Hi gang,
How is everyone doing? Grab yourself a cup of tea and get yourself comfy, I thought I’d write a good, old fashioned, personal blog post after a month away from it all.
First of all, I’m so excited to see that my blog has continued to bring in a decent baseline of traffic even without actively promoting it on social media. That wasn’t always the case and I’m absolutely beaming with pride that you guys continue to love my little blog – thank you. And, of course, thank you for being here right now.
It’s been a long time since I wrote a post about my own mental health, I usually keep these kinds of personal thoughts to Twitter (where I’m @pigletish). It’s nice to be able to sit and talk to you guys (well, type, but you get the jist) though in longer form and so I thought I’d write a little bit of a post about some of the things that have been getting me through 2021 so far.
I’m looking at this post as my kind of little way to be able to document some of my progress, as well as a way I can maybe remind you of some of the things that have got you through this difficult year.
Things that have got me through 2021 so far
2021 has been pretty rough, hasn’t it? We seem to be in this kind of weird limbo with the pandemic. We’re not as locked in as we once were, but the pandemic isn’t over either and there’s still a lot of risks we have to try to anticipate and calculate in order to keep each other safe.
Many of us are now starting to try to catch up on some of the things we missed in 2020. Gradually easing back into some kind of normality. Finally seeing our family and friends, after what feels like forever apart.
I’ve also made strides in my recovery from agoraphobia. Those of you who follow me on social media will already know about this. Those of you who aren’t familiar with my journey should read my interview about agoraphobia with Wales Online. A lot of the reasons I’ve felt better in 2021 than I did in 2020 have been to do with the progress I’ve made in my own recovery.
The lifting of lockdowns and regulations has brought back access to some of the simple pleasures I enjoyed prior to March 2020. Little things that made life that tiny bit more enjoyable, many of them things I had never imagined living without until they were gone.
Here’s a list of a few things that have been getting me through these last few months:
- Being able to step outside
- Attending my auntie’s wedding and seeing her marry a kind and caring human
- The excitement of planning our own wedding
- Painting a giant forest mural on our bedroom wall
- Visiting my friend Gill, who’s just the sweetest soul
- Having Gill come and visit me here in Wales and being able to walk along the seafront with her
- Seeing my girl Billie Geena
- Cuddling up to my dog, Doug
- Playing Phasmophobia with Andrew, Robert and L
- Slowly but surely creating art again
- Working out a manageable to-do list
- Making a sustainable organisation system for myself (this has made a HUGE difference to me!)
- Spending time with family, especially my mother in law, who is always an absolute joy to be around
- Lattes
- Having a TV in my bedroom (something I always used to be dead against, but since we’ve moved I’ve loved pretending to be in a hotel room every night)
- The smell of autumn in the air (very specific to this time of year but so so powerful)
- Cuddling up to the love of my life each night and seeing his face in the morning
- The investigation into my abuser progressing slowly and knowing that it will soon be over and I can go back to counselling
- Being diagnosed with anaemia and being prescribed iron pills which have improved my energy levels
- Receiving some of my Mum’s art (which I can’t look at yet, but just knowing it’s there brings me comfort
- Learning Finnish – I’ve been learning Finnish on Duolingo. I had some basics down already but it’s been nice to feel closer to my roots.
- Propranolol (lol)
What’s been getting you through this year so far?
This was so lovely to read! Your forest mural is beautiful, and your goal of going outside every day has been inspiring me to take more walks. Wishing you all the best Anneli xxx
A great read and blog. Thank you for sharing and I loved that your learning another language to feel connected to your history.
Hey Anneli! Congratulations on how well your blog’s doing – that’s great to hear and I’m not surprised at all, as you have wonderful content ☺️ I love the idea of listing things that have helped this year. It’s a bit like a gratitude list, but also reminders of things we can do for self-care.
You’re right that this year has been a strange limbo, so far – not the return to normal that we’d all been hoping for. Some of the things that have been keeping me going are:
– Watching Drag Race remotely with a friend (we use teleparty to chat)
– Blogging
– Learning some computer programming
– Long phone calls with my brother
– Visiting my mum (she has the sweetest cat, so I get to hang out with her, too)
Btw I’d love to see your forest mural, if you’ve shared a picture anywhere! Kate xx
Great to read this Anneli. A lovely mini gratitude list but your own spin on it which fits your other content.
2021 definitely has been a year I will see as a transitional year from my academics into the eight-month fixed term role as I continue to build confidence for something a bit more.
Keep up doing what is best for you and I’ll be happy to support you wherever I can. Always happy to read things you post on this blog or on your social media. Beside you every step of the way.
One of the best things I did to help me get through the year was getting rid of my TV, such a liberating thing. I didn’t think I could do it but I’m so glad I did, I don’t miss it one bit.