Express yourself!

When life gets us down, it's really easy to get frustrated. But for the most part, something good happens which eases some of that frustration away. When you're chronically ill, sometimes the frustrating events pile up one on top of another & it seems like something good is miles away. This builds up, until you find yourself exploding at a family member or crying over a piece of paper on the floor.

Friends, the best advice I can give you is this: Find a creative outlet to express your frustrations, hurt & pain into. Some of you might be thinking, "But you don't know me. I'm not creative at all. I can't even draw!". Truthfully, it doesn't have to be technically creative; just a healthy way to get rid of some of your frustration so that it doesn't overwhelm you and burst out.

Here's some practical suggestions I've come up with (& no, they don't all work for me):
1. If you are able to exercise, perhaps go for a walk or a run (only up to your physical ability). I am currently not able to do this one.
2. If one of your passions or hobbies does not cause you too much pain, then do that. For eg), if you knit, knit a row or if you are artistic, draw or paint a picture.
3. If you are not creative at all, take a piece of paper. Grab a good sturdy pen & scribble all over the paper. Cover ever inch harder & harder and harder until the paper rips up. Trust me, it sounds weird, but it helps. Another variation of this would be tearing up the paper / putting it through a shredder.
4. Try something monotonous, like throwing a ball on the wall. Focus your frustration on the ball & just go crazy!
5. Cry. Crying is actually better than laughing at getting rid of frustration & hurt. If you can't cry on demand, watch a really sad or heart breaking movie. For me, 'The Notebook' always makes me cry.
6. Laugh. Watch a comedy & laugh. Laughing is not as effective as crying for me, but it's still pretty good at easing some of that tension away.
7. If you are creative, you may choose to write a poem, or a story, or a song.
8. If you are into photography, go around your neighbourhood, a park or your house, & take pictures that identify with how you feel or how you want to feel.
9. Write about your feelings and thoughts in a diary.
10. Catchup with a friend / family member & tell them about it. Be careful with this one, as meeting with a person & sharing your struggles might be quite emotionally draining.
11. Finally, one of the best ones is talk to God. Yell at him. Cry at him. Whinge to him. Whatever you are feeling, just give it to Him. Remember, God wants to be in relationship with us. He's not content to just be part of our good times. He wants all of us, our difficulties, our struggles, our shames as well as our good times, funny incidents & moments of praise. Give it to God; trust me, He's big enough to deal with whatever is going through your mind. If you're feeling up to it, you might choose to pray and ask God to help ease some of these frustrations too.

Hope that helps! Remember, if you fail & lash out, just take a deep breath & try again next time!

Ps - If you're anything like me, you've probably got Madonna's 'Express Yourself' song stuck in your head now. I'm going to go listen to it now :)