed and stressed that it consumes us.
Today I will make the time to find my outlet and release my troubles, I will allow myself to let it out, exhale and breathe in a fresh start….enjoy a moment doing something that brings me peace and reset for tomorrow!
XOXO
Elle
Providence 
that is totally how I felt yesterday and Today. Yesterday was worse to the point tears were ready to run down while standing in-front my student. And today….I just decided to have a quiet day…in that i spoke quietly and said very little to my student unless absolutely necessary.
I agree that we sometimes forget what makes us recharge and we sometimes feel guilty when we actually decide to do he thing that helps us to recharge.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wfw thanks so much for sharing your experience. It can definitely be hard some days and I hope that you got some time for yourself and a chance to recharge.
XOXO Elle!
LikeLike
Hi Elle,
I find your blogs quite interesting, I almost feel I am cheating by getting into the mind of women. So why not add some balance by sharing a man’s perspective. If I were to consider your perspective of “recharging” which is quite important I would throw in the analogy of having a “percentage meter”, because sometimes (or if we are being honest) your recharge doesn’t really get you to 100%. It’s those days where you start off at 75% or let’s say the environment causes you to deplete faster than others which can cause that drained sense I think. So, keeping track of your levels I think is just as important because it would determine the timing of your recharge. Have a great one “gals”.
LikeLiked by 1 person