Confess:

The first light of the mornings are often hellish for many of us. Once the sounds of the day and the resonance of hope quiets the pain, we can meet the day with renewed enthusiasm [hopefully but unfortunately for some, the days and the nights are too painful]. Toolkit. Toolkit. Recall my post on anxiety:

Define:

I wrote that anxiety can be that 200 pound lead weight on your chest when you wake up in the morning.

Well, depression to me feels more like being pulled downward by a lead weight tied with rope wound with raw nerves.

That terrible mood of depression of whether it’s any good or not is what is known as The Artist’s Reward.

– Ernest Hemingway

Visualize:

From Laura Mack:

“So many of us struggle with this and we need to talk about it, write about it, draw about it, dance it out more.

…and somehow, shared, the weight lessens.

I find myself wondering lately – am I cocooning, replenishing my energy reserves, or am I isolating, avoiding?

For me, it’s the 4 a.m. thing – I envy those who have managed to connect w/ a spiritual practice of meditating at that time. For me, if I’m awake then, I’m in deep heart pounding anxiety. Reaching for the journal helps.”