The last thing but I assess, I accept, and accommodate each morning is my emotional health. All mental illness side, I am an emotionally driven person. My emotions can run very very high, change very quickly, absorb the energy of any and everything happening in my orbit and often provide the earliest indication of a cycle, an episode, a breakdown or an incident. My emotions are never slow they're seldom gentle and they are often exhausting. I was told regularly as a child and young adults that I was high-strung, difficult, overly dramatic and a crybaby. For a very long time I believed that those things were true and I learned to cage my emotions. I avoided ignored and blocked out anything that made me feel angry, sad, frightened, loud, expressive, tearful, even uncomfortable. I somehow thought if I could be more normal, more accepted, more wanted,and more loved if I could just learn not to express my emotions in a way the anyone, anywhere might not find acceptable. It is only now, as a direct result of trying to raise children who feel that their feelings are heard, identified and respected, am I finally, for the first time in my life, learning to feel, identify and respect my own emotions. Even if it seems that I feel a certain way for no reason at all, that emotion still deserves to be given a name and the space to be felt and acknowledged. I tried to spend a few moments identifying anything that I might be feeling, saying it out loud and just allowing myself to visualize holding it in my hand paying respect and either letting it go or holding it close depending on the way that emotion makes me feel inside, not the way that it might make other people feel for me to feel that way. It is often during this time that I can identify sadness or loneliness or missing someone special. If I have even 5 extra minutes, I tried to take that time to reach out someone. If I can start my day with a significant emotional connection to another person, I am often more able to connect with people throughout my day. This is most often the time that I make phone calls or send text messages or emails or some pictures of our family two people that are far away, or that I don't see as often as I'd like. I often find that no matter how my body felt, what my thoughts were, and how I was feeling when I got out of bed, making those connections and sharing love with others often fills in some of the dark holes that my mental illness creates. By spending 30 minutes to an hour each morning caring for my own deepest most important needs, I am able to begin my day feeling strong, well, healthy and whole. When I go to bed at night sometimes I realize that the day was a win for me. All too often, I don't. But if I give myself a little space to be every morning I'm able to start the day truly believing that I can win #Emotions #emotionalwelbeing #space #courage #selfcare