The past couple of months have been absurdly stressful.
Beginning around the holidays, which are already a stressful time of year, the past four months or so have been crazy for me. I began a new job and was let go from my old one, my boyfriend and I moved in together, and due to unforeseen circumstances we ended up in a position where we had to move twice within a three month span. All this on top of normal every day highs and lows. Crazy, right?
I think the two moves have definitely been the worst of it. Moving is stressful on its own, but given the circumstances of these two moves, I feel as if the stress has been ten times worse. In the midst of all of this, I have had to think a lot about work and career goals. Every time the issue comes up, all I can think is that nothing else matters – I just want to live in a place I can call home. The stress of moving dominated every aspect of my life. My boyfriend and I have been living out of boxes for quite some time and are now only just finishing unpacking in our new place. It was a bit of a rocky start here, but we (and the cats) have finally settled in to an apartment that meets our needs. After three months of stress, it is wonderful to finally be able to relax in a place that we can actually call home.
Normally I would turn to one of my hobbies to relieve stress: reading, writing, knitting… Except I’ve noticed that in high stress situations this can become more difficult. Years ago, when my depression and anxiety were at their worst, I found I could no longer engage in the activities and hobbies I enjoyed. I became dangerously close to repeating that situation this time around. I have not been able to finish the book I have been reading, and I have found it harder to get any knitting or writing done (and it doesn’t help that my knitting has all been packed away in boxes for the past couple of weeks). Things have been difficult. But that’s ok. Simply recognizing the presence and cause of stress is all you can do sometimes.
Luckily, things are getting better. I have resumed reading, my knitting has been unpacked and I’ve already knit so much my hands are sore, and I’m using this post as a way to write away any remaining stress that I need to get off my chest. And throughout all of this I have had the support of my amazing boyfriend, friends and family, and my wonderful new co-workers.
If anyone else is feeling stressed right now, for whatever reason, I may not have a perfect solution for how to deal with stress but I do have something to share that will hopefully make you smile. I’ve got some pictures of the cats sitting in funny places during the two moves. Enjoy!
