These last couple months started off as anything but calm. I tried on a bikini for first time since middle school despite not being at my ideal weight. I drove a big truck I never thought I would ever drive. I was honestly terrified the entire time and yet so proud of myself. That alone felt like an enormous feat with my anxiety around driving. And the bikini? The more I’m learning to accept my body, the more I’m loving it.
But one of the bravest things so far this summer…
…was to accept a challenge to try something brand new and maintain it for an entire week. As someone with autism, this is much harder to do because my routine is so critical to my level of calm. To add something new for an entire week is a big deal for me. It’s different to do something for one hour or a day. A week can shift everything.
I love routine as you likely know by now. I love things being the same and so when I accepted the challenge to try using the free positive affirmations app called Haven for a week, I felt tense at first. I kept telling myself that it was one for a week for the first couple of days. But then something shifted.
I chose the Stress mastery.
At first, I didn’t feel truly connected to the affirmation meditations. It felt like it wasn’t mine. It felt like another task on the list until a couple of the affirmations about really being in the moment in nature every day came up and things started clicking for me emotionally.
I wish I could tell you that I felt a magical change or that I manifested a million dollars over-night. Nothing like that happened. But something beautiful did.
I do think I healed a little emotionally.
I started looking forward to the meditation sessions and I started to feel more connected with the sessions and with myself.
Tonight’s message seemed so fitting as I finished the seventh day after sitting around a campfire laughing for hours after my phone battery had long died. I didn’t realize that my phone had shut off and even when I finally did notice I didn’t panic. I just put it away and went back to being in the moment and I realized the meditation had made an impact. I don’t feel so anxiously attached to my phone anymore.
This week of daily affirmations showed me how powerful I truly am.
I was able to trade in the blue light for some firelight and just relax and just be. In what ways can you let go? Have you ever used an app for anxiety? Which one and how did it help you?
If you’d like to try the FREE Haven app, here’s a link:
Read about Gretchen
If you liked this post, you may also like:
- More “Being Brave” essays by Gretchen Leary
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- Why Autistics are Your Compass to Best Resources
- Hear Our Spectrum of Voices Comic
The post Have You Tried Positive Affirmations for Self-Care? appeared first on Geek Club Books.
