Building Up Energy by Ari Wilson
TW: Before reading this story, we want to warn you that there will be mention of potentially triggering mental health subjects. Also, this is based on one person’s experience and is not written from a doctor’s perspective. If you or someone you know may be living with mental illness, please get help. Talk to a licensed and qualified mental health professional and search the list of resources on our website
As I heard the term “Everything Is Energy” I looked around at my incredibly messy desk. It was crowded; full of homework, some laundry I’d still been meaning to put away, pens, and even my lunchbox that I’d forgotten to unpack from school that day.
Living with depression most of my life has continuously made it hard for me to keep my spaces organized. I hadn’t ever really thought about it in a deeper way than that, that I just struggled to keep things neat. But as I listened to Hey I’m Here Resilience Coach Jen talk about how Everything Is Energy (not just that everything HAS energy, but how everything IS energy), I realized that my messy room and desk was way more than that.
As I continued to listen to how we have multiple layers of energy that contribute to our overall well being, and how we feel on a day to day basis, what really stuck with me was the idea of energy givers and energy takers. That is when I realized that even inanimate objects can be energy takers.
I think there is a big difference between going about your life and simply getting overwhelmed and energy-depleted, and realizing why you feel energy depleted or overwhelmed. It is important that we have resources to help build our energy back up, and avoid energy depletion.
We also have different layers of energy in our bodies. Many people talk a lot about doing self care and replenishing energy, but it can be really hard to decide what exactly we need- which is why it’s important to recognize the differences between different types of energy. Maybe one day you need to sleep to replenish your physical energy, but maybe another day you just need to talk to a friend about how you feel to replenish your emotional energy!
All this just to say- today I am going to talk about some different ways that you can replenish your energy in 4 different areas of energy in your body!
1. The Physical Layer:
The physical layer of your body is important because it is the physical interpretation of your other energies. When your physical energy is down, it can cause your mental energy to be down as well.
To replenish your physical layer try:
● Eating something that gives energy! When I think about food as something that gives me energy and allows me to do the things I love, it is a lot easier for me to choose something I know is good for my physical body and enjoy it. Some foods that give me energy are; fruit, juices and smoothies, granola, cheese, and little snacks that help to power me through!
● Getting clean! Taking care of the physical layer is so important and can often go unnoticed. Things I like to do for my physical layer when I need to gain some energy include taking a shower, doing skincare, changing my clothes or my sheets, or even just splashing water on my face!
● Moving around, or getting some sleep! One thing that is important is to recognize when you need to rest, and when you need to get up and move. Sometimes I need to take a nap, and sometimes I need to take a walk! I love taking walks, doing stretches, and even sometimes having a dance party.
2. The Emotional Layer:
The emotional layer is really important because it influences a lot of how we move and function throughout the day. Taking care of our emotions is essential to all of our other energies- it affects everything!
To replenish your emotional layer try:
● Recognizing your emotions. One thing I constantly remind myself is that emotions are like the weather- they will pass! YOU are not your emotions. Be gentle with yourself!
● Journaling! One thing I love to do is write down how I’m feeling- sometimes it depends on the day, but I like to draw representations of how I feel, or I like to use colors to describe my feelings. Either way, using a journal to jot down your feelings every day and at least recognize them really helps to understand yourself and your triggers.
● Talking to someone. Sometimes all I need is to rant to a friend! Getting out of your environment and talking to another human and relating your experiences can be really helpful.
3. The Mental Layer:
The mental layer is where your personality, your thoughts, and all your emotions line up to produce the environment of your ‘head’. And some days, you can really get stuck in
your head! Here are a few things that I like to do to clear my headspace and take care of my mental health:
● Making a routine/sticking to the routine. Routines are really important to me. Because of my experiences with depression, there are certain things that I always like to do to try to stay within the routine that I give myself. If I don’t do these things, sometimes it allows me to fall back into depressive habits.
Because of my experiences with ADHD, it can be really easy to forget to do something, as well as get really overwhelmed. That’s why my essentials are simple, but meaningful. Some things I do every day are: drink water, put new clothes on (they don’t have to be an outfit or even daytime clothes- as long as I change!), make my bed or clean at least one thing in my space, wash my face or take a shower, eat something I will enjoy, do an activity I enjoy (reading, watching a movie, walking, listening to music, or doing art, for me!), and take my vitamins/medicine!
● Recognizing the tone of self talk! Self talk is important- it’s how you express yourself in your headspace. Using positive affirmations can be hard to get used to, but they are extremely important when it comes to how you address yourself in your head. Here are some of my favorite affirmations- I am doing my best, I am creative, I believe in myself, I can do hard things, I am allowed to have feelings, I am loved, I matter, I am kind, and I am smart!
● Jotting down your thoughts. Coming back to the idea of journaling- similar to your emotions; sometimes it’s nice to just brain dump. Sometimes it’s really helpful for me to just see my thoughts and things I need to do, or even things that I’ve already accomplished, in a visual way.
4. The Spiritual Layer:
The spiritual layer is the place where your moral beliefs and consciousness reside.. This is what makes us human- our souls and our true roots of belief and ideas! There are a few things that I think are important to allow us to find energy in this area:
● Meditation. Meditation can be whatever you make it to be! To me, meditation is a form of reflection and a way to calm myself and allow my soul to feel peace. I enjoy traditional yoga-type meditation. I love to use breathing exercises to just sit for a moment and reflect and simply be.
● Connect to nature! To me, nature is very spiritual. It brings me a lot of peace to feel like I’m connected to the earth. Some ways I like to connect to nature include getting sunlight, going for walks, gardening, making flower bouquets, and even just doing reflections or journaling in nature.
I really enjoy picking one or two activities from each ‘color’ every day. It helps me to feel like I am being productive, as well as having a little bit of variety in my daily tasks! I hope this has been helpful to give you ideas of ways to replenish and recognize your energy levels!
Another really important thing to make sure you’re doing when you plan your routine is to gauge your energy level. This chart to the right gives daily routine options for energy levels based on the day!
Additional tools for when you may be in crisis:
U.S. Crisis Text Line: 741-741
Ohio Mobile Response and Stabilization Services: 1-888-418-MRSS (6777)