Jan Check in
Added 2025-01-04 15:54:16 +0000 UTCI know this can be a super hard time of year for people, very easy to get the blues. Weather can be bad, gets dark so early, pressure of the loss of one year and start of the next, you can end up wondering if you did enough and you simultaneously have hopes and dreams and fears for the new year, can feel both eager & anxious to start. Umm and so many people seem to just be going on holiday even though we just had a holiday?! whaaaat?! I just want to do a jan blues check in to see how you are feeling?
Today I started writing in a diary, not an emotional one but a practical daily one, my mum told me apparently it's quite grounding for your brain, to just track things like when you got up, what you ate, what you did or are going to do that day. It's low pressure and not a lot of writing, a simple thing that quiets your brain for a moment and doesn't take a lot of time. I'm also taking magnesium at night but still having trouble sleeping, keep waking up at 4 and having stress dreams but I start back at the gym Monday which I know is so good for my overactive brain. I think I'm lacking that because I do better if I burn physical energy, there's less energy to try and self destruct if I work out!
What are your hopes, dreams and fears for the year? Longterm or daily. Let's support each other through the blue winter months. Winter can also be beautiful, there are birds and things we see in parks that we don't see any other time of year. Things about slowing down that are a natual part of our cycle. I'm kind of comforted by birds at the moment, never had a thing for them before but I'm thinking of doing the Big Garden Birdwatch 2025 to help gather nationwide data. I'm also listening to a BBC podcast about witches, I think connecting to the natural world & feminine spiritual world is always going to help me feel like I'm holding on to some sort of purpose. My tip for Jan if you feel overwhelmed start with little lists...text this person, check out this podcast, watch birds, finish this project, read a chapter, write this email...blah blah whatever yours are! Things that feel like they're for you! And low pressure. And I mean if you feel inspired....dare to dream big!! We have each other and you are not alone in this freaky universe. There are some things that feel so out of our control I feel we must uplift each other via community as much as we can! Sending hugs! YOU ARE POWERFUL! Go look at a bird. Love you!
Comments
Thank you angel 💜 love ya
Joseph Fruth
2025-01-17 19:08:04 +0000 UTCKate if you don't already have it, download Merlin! I've been obsessed with it for almost a year as you can hit record and it will tell you what birds you're hearing 🥲🥲 I've made lists (almost hitting 100 different birds in total!), gone for walks just to find new birds, visited places purely for the birds, got excited with every new bird and surprised myself with how many I started to learn just by their calls and birdsong 🐦🕊 I find listening to them so calming and such a nice way to connect to nature ❤️ Magnesium is great for anxiety and sleep (I still have issues with both lol but I rate it and take it every night!!) ✨️ Just finished listening to your guilty feminist ep- loved it and will email my mp later today 👍👍 Also yes to witchy stuff ✨️💫🪄💜
sky jaden
2025-01-17 05:56:25 +0000 UTCSending love and support Joey, just wanted you to know I read your comment and really feel for you ❤️❤️
sky jaden
2025-01-17 05:46:11 +0000 UTCthank you for your words. I’m in a period of rebuilding trust with myself, releasing self-doubt and to have someone respond as you did, someone I admire for standing in their own truth and trust is powerful. Thank you x .. and thank you for your help with Patreon, they are very unhelpful.
Alana
2025-01-07 22:26:19 +0000 UTCThanks so much lovely xx
Verity Jones
2025-01-07 07:38:46 +0000 UTCI love you too 💜
Joseph Fruth
2025-01-07 02:32:37 +0000 UTCThank you for always being so supportive and caring! I do appreciate your words, I will try to go out more in the “rain” (but even my dog hates it lol) she will be my best companion to try it out more often! Xx
Noelia
2025-01-06 23:21:49 +0000 UTCGood luck with the no smoking! That's incredible and so hard to do. You got this, your lungs will absolutely thank you in good time. Sorry you're sick and hope it clears up soon. I want to reorganise too, feels like the right thing to do at the start of Jan. XX
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:14:24 +0000 UTCit's so cool you're thinking about getting your driver's license! I'm proud of you and believe in you! It will be soooo fun to go on your first road trip with you driving, I love that you want to move to california, I loved living there so much. I think take time with the little things that help you. nature is so important, there are things our bodies respond to as well as our minds. And I think be kind with the slowness. Although I'm like you, too many grey days inside I quickly spiral. I always tell myself this "everything's better when you leave the house", even a quick walk around the block for a coffee or a stroll can really shift your thoughts when you're feeling down, so get your rain coat on and embrace the rain on a walk if you can! Sending you wintery strenght. I know it is so hard being away from family and I'm so hoping you get to see them this year too. Stay strong! XX
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:13:29 +0000 UTCI'm so sorry to hear that Holly, it's really scary right now. What ways do you think raising awareness would make you feel most empowered? Is there anything you could do locally? I feel like community is so key for us all right now. Sending you love and keep searching for light in the darkness xxx
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:09:24 +0000 UTCugh your words are so relentlessly beautiful Joey. Thanks for writing, there is hope yet despair. The dark and the light combined. We are constantly evolving but there will always be a small toad inside that is us and we should listen to the toad. or a pink crystal, however you see yourself. I really connect to the history of choices. Wow. That's so perfectly put, much like my toad analogy. no but really I think your writing alone should give you confidence in self. We have to find ways to disconnect from our fast anxious brains beating us up. I guess we have to fucking try. I love you!
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:08:15 +0000 UTCI love that! I'm going to dance in the morning that's so cool why have I never done that xx
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:03:32 +0000 UTCthat's so beautiful, I love that. I feel I could learn a thing or 2 from you. checking my dm's now and will help fix the issue xx
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:03:00 +0000 UTCthat's the link, search witch on bbc sounds!
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:02:00 +0000 UTChttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mc4p
Kate Nash
2025-01-06 23:01:48 +0000 UTCA wise woman once sang, “everything hurts, yeah it hurts so much.” My guts have shaped themselves into these words over and over, agonizing and cramping over the last few months. I need time alone to recharge but after half an hour alone I’m scrambling to find any way to not be alone, only to be immediately annoyed and overwhelmed by the peopleyness of everything. I’ve been tired, resentful, angry, hopeless, drained, ill-at-ease just trying to find some peace because every time I’m still my body lashes out against itself. I’ve painted myself into so many relational corners over the last half a lifetime that I’m annoyed when people see me in that one spot as something static, something knowable and predictable and unchanging. I feel I can’t take up space and when I try I just find more resentment for people even bothering trying to give it to me. Life is hard. Relationships of all kinds are hard. And having a history of choices one has made that we must forever be accountable to is exhausting. I don’t know how to just be anymore. But I want to try to figure it out. How to take up space and still make it for others, how to be passionate about what I believe in and still stay informed with other beliefs and opinions, how to be okay with difference and change and stillness and movement and nothing being static. I dunno. I’m not okay but I know that’s only right now. I know there are times I haven’t felt this so I know it’s possible to feel differently. It is. It has to be. I guess we have to try.
Joseph Fruth
2025-01-05 01:07:05 +0000 UTCI'm feeling excited but anxious. I have so many new ideas - but my partners family are in Iran and things are getting really bad there. I keep getting down about the wars in the world and the women in Afghanistan and Iran who have no rights. It makes me so angry and I want to do more this year to raise awareness
Holly of Basildon
2025-01-04 22:51:39 +0000 UTCWhat’s the podcast called please? It sounds like my kind of thing! Xx
Verity Jones
2025-01-04 20:17:05 +0000 UTCI’m in the heat of summer. It can be its own kind of debilitating but quiet moments with my dog, looking out at the ocean are magic. Im opting for a slow 2025. The last few years have been too much & too tough so im going back to the basics of self care, connection & community. I start volunteering at the spca this week, I can’t wait! I’m afraid to plan 2025 or look ahead, 2024 was difficult & the fear of repeating or not having my situation change is scary but I am resilient, I am powerful & I am not my past. I use “I am.. “ statements, this language has been very effective in a shift of mindset for me. 2025 is my slow era, my connection era, my take care of my self era and that is enough for me. I am still gonna rock it though! x side note: I had to send a dm via Patreon as there was an issue with Patreon & they’ve said only the creator can assist. thank you x
Alana
2025-01-04 19:35:32 +0000 UTCI WILL look at birds, thank you! I have a lot oftrouble with the winter months, healthwise and moodwise and I have learnt that the little things actually do make the biggest difference. Daylight lamp, seeking out beauty, natural or otherwise, looking at colorful artworks, dancing to at least three songs every morning, stupid, cheerful reality television. And now: birds. Thank you!
Judith Holofernes
2025-01-04 17:13:04 +0000 UTCMy main goal for this year (if everything works out) is go back home to visit my family and friends, I don’t think I’m asking the universe too much it’s all I want, I got really depressed during December for this reason but I made it through. Winter in this part of the world (or country) is very different to what I’m used to down in my place (even in winter). Rain makes some people happy but for me isn’t like that, I get easily depressed if I stay home all the time or if I sleep a lot. I feel like if I don’t do something all the time I feel useless or like I’m wasting my life, not quite sure if slowing down it’s a bad thing but I feel like that. Going back to work after a quick trip was very overwhelming and still dealing with it. If I don’t travel or I have idk a concert or activity to look forward I feel meh. And then I start thinking of the last day of my life and what’s going on in the world and I feel very sad because I don’t wanna die and it gives anxiety. I’ve been suffering from insomnia for a few years, I’m doing better now but brain always likes to play games. Another big goal is to move to California because sun makes me happy and wifey agrees so I gotta work hard to make it happen (I do dream big because I know I can make it), so the whole fur family is moving (2 cats, 1 dog and wifey lol). Something I decided last year (around November) is stop buying stuff like any kind of stuff, from clothes to silly stuff that tbh I don’t need, I have everything I need and more I can’t complain so I want to be a person who is willing to give than receiving stuff. I’m trying to find organizations to donate stuff and also if possible be a volunteer and help others. In my 2025 plans/goals is to go back to reading more (I’m a nerd for books) and I already started reading a new book and I’m happy about it. The last thing but not least important is to prioritize myself because no one else is going to do it for me and then that way I can make other people happy but first starts with me. Also, I need to finally get my drivers license, I’m scared because I never needed to until I got a car that obviously I can’t drive but wifey does very well but I don’t think is fair for her being the only one when I can take her places if I had my license. I’m an almost 32 years old driving virgin (yes you can laugh about it ha). Hopefully this year brings me joy and I can make more memories and I keep growing and learning! Thank you for giving us this space to express our feelings!
Noelia
2025-01-04 16:22:46 +0000 UTCSuper duper poorly at the moment, no surprise that’s how I’ve rang in the new year. I’m trying not to put so much pressure on myself this year. I’m focusing on getting back into my reading, I want to have a little reorganise in my house and try and be more tactical financially so I can start to save again. I’m about 3 months into my no smoking so I’m hoping I can keep up with that too🤞
Katrina Maynard
2025-01-04 16:03:54 +0000 UTC
