Hi, I’m Angela, I have a husband with bipolar 2 disorder, my kids have ADHD, and I myself have struggled with depression—YOU’RE NOT ALONE! This week’s mental health tips are about adult ADHD and establishing rituals.
Rituals in this case are acts that are repeated in a certain way. The way that you decide to put those rituals together will be up to what works for you. It may take a little trial and error, but don’t give up. I’ll give you some ideas to get your creativity going. Remember that creativity is your strong suit.
I would start with one thing that is impacting your life negatively. What’s sucking the fun and feeding the frustration. For instance—are you losing your keys all the time? Establish a ritual.
Ritual for Losing Keys:
Put a hook or bowl by the door you come into each day. Use a lanyard so they are easier to find. As a backup, so you aren’t late to work or school, get a smart key finder and an extra set of keys (keep the extra set in your sock drawer).
Maybe you have a paper explosion in your house, and you’re overwhelmed by starting the project. Start with one thing that will work for you.
Ritual for Dealing with Paper:
Mail is the enemy. When you get your mail throw out the junk mail in the recycle bin before you even get in the house. Switch to ebills and statements for as many bills as possible. Maybe it’s work or school paper that is driving you crazy. When a paper comes in you can use separate bins labeled—This Week, This Month, File. Address the bins at the end of the week, month and pick an appropriate time to file.
Maybe clutter is causing you more anxiety than anything else. My daughter Emily went over to a friend’s house one day and came home saying that she figured out why we were able to keep our house tidy. Everything has a home and we don’t keep things we don’t use.
Ritual for Dealing with Clutter:
Most of the time clutter has to do with too many things and not enough space. This is why we’ve always gotten rid of things when we bring in something new. My husband doesn’t particularly like this ritual since he wants to hold on to that green t-shirt from 2011, but I will keep trying. Baby steps.
Don’t start out by saying I’m going to de-clutter my entire house. Start with one room. Pick the one area that bothers you the most and ask yourself a few questions: Is there anything I can throw away? Is there anything that doesn’t belong? What frustrates you about this room? You can google a million de-cluttering books and videos, but this is really about you creating your own ritual. On average, it’s said to take 66 days for a new behavior to become a habit. Sometimes it can take a bit longer, but it’s worth the investment to let go of some of the stress and anxiety in your life.
Remember to acknowledge that you are not alone in your struggle. Psalm 145:13-14 says…
The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:13b-14
Question:
What are your best tips in preparing for crisis? I’d love to hear from you today, comment below.
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