Autumn has come early in my world. I see bright colours everywhere, the air I breathe feels refreshing, and I'm finding what I need in abundance. It has been ten years since my mental health took a sudden and devastating blow but I finally feel like I'm there. I'm in A Good Place. That's not to say that things are perfect: every day has its challenges and frustrations, and my coping mechanisms are still more destructive than constructive. But life right now does feel good.

Of course I'm still thinking... How did I get here? How do I stay here? How can I store the harvest from this time of plenty so when winter comes I'm prepared and more resilient?

Part of my journey here has been to find something that inspires me. My whole life I have dabbled in different hobbies, trying to find one which really gets me going. And I finally have. It's a wonderful distraction from day-to-day mundanity. But right now it's new and exciting. At some point the initial gloss and enthusiasm will give way to routine and frustration from the perfectionist in me. How to keep the positivity then?

There's a virtuous cycle here too. It's easier to get up in the morning when I'm excited about the day ahead. It's easier to look after myself when I know I need to have energy. It's easier to socialise when I feel like I have something interesting to talk about, even when it doesn't actually come up in conversion.

But... how to bottle this feeling so I can drink from it when my stores are running low?

Knowing that the season of plenty will come round again is helpful. Being kind of myself on a daily basis and trying to keep a good balance so I'm not depleted. Continuing with the techniques and coping mechanisms that I've learned along my journey so far. But is there more?

I'd love to hear others ideas for how to keep bathing in the sunny periods and fighting off the rains.

Wishing you all inspiration and love.

Shizzle

A Moodscope member.

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