TAKE IT EASY, IDIOT - Brittlestar’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue #10
Ah Sunday morning. Thanks for joining the 1,000+ friends we’ve gathered. It feels like we’ve reached a destination but we’re really just getting ready to start work again.
TAKE IT EASY, IDIOT
When the pandemic was just getting started and lockdowns were becoming a thing, many people would say things like “Use this extra time. Shakespeare wrote King Lear during the plague, you know”.
And those people were right. Shakespeare DID probably write King Lear during the summer of 1606 which was smack dab in the middle of a terrible plague outbreak.
I’m also keenly aware that Shakespeare died at the age of 52 and I strongly feel that if he allowed himself a few nights of binge watching The Office or Superstore he might have lived long enough to crank out KING LEAR 2: NOTHING WILL COME OF NOTHING SPEAK AGAIN… AGAIN.
I made mention on Twitter of the fact that I suffer from a Pandemic Wobble every few weeks. I get stressed out and a bit depressed just wondering when all this pandemic madness will end. It forces me to take a few hours (sometimes a couple of days) to just… relax. Focus on my breathing. Focus on the good around me. Reconnect and reground myself.
The response was massive. Over a thousand people responded to the Tweet expressing that they felt the same every now and then. Many people messaged me to offer a shoulder to lean on and an ear to talk to. Some became quite concerned about me and my wellbeing. They were generally concerned and some were shocked.
I REALLY appreciate that… but it feels wrong.
We ALL have bouts with mental health issues. Some more serious than others. We’re all just emotional meatbags controlled by natural chemicals. Sometimes that makes your right shoulder sore when you do that thing and sometimes that makes you want to stay under a duvet for a week.
It’s not a sign of weakness and it doesn’t make you special.
So when I (let’s face it, essentially a digital age jester who just hasn’t posted a pic in tights yet) say I’m a bit down and people think I’m on the verge of disintegrating… that’s not right.
I get down. I get depressed. I get sad. I get anxious. We all do.
That’s okay. We need to just be here for each other. Help when we can and just let each other know we’re at the ready.
We all need to take care of ourselves. Treat our bodies well. From brain to butt and all other stops.
There’s a saying that I will now mangle…
“Take a day off for your body’s sake, or your body will choose one for you”
It’s totally true. Ignoring my body and mental health has landed me in the hospital once in Vancouver when there for a speaking gig. I thought I was dying. They checked my heart numerous times, blood work, the whole bit. I was fine but my blood pressure was off the charts.
‘Situational Hypertension’ said the Doctor. He then went on to explain that my blood pressure and related were all fine… normally… but I had let stress and anxiety build to a point where my body pulled the emergency brake.
My treatment?
Destress. Relax. Exercise a bit. Take it easy, idiot.
I swore to never end up in that state again.
I almost did this past week… but luckily I now know the warning signs and I spent two days just getting back to calm.
I’m glad I had that luxury this week. I don’t always.
So, now I’m scheduling my downtime and claiming it as Me Time.
I think this pandemic and its lockdowns have made us feel like we should be productive constantly. The days blur. Hell, the months blur.
But, here’s the deal… you don’t have to do anything extra. Just surviving a pandemic is pretty badass.
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Hi! I like long walks on the beach and not feeling like I'm dying