There isn’t just one thing that helps when it comes to a healing journey. For me, I’ve had to build up a bank of coping skills, techniques, and self-care strategies. One of those self-care strategies is adding fun to my life.
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I know, you may be thinking, what does fun have to do with healing? There are many benefits of having fun, ideally, on a daily basis. One of which is reduced stress. Having fun and taking time to play reduces the levels of cortisol in our bodies. Cortisol is the hormone that activates our “flight or fight” response, so high levels of cortisol are not good for us on a long-term basis.
It’s meant to be activated to keep us safe, and then return to baseline after the stress response disappears. If we are chronically stressed, higher cortisol levels can lead to weight gain or not be able to fight off a simple infection easily.
So let’s have some fun!
I’ve been adding some little things into my daily life to help lower my stress and have some fun. One of my favorite things to do on a daily basis is to throw on a fun, upbeat playlist on Spotify and dance. And this does a few things for me.
In addition to lowering my stress by having fun, dancing gets me moving. Being a wheelchair user, and having complete paralysis, I’m not moving most of my body. Plus, my job is doing a lot at a computer. Little moments of movement keep my body functioning to its best ability and helps to clear my mind.
But wait, there’s more
I have come to believe that I have ADHD. I am not diagnosed and am considering the process to confirm or deny my belief, but here is what I do know. If you are familiar with coping strategies for ADHD, you have probably heard of ‘stimming.’ I define stimming as any movement that helps move energy through your body in order to release what doesn’t serve you. In other words, dancing is one stimming technique that helps me regulate my emotions while also helping my muscles.
While the little fun moments help me on a daily basis, I also have been adding in bigger fun moments and fun trips. Before the pandemic, I would travel a few times a year, but it was always for work or for a conference related to United Spinal Association. Even though I love traveling no matter what the reason, and I do have fun while on those trips, the overall trip is work and not play. So, Chris and I have been trying to do some exploring on weekends, or whenever we get the chance.
Because nature is oh-so-healing!
This past weekend, we made a spontaneous decision to make a trip to a couple of different marshlands in the Sandusky/Ottowa area. We were able to spend some time together, in nature, and take in the beauty of our world. It was a beautiful day on many levels.
This spontaneous trip was so much fun for me. I don’t usually take spur-of-the-moment trips but then I thought to myself: Do I want to be the person that does this every once in a while? And that answer was Yes! When I read Atomic Habits by James Clear, one thing that stuck out to me when forming new habits is to think about the identity of the person that did the habit.
Asking myself, “Is this the type of person I want to be” allows me to think about what I really want and what will bring me joy. And it’s caused me to shift my focus from “what will others think” to “what is good and honoring my soul?” Try it out and let me know on Instagram how it’s changed your life.
If you would like more information on anything I spoke about here, leave me some feedback either here – below this post, e-mail me (thewheellifeblog@gmail.com), or on any of my social media platforms! (FB/IG/TW/TT @wheellifeblog and Snapchat @megsh8). I would love to hear from you and what I can do to help. If there is ANYTHING that you want to hear about – please let me know! I can’t do any of this without YOU, so I would love to connect with you!
Let’s keep those happy thoughts, productivity, and self-care going! Until next time, live honestly, passionately, and with kindness! Take care!
