We all have bad days… so how do we get through them?
My “bad days” usually consist of laying in bed all day long. Often, on a “bad” day, I don’t have the strength to walk from one room to the other on my own. I need assistance getting dressed. Brushing my teeth makes me want to cry. It gets hard.
So the question remains, how do we get through them? How do I keep my mental, physical, and emotional health in tact?
I’ve spent many days tying to figure out what does and doesn’t work for me.
Lots of trial and error.
I’ve decided to share what I have figured out for myself with everyone, maybe it’ll help you too. These are in no particular order, just different products, thoughts, habits, and anything else that has helped me. :)
Get comfy First and foremost, get comfy. Whether that means changing your clothes or putting your hair up or putting on your favorite slippers or adjusting the pillows just right. Whatever comfort looks like to you - do that first.
Adjust my morning routine The thing I struggle with almost the most on bad days is the fact that I feel like I’m failing at everything. It hurts too much to wash my face, so I don’t - I fail. It hurts to bush my teeth, so I don’t - I fail. I don’t have the energy for yoga, so I don’t do it - I fail. So the first thing that I do is give myself grace, and make the proper adjustments. I can’t do my full skin care routine, so I just wipe my face with toner and put on lotion. When it’s too hard to brush my teeth, I just use some mouthwash. If I can’t do yoga, I do a few stretches while I’m laying in bed, or I just skip it - thats ok too!
Call in sick to work I’m not sure what it is about using sick days, but I’ve always been scared to do it. I always tell myself that I need to save them, I’ll use them a different day, I should wait until I needthem, ect. Every company has a different sick day policy, so not everyone will be able to take advantage of this one, but do it if you can. I have multiple free sick days that will just expire by the end of the year, which means if I don’t use them I lose them. So, on days that I’m struggling, I give myself the grace to take the day to myself to rest and recoup.
Get some fresh air! There are so many benefits of getting some fresh air, especially for mental health. It can boost your mood, lower your heart rate, increase energy levels and even improve digestion. So when I’m struggling, I do what I can to get outside. Sometimes that means going for a few mile walk, other times it’s sitting on the porch or even just opening a window or two. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel like a different person before and after I spend some time outside. It is absolutely one of the most beneficial things I can do for myself.
Heat pad and blankets I have a weird thing with textures, some textures make my skin crawl, and others are the most soothing thing in the world. And with my pain, heat is one of the most relieving things. The type of nerve pain I have isn’t helped by many things, so when I find something that helps, I stick to it. So on my bad days, I pick out the blankets that are the right texture for me for the day, turn on my heat pad, and cozy up on the couch for the day.
Electric hand warmers These are so so so handy (pun intended). They’re a set of two portable electric hand warmers. They last up to 12 hours on one charge and they have three different heat settings. Here’s a link to the ones I have, but there are tons of different styles, shapes, and sizes on Amazon alone to choose from. Again, it’s the heat from these that helps my pain, and the size and portability of them make it that much easier to get relief. I often just keep these in my purse or in my car, I rarely go far without them.
Long hot bath I don’t know if it’s just how I was raised or if there are actual health benefits, but a long hot bath can heal just about anything. That was my mom’s answer to almost anything, and I swear it never fails to help. When I’m sick, in pain, tired, or just looking for relaxation, a bath is always the answer. Lighting a candle, adding in some epsom salts, pouring a glass of wine (depending on the night), turning on a movie, and just enjoying the time does more for my body and mind than just about anything else.
These are just a few of the things that I do to make a bad day not so much of a bad day. On days where my pain has seemingly taken over my ability to function, these few smaller things help to remind me that there are things I can do for myself when I don’t feel like I can do anything.
There are so many little things that, once all added together, feel like huge accomplishments. For me, one of those is just getting through the tough days. Sometimes there isn’t a single thing that will
