Truth One: Self-care is an integral part of mental health treatment. Being seen by a mental health professional can be hugely beneficial, but you’ll only be seeing them for a small fraction of your lives, an infinitesimal amount of time. Unless you learn to take care of yourself and exhibit good mental hygiene, no amount of therapy will put you on an even keel. Positive self-talk, healthy coping skills, a support network, and setting good boundaries are all things you need to do for YOU in order to achieve and maintain good mental health.
Truth Two: Positive self-talk, healthy coping skills, a support network, and setting good boundaries are all things you need to do for YOU in order to write effectively. It’s easy to see the momentous tasks you face as a writer and think that blunt force hard work is the only way to achieve your writing goals. Don’t get me wrong–it ALSO takes tons and tons of hard work. You also need to keep yourself and your mind healthy in order to achieve those goals. How will you maintain any kind of writing output if you don’t believe in yourself? By support network, I don’t just mean a critique group; it can be other writers, your family, anybody that supports you. As for boundaries? Well, we all know how social media and the internet can distract a writer 🙂
TEN THINGS (about the past week):
1–I’m reading Gideon the Ninth and hoping the denouement stays firmly in Gideon’s POV.
2–Yellowstone is the show du jour. Too expensive to watch old seasons on demand, but…BUT…now that I have to get Peacock Premium to watch soccer, I can catch up for free!
3–Back to my WIP and fully caught up in re-working the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the manuscript. Onwards and upwards!
4–For my WIP, I am researching the ancient Persian grappling technique studied by none other than the Iron Sheikh, believe it or not. It will be crucially important for a few astral fight scenes.
5–While it can be difficult dealing with health problems, hearing about friends dealing with them can suck just as much.
6–Playing a 4-hour game to a tie can be loads of fun.
7–It’s almost here. Fall. I feel chilly sometimes now. Guys, I FEEL CHILLY SOMETIMES NOW!!! How awesome is that?
8–I’d better not hear any Christmas songs before Halloween. Bad enough we have to endure the heresy of Christmas songs before Thanksgiving.
9–The thought of actually getting to clean up at a hoarder’s house that you’ve been harping on to get cleaned up? Daunting!
10–New beginnings are exciting, but having to put new beginnings on hold through no fault of your own is frustrating.
And, without explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EErSKhC0CZs
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