Tiny soft moments that got me through January

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I mean… January was a LOT. I started the year rested after a few days off work, and then BAM — real life returned.

There’s been a lot happening globally and closer to home. Even without actively watching the news, it finds its way in — notifications, headlines, that familiar sinking feeling before you even know the details. Little assaults on the nervous system, whether we realise it or not.

And then there’s the personal stuff. While I don’t want to share all the details here about why it was triggered, I experienced the worst anxiety of my life this month.

But — I survived. And this is what helped.

My Tiny Soft Moments of January

Personal wellbeing

  • Nightly journaling — I write a letter to my friend who’s passed, and to my dog Barney, to keep them up to date (and to get the stressful things out of my head).

  • Lying in Savasana for 10 minutes after work.

  • Lots of walks — some alone, some with loved ones.

  • My weekly pool time.

Trying new things

  • Learning about being a tropical fish keeper. I might just be becoming obsessed.

  • Baking a sticky date pudding for the first time — including an explosion of dates, but still delicious.

  • Building a desk.

  • Creating a new Friday business routine to get all my admin done.

  • Launching my new monthly self-care package, Soft Landings.

Returning to comforts

  • Teaching boxing again after a few years’ break.

  • Working at the library, which I love — and reading a lot.

  • Rewatching Sex & The City, because returning to a familiar series is deeply comforting.

And that’s how I made it through — one soft moment at a time.


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When the inner lamp gets too bright: a personal story of midlife anxiety