6h • General discussion
Good morning!
For my brain, and maybe yours, it can easily be distracted by both external and INTERNAL distractions.
Today will be day 38 of my car routine. Why haven't I done it already? Because I HAD to get food at a certain time.
However, when I got back with the groceries, my body actually remembered the routine. Meaning, I realized oh I haven't eaten or drank any water yet! And the pull of the routine/streak is what allowed me to say "set a timer for 20 minutes, LEAVE the groceries on the floor, and the FIRST thing you're going to do is take your vitamins, drink some water, and eat some protein".
And it wasn't easy. I'm soo used to being neglected that it takes a lot of WORK for me to remember that I even exist!
But I did it! And I'm sharing this in the hopes it can help someone else.🥰
One mantra I'm trying hard to use (when possible) is BODY FIRST.
What do I mean? I mean that for my own survival I had to live entirely in my head.
But the body WILL break down if we don't pay attention to it.
So, my new method I'm installing is that BEFORE I make any decisions, "body first".
"Have I drank water?" This is a HUGE one. Our brains are made of a lot of water. This really does make a massive difference for me so I would highly suggest looking at this one seriously. What I currently do to work WITH my brain is I have a huge jug and I first fill that up. I add supergreens packet to it and call it my swamp water 🤣. And then I pour from that jug throughout the day. The jug itself is a constant visual reminder that my daily water is there. And I can either drink directly from it or pour it into a cup (it is kind of heavy). So I also have a goal to have at least one cup of water an hour. The jug also lets me know "if I drink this entire jug today, that guarantees I have drank at least 80 oz water.
"Have I eaten protein lately?" This is also a HUGE one for me that I never knew.
"Are my shoulders up?" Why do I want to ask myself that? Because for me, if shoulders are up, that means I'm "on alert". And we weren't meant to be "on alert" 24/7 😅 so that is a bodily cue for me that I'm carrying stress.
If there is ONE thing that is truly a game changer for my adhd and cptsd, it js to use timers!!
My daughter is now even using them, on her own. She's seen me do it (and laughed at me..which i had to conquer looking "weird"), but she's seen and experienced the positive effects so much that now she's choosing to use them.
I also have what I call "bumpers" to our day. I have an alexa type thing and while I'm not well versed in using it, what I DO use it for is daily reminders. NOT alarms, but reminders.
Why? Because an "alarm" goes off continuously. So if I happen to be out of the house during that time, now I've got an alexa alarm going off 😅 one more thing to have to try to remember to turn off. No thank you, says my poor brain!! Haha
But a REMINDER only repeats it twice. It makes a chime noise and then says this is a reminder. And says what the reminder is.
First of all, when you have the same reminders set EVERY day, your brain and nervous system experience some sort of routine, predictability, consistency. This is REALLY important for feeling safe.
Secondly, just like anything, the more something is repeated over time, the more we instinctively embody it.
Also, we can use our tendency to hyperfocus to our benefit! When we set timers, it allows our brain to RELAX during that time, and actually focus on what we are doing. Truly it is amazing!
I hope this helps! I need to go put away the groceries haha but wanted to share some of what I'm doing that is building a foundation!
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Good morning!
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