That’s me with my motorcycle in January. Last year was terrible, so this year started with resolutions. Beginning with this first tour with my Ducati Monster 821. Close to my home in the black forest was still snow on the side of the road. But it felt great, I just love to be the only motorcycle on the streets. Yesterday I drove when it had -6°C (21,2F).
Some say cold exposure is good for body and psyche, so why not?
Retrospection:
Since a few years I have had daily planers. I had different types over the years, but the last one made me reflect on the year at the end. To put it mildly, it didn’t felt good. I couldn’t work much due to sleep issues and depression. The good days and weeks where I somehow kept it together, I wasn’t alone. But they were followed by an even more negative, unproductive phase.
So it’s time to do things differently and take better care of myself and this website. We both will be getting through visible and invisible changes this year. So come back anytime and find something new, cause this website is under construction.
Step 1: Start documenting
I got a new daily diary from my best friends, but this time it’s designed for three years. It’s called “Deeptalk” from “Lebenskompass”. You have a short daily question. And will get the same question the exact day the next year and the year after that. It’s designed so you can compare your answers.
Additionally it has a daily mood overview for three years. For each day you color in a circle for different moods. I mark on there when I use my additional medication Chlorprothexin (15-30mg). Plus when I consume something with Melatonin (1mg). Also when I didn’t get enough sleep or was in hypomania.
My psychiatrist said that it’s good that I keep track of such things.
On the first page the question is:
Where do you see yourself in three years?
It took me a long time to come up with things, but then decided on this:
- lose weight to be healthier and fitter
- get better at my job to qualify for a raise
- no need to be admitted to the psych ward as an emergency
Step 2: Start implementing
I like tracking things and for that I got an App recommendation. You can add anything you want to track, yes/no activities or max./min. measures. This free open source App is called Loop Habit Tracker.
For example I measure how many minutes I do physical exercise/yoga and mindfulness/meditation. The goal for both is at least 20 minutes each day. Then I got an own scale for how much sugar I eat. Also I don’t like doing dishes and I can stay in bed all day. If I manged to get out of bed not long after the alarm went off and did the dishes. I can tick that off.
Daily structure
I try to see some sun in the morning. It’s to get my metabolism working a soon as possible by letting sunlight in my eyes for 5-15 minutes. That should help me get sleepy later. It’s a recommendation out of neuroscience. Here’s a photo of this daily beauty:
To get my daily physical exercise I started going swimming, cause I love it. There are two indoor pools in my area and I went like six times already. First front crawl the full 25 meters was a challenge. But my breathing technique really improved after I got some tips from a friend. Important for me was to look back while breathing and do it every other stroke. Not every third like some others do. Now I don’t have problems doing it for several minutes.
The most important part is getting enough sleep each night. So now I have a routine drinking two herbal teas in the evening. It contains Valerian, Melissa, Passionflower and Peppermint to help calm me down. And then I decide if I need Melatonin or more medication. Another thing is, I try reading a book before going to bed instead of looking at a screen.
Step 3: Start enabling
At the same time, I was trying to get into an ambulant psychotherapy treatment program in the surrounding areas. I hoped getting into a program my health insurance would cover. But like you would suspect, there weren’t any spots. So I explored my self-pay and online options, cause I saw the necessity to talk to someone. My best friend recommended: instahelp.me.
The site started in 2015 originating in Austria, but can help you anywhere, cause it’s via video call. You get a list of licensed psychotherapists with a minimum of three years experience. I decided for mine because of her motto “to help people help them self”. The first appointment was one week later and regularly since then. The normal 50 minutes session costs 89 Euros, but there are also other options, like couples therapy.
After the first sessions, it became clear that I currently don’t won’t a relationship. Instead I want to focus more on myself, cause I haven’t done that successfully like ever. So unfortunately Him & I aren’t together anymore.
Next steps:
Continuing with my habits and try not to deflect to long. Keep in touch with family and friends. And do the things that will make me happy in the long run like getting in shape again.
Do you have resolutions or habits you want to establish this year?
The pages of this site will be further updated. And then there will be a design change. A brand new theme will come. I got my eyes set on one, but need to make the time to get it ready.
Stay tuned. Stay curious. Stay healthy.
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