Proposed MMM community learning opportunity: The Science of Well-Being

[lhamo]

I am horribly behind on the course but it is because I have basically been rocking life and getting shit done and I am happier than I have been in a LOOONG time!  Hope the same is proving true for many others still lurking on this thread. 

[Metalcat]

Week 6 done (back to my regular do-my-coursework-on-Tuesdays schedule). Focus this week was on now that we know what will actually make us happier how can we actually put it into action. Part of this week's course reminded me of the Getting Things Done method (take a goal, break it down into manageable tasks and set up a method to track those tasks so you will be prompted to do them at the appropriate time, freeing up your mind to focus on the here and now).  It was interesting to hear a different way of approaching it, the focus in the class was on the WOOP method. https://woopmylife.org

Thanks again to this group, it's been fun hearing how we all are reacting to the class.

I've done tons of work with people on making goals achievable, but my focus is largely on the concept of removing barriers.

If you want to be doing something, what are the barriers in the way of doing it?

This has lead to a whole way of designing our living space to facilitate doing more things that we want to do, and systems of organization. My approach is to always make the things I want to do as lazy and automatic as possible, and to put as many barriers as possible between myself and behaviours I don't want.

The goal is to make my desired lifestyle essentially as frictionless, easy, and automatic as possible.

[tj]

I am horribly behind on the course but it is because I have basically been rocking life and getting shit done and I am happier than I have been in a LOOONG time!  Hope the same is proving true for many others still lurking on this thread.

Sounds like you don't need the course. :)

[lhamo]

I am horribly behind on the course but it is because I have basically been rocking life and getting shit done and I am happier than I have been in a LOOONG time!  Hope the same is proving true for many others still lurking on this thread.

Sounds like you don't need the course. :)

Well, I DID when I started it -- I was in a pretty bad depressive slump.  So it was a good kick start to get me out of it.

[maizefolk]

Happy to hear things are so much better for you @lhamo! Looking forward to house and/or new business updates in various threads.

[tygertygertyger]

I am still digging the class. I've been using the app which gives me my assignments, though admittedly I'm a bit behind on the lectures.

This week for me is meditation and a gratitude letter. I'm giving the meditation a go, and it seems easier than it has in the past when I've tried.

But I'm not coming up with any names for the gratitude letter. I suppose it could be anyone, though I'm not feeling moved in any particular direction just yet.

I did something like this a year or two back when I passed a new anniversary at my job. I sent a note to the person who hired me (and who was my manager for several years) thanking her for giving me the opportunity. She was/is a bulldog and in some ways had a negative reputation at work, but she protected our group fiercely and I always admired her. It felt really good to send that note.

[cannotWAIT]

Holy crap, week 5 has like three or four times the content of the other weeks! Good thing it's a long weekend! I wonder why it's distributed so unevenly. Lots of great information though. I loved Nicholas Epley's analogy of happiness being like a leaky tire, where you need to keep pumping it up. It's not like height, where if you grow taller, you stay tall. It's a mood swing.

I kind of wish she had a segment on what makes you the most UNhappy. She touches on it here and there--like bad grades don't make you as unhappy as you think they will. But what are the big things to avoid and which should we be less afraid of? Or what are the qualities of the things that make us most unhappy?

[Metalcat]

Holy crap, week 5 has like three or four times the content of the other weeks! Good thing it's a long weekend! I wonder why it's distributed so unevenly. Lots of great information though. I loved Nicholas Epley's analogy of happiness being like a leaky tire, where you need to keep pumping it up. It's not like height, where if you grow taller, you stay tall. It's a mood swing.

I kind of wish she had a segment on what makes you the most UNhappy. She touches on it here and there--like bad grades don't make you as unhappy as you think they will. But what are the big things to avoid and which should we be less afraid of? Or what are the qualities of the things that make us most unhappy?

That's the thing, as someone who has been through gobs of "bad" things that most would expect to make them unhappy, I have a lot of perspective on this.

I've been extremely unhappy, but mostly due to things that people tend to think they want, and I've found profound happiness during experiences where pretty much everyone would assume you would be miserable.

Unhappiness, in my experience, is largely driven by a lack of connection and authenticity.

I'm seeing this too with my clients, it's not so much the bad things happening that makes people miserable, but the way in which experiencing bad things tends to push people to pull away from the people they care about, often due to embarrassment or self-consciousness, or the ever-present pressure to look like we've got it all together.

I'm starting a supervision group for my peers because I talk to so many of them about the same imposter syndrome they all have, but they all think they're alone in how they're struggling.

It's the need to *appear* a certain way that drives isolation and makes the very normal struggles of life toxic instead of sources of connection, which they very much can be when people know how to be vulnerable with one another.

[cannotWAIT]

Definitely lack of connection and authenticity makes painful things more painful, and having connection and authenticity makes painful things less painful. I strongly believe that one of the best things we can do to make the world a better place is be open about what a mess our lives are and as a result I am a huge oversharer of my own fuckups and personal disasters. Lol. But I'm talking about the underlying things, like failures of our own making (failure to finish a dissertation, failed business venture) vs bad shit happening out of the blue (car accident, stock market crash) vs loss that happens in the natural course of life (gradually losing everyone you know as you age, losing your own abilities). Sure there's a ton of circumstantial variability but the same can be said of happiness so it would be interesting to hear the data.

Anyway, I thought that whole Nicholas Epley interview was really interesting and now I'm wondering what types of psychology PhD programs provide funding for grad students and which don't, because if I could just cover my expenses I wouldn't mind doing that for the first few years of retirement! I imagine clinical programs do not.

[Metalcat]

Definitely lack of connection and authenticity makes painful things more painful, and having connection and authenticity makes painful things less painful. I strongly believe that one of the best things we can do to make the world a better place is be open about what a mess our lives are and as a result I am a huge oversharer of my own fuckups and personal disasters. Lol. But I'm talking about the underlying things, like failures of our own making (failure to finish a dissertation, failed business venture) vs bad shit happening out of the blue (car accident, stock market crash) vs loss that happens in the natural course of life (gradually losing everyone you know as you age, losing your own abilities). Sure there's a ton of circumstantial variability but the same can be said of happiness so it would be interesting to hear the data.

Anyway, I thought that whole Nicholas Epley interview was really interesting and now I'm wondering what types of psychology PhD programs provide funding for grad students and which don't, because if I could just cover my expenses I wouldn't mind doing that for the first few years of retirement! I imagine clinical programs do not.

I'm talking about those things too. When I reference last year, I'm talking about an epic shit storm of a year.

I maintain that connection is the key to being happy through those things. Because although it was arguably the most painful year of my life, which is saying A LOT, it was also one of the happiest.

I kind of spend my days talking to people about the awful things in their lives, and awful things can either be incredible sources of growth and insight or they can be psychologically crippling.

The difference is having enough resources to move through it, learn, grow, and thrive.

Connection doesn't just lessen the blow. Awful things will always feel awful, but ample truly loving connection provides a sense of safety and security and a knowing that you can come out the other side okay, and that's what makes every awful thing an avenue of growth.

I've been a homeless teen with no support going through very bad things, I've been an isolated adult with no support going through very bad things, and I've been a connected adult going through really really bad things and the difference is astounding.

The difference between a good life and a bad life isn't that one is easy and the other is hard. It's that one has enough supports to thrive through suffering and the other doesn't.

Most of the happiest, strongest people I know have been through some serious shit. But they had enough supports to grow and develop profound insight through it, insights that make it a lot easier to be happy. All of the most miserable people I talk to, and it's literally my job to talk to miserable people and understand why they're miserable, suffer from varying degrees of isolation, and most of them don't feel like they're allowed/able to lean on others for support.

[somers515]

Week 7 done. I was actually a little surprised that the course had several weeks left as it looked like the professor had covered everything she laid out at the start of the course and now I see why.  The last weeks appear to be just a way to try to get you to pick one of the techniques she covered and really commit to following thru on it. You choose from the following:

Signature Strengths - using your top character strengths in new ways
Savoring - taking time to savor the things you enjoy
Gratitude - (List and/or Letter) - expressing gratitude for the people and things in your life
Kindness - increasing your acts of kindness
Social Connection - making connections with strangers and acquaintances along with scheduling time for the people in your life
Exercise - increasing your physical activity to at least 30 minutes a few times a week
Sleep - making sure you sleep at least 7 hours a night several times a week
Meditation - meditating for 5-10 minutes if you are a beginner or increasing your time in meditation if you already meditate regularly

As usual, enjoying the discussion on here too.

[Serendip]

Unhappiness, in my experience, is largely driven by a lack of connection and authenticity.

This.

[Serendip]

I am also enjoying the course--a friend & I were hiking today and discussing it. 

We both already incorporate many of the practices that the course highlights but realized that the people in our lives who may really benefit from the course are also the least likely to seek out something like this...and commit the time to it.

[dangbe]

I also do a lot of the things suggested in the course.  I journal every day and include gratitudes, I meditate, exercise 4x a week, savor moments consciously, I use my strengths frequently, sleep 9 hours.  But when it comes to anything social I'm terrible at it.  I was hoping the course would get more into the social side of things as thats my weakness, but the summary would just be that socializing with anyone, stranger or close relation, it'll improve your happiness which, I already knew.  I'm just reluctant to put myself out there.  I have friends I talk to online, friends we see every few months, and a wife who is my absolute best friend and we spend time together every day.  But I'd really like to be a part of an in-person community.  I think that should be my goal from this whole course: find a community and join it. 

[tj]

I also do a lot of the things suggested in the course.  I journal every day and include gratitudes, I meditate, exercise 4x a week, savor moments consciously, I use my strengths frequently, sleep 9 hours.  But when it comes to anything social I'm terrible at it.  I was hoping the course would get more into the social side of things as thats my weakness, but the summary would just be that socializing with anyone, stranger or close relation, it'll improve your happiness which, I already knew.  I'm just reluctant to put myself out there.  I have friends I talk to online, friends we see every few months, and a wife who is my absolute best friend and we spend time together every day.  But I'd really like to be a part of an in-person community.  I think that should be my goal from this whole course: find a community and join it.

That sounds like a good goal. No hobbies that would involve other humans in the real world?

I'm jealous that you have a wife to have frequent in-person interactions with. That's a massive improvement over my own social isolation.

[Metalcat]

I also do a lot of the things suggested in the course.  I journal every day and include gratitudes, I meditate, exercise 4x a week, savor moments consciously, I use my strengths frequently, sleep 9 hours.  But when it comes to anything social I'm terrible at it.  I was hoping the course would get more into the social side of things as thats my weakness, but the summary would just be that socializing with anyone, stranger or close relation, it'll improve your happiness which, I already knew.  I'm just reluctant to put myself out there.  I have friends I talk to online, friends we see every few months, and a wife who is my absolute best friend and we spend time together every day.  But I'd really like to be a part of an in-person community.  I think that should be my goal from this whole course: find a community and join it.

To have a sense of community the key is to find people you like and to do difficult things with them.

[dangbe]

I also do a lot of the things suggested in the course.  I journal every day and include gratitudes, I meditate, exercise 4x a week, savor moments consciously, I use my strengths frequently, sleep 9 hours.  But when it comes to anything social I'm terrible at it.  I was hoping the course would get more into the social side of things as thats my weakness, but the summary would just be that socializing with anyone, stranger or close relation, it'll improve your happiness which, I already knew.  I'm just reluctant to put myself out there.  I have friends I talk to online, friends we see every few months, and a wife who is my absolute best friend and we spend time together every day.  But I'd really like to be a part of an in-person community.  I think that should be my goal from this whole course: find a community and join it.

That sounds like a good goal. No hobbies that would involve other humans in the real world?

I'm jealous that you have a wife to have frequent in-person interactions with. That's a massive improvement over my own social isolation.

I definitely feel very lucky to have met her, and this course has certainly helped combat the tendency of taking her for granted. 

As far as hobbies I ride bikes, run, snowboard, play music, but I haven't really been able to break into a community for any of those things.  I actually took a pickleball intro thingy to learn the rules the other day.  So I'm planning on joining the open play days to see if I can meet people.  Its hard for me to imagine doing more than showing up, playing, and then leaving immediately after.  But maybe that's enough to feel the social connection of playing with others.

[cannotWAIT]

I also do a lot of the things suggested in the course.  I journal every day and include gratitudes, I meditate, exercise 4x a week, savor moments consciously, I use my strengths frequently, sleep 9 hours.  But when it comes to anything social I'm terrible at it.  I was hoping the course would get more into the social side of things as thats my weakness, but the summary would just be that socializing with anyone, stranger or close relation, it'll improve your happiness which, I already knew.  I'm just reluctant to put myself out there.  I have friends I talk to online, friends we see every few months, and a wife who is my absolute best friend and we spend time together every day.  But I'd really like to be a part of an in-person community.  I think that should be my goal from this whole course: find a community and join it. 

What instrument do you play? Depending on what it is I bet you could find a group to join, like a community band, a church group, a pub session, etc. Even if you're not very good, there are other not-very-good people who would love to get together and play. I'm one of them and make an unholy racket with a few other not-very-good friends. It's fun!

[dangbe]

Don't just leave! Be slow in changing your shoes and packing your bag ... help clean up the nets and sweep the floor (or whatever your group does for housekeeping) ... ask who is coming next time ... ask if anyone wants to carpool ... ask for recommendations of favorite youtube lesson personalities, etc. Create opportunities for conversation.

Wow, you're good at this.  I'm taking notes!

What instrument do you play? Depending on what it is I bet you could find a group to join, like a community band, a church group, a pub session, etc. Even if you're not very good, there are other not-very-good people who would love to get together and play. I'm one of them and make an unholy racket with a few other not-very-good friends. It's fun!

I play classical guitar but I am very bad haha.  I can also play some sing-a-long tunes as well.  This sounds fun though, where do you go about meeting people for this?

[cannotWAIT]

I play classical guitar but I am very bad haha.  I can also play some sing-a-long tunes as well.  This sounds fun though, where do you go about meeting people for this?

Well I've done a couple of things. Once I took lessons on a very niche instrument and the instructor invited me to join the group he led at the Unitarian church. And then recently I took up another instrument and just started blathering about it to all my friends and it turned out that two of them had started new instruments too and one of them had a partner who was actually competent on her instrument and willing to join us so we started getting together to play. We're hilariously bad but it's a lot of fun! Taking up a new instrument is definitely a thing for the recently retired, in fact I'm having a hard time thinking of anyone I know in real life who hasn't done it, so it should be easy to find other amateurs with time on their hands. 

I know of all kinds of other fun things too. I have a friend who started a marching band during Covid and they're still going strong. A ukelele group that meets at the nursing home for a singalong. A bunch of people who meet at the pub to play traditional Irish music. Just start asking around and I'm sure you'll find something in no time.

[lhamo]

Public singalongs are also a ton of fun!  There is one here in Seattle that I had been wanting to go to for over a year, but I kept missing them for one reason or another.  Then I saw they were having a Taylor Swift night a couple of weeks ago.  DD and I are huge Swifties, so she went with me.  It was sooooooo fun!  The next one is an '80s night and we are going to go again.  I'm hoping I can get some of my high school era friends to join us.

Here's the video of the final sing through of Blank Space:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suvl4n1oipk

[cannotWAIT]

Public singalongs are also a ton of fun!  There is one here in Seattle that I had been wanting to go to for over a year, but I kept missing them for one reason or another.  Then I saw they were having a Taylor Swift night a couple of weeks ago.  DD and I are huge Swifties, so she went with me.  It was sooooooo fun!  The next one is an '80s night and we are going to go again.  I'm hoping I can get some of my high school era friends to join us.

Here's the video of the final sing through of Blank Space:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suvl4n1oipk

Gosh that does look like fun! I wish I could come with you!

I watched some of the other videos and teared up at the end every time. I am EXTREMELY susceptible to group emotion. I cry if I'm in the crowd when they cheer at a home run, when graduates march to Pomp and Circumstance, every time the freaking National Anthem is sung (and I'm not even patriotic). I just have to laugh at myself.

[Metalcat]

Public singalongs are also a ton of fun!  There is one here in Seattle that I had been wanting to go to for over a year, but I kept missing them for one reason or another.  Then I saw they were having a Taylor Swift night a couple of weeks ago.  DD and I are huge Swifties, so she went with me.  It was sooooooo fun!  The next one is an '80s night and we are going to go again.  I'm hoping I can get some of my high school era friends to join us.

Here's the video of the final sing through of Blank Space:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suvl4n1oipk

Gosh that does look like fun! I wish I could come with you!

I watched some of the other videos and teared up at the end every time. I am EXTREMELY susceptible to group emotion. I cry if I'm in the crowd when they cheer at a home run, when graduates march to Pomp and Circumstance, every time the freaking National Anthem is sung (and I'm not even patriotic). I just have to laugh at myself.

coordinated rhythmic activity is actually well known to tap into deep feelings and connection, this is why so many cultures have practices of chanting

[dangbe]

I'm curious to know, now that the learning portion of the course is over, what sorts of things do you plan to add into your life to take advantage of this new knowledge?  For me starting pickleball was the one concrete social thing I am adding.  I'm still searching for some other outlets, but I'd love to hear all of your plans so that we can inspire and give each other ideas.

[somers515]

I'm curious to know, now that the learning portion of the course is over, what sorts of things do you plan to add into your life to take advantage of this new knowledge?  For me starting pickleball was the one concrete social thing I am adding.  I'm still searching for some other outlets, but I'd love to hear all of your plans so that we can inspire and give each other ideas.

Pickleball seems like a good one! But really almost anything that you enjoy can be made more social if you want to. Going for solo hikes now? Instead join a group that meets up and hike with others. Heck even your MMMness can be made more social if you want it as I believe there are MMM meet-ups etc.

I had read before about the importance of social connections for your well-being but the nuance that intrigued me from the course was that even small social interactions can have a significant positive effect, like the example in the course about chatting up someone during your train ride on your work commute.

[rosarugosa]

I did the course a few years ago, and meditation was the main activity I added to my life.  I did find it helpful in terms of the social interaction thing to be able to remind my introverted self that something I was considering was "scientifically proven to make me happier!"  That can sometimes make the difference to nudge me into taking action when I'm considering doing a small kindness, or speaking to someone or complimenting them instead of remaining silent.

[tygertygertyger]

I think I'm going to be more open to social interaction too. I've been working remote FT for the last 4 years, and I love it (MAJOR introvert here). I mostly only spend time with my partner and my dog.

Last fall I signed up for a weekly pilates class, and it's been a lot of fun. I don't know anyone's names, but it's enjoyable to go and hear about our instructor's dating life (she tells us lots of stories) and get word about stuff happening around our town.

I wouldn't have thought small interactions - like the bus rides or grocery store - would make much difference, but sitting in class last night, I realized that it does give me a boost.

I'll be looking for ways to add more small interactions.

[cannotWAIT]

I'm another WFH introvert and have found myself being a lot more chatty lately when I'm out and about and noticing the positive effect on me. I think noticing my improved mood and understanding its cause also has a multiplying effect, not only in how I feel in the moment but also in my likelihood to be open to social connection the next time.

I've also been analyzing the types of connection that are energizing to me and the kind that suck the life out of me. Definitely I do much, much better one on one. If I'm with a group of people, it's not long before I have to excuse myself and go take a break in the bathroom for a minute. It feels urgent and necessary. Usually it's when people start talking about politics. I think maybe I am just literally being bored to my actual death and have to go resuscitate myself, lol.

[Road42]

Yet another WFH introvert here - it’s nice to hear from so many people whose experiences resonate!

I’ve really liked the course. Most of the info isn’t new to me - I’ve been reading up on positive psychology here and there for years - but I do find that the reminder about how beneficial it is to actually do these things is the kick in the pants I need.

On top of really committing to daily exercise and actually sticking to the diet I know works for my tummy issues, I’ve been trying to make the small interactions more chatty and break out of my usual just-business m.o. The other day I had a funny exchange on a weird elevator with a woman equally confused about the buttons - it was lovely! I also joined a committee for my kids’ home-school association which will definitely mean more human-ing in the near future.

Meditation is something that always sounds appealing, but I can never actually get into. Oh well. I do very often (almost daily) experience hours of flow - amazingly from my actual job - so maybe that accomplishes some of the same thing.

[cannotWAIT]

I am still working away on this.

Today I went to the bank to deposit a couple of checks. I started to head for the drive thru, but recognized that I was looking at a line of SUVs burning fossil fuels in pursuit of minimal social connection, thought "this is lame," parked and went inside. I had a chat with another lady waiting and another nice chat with the teller and was on my way, and definitely before I would have gotten through the drive thru.

Then I went to the grocery where a guy hit on me in the wine aisle (social connection! lol) and then when I was putting my fresh rosemary/sage/thyme combo on the belt, the guy ahead of me said "Poultry blend! I should have gotten that!" and I handed it to him and said "Here, I'll go get another one while you're checking out." Acts of kindness! Okay, I'm not Mother Teresa, but I don't get out much. I'm very kind to my dog!

Also I am working on getting an actual friend *group* together at work, not that easy because I'm WFH, but I've been cultivating two new friendships and next week I've got the three of us going out for beer and tacos.

Also also, I've been doing loving kindness meditations in the morning. I confess that I do these while I'm still lying in my nice warm bed instead of sitting in a chair but I do feel that I'm getting some benefit.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Slowly working my way through the course, and the part about social interaction is super fascinating. I've also made it a goal to add meditation back to my life. I've been tracking what I'll call "nice things for others" on Fridays, for a few years, and try to write down three things I'm grateful for every day. So, some of this resonates based on what I'm already doing, but hearing the science behind it is super fascinating. So far, big fan of the course, and just recommended it to DH tonight.

[Metalcat]

The social interactions and generosity to others is a big part of why I so prefer living in rural Newfoundland as much as possible.

People there socialize literally all the time and normally at each other's homes, they don't tend to spend money to socialize. They also are insanely generous and help each other by default.

Throw in being surrounded by stunning nature and it's just so, so easy to be happy there with the relentless supply of happiness-fuel.

I crash hard when I have to come back to Ontario, which is a place I describe as "the misery Olympics."

[Moonwaves]

I've just signed up and will try to get to the week 1 stuff this weekend. I've actually just come from the burnout journal and was almost going to post there but it felt like too much. So it feels weird to be joining in here now.

However, in December I applied for a stint in a rehab clinic for burnout and as often is the case, just having sent off that application (as well as having a week's holidays and then another couple of days off at Christmas, both spent with family) seems to have freed up enough space that I keep finding myself thinking about things I could start doing. At least I have enough knowledge now to know that it would be a really bad idea to start doing any of those things at this time instead of concentrating on trying to get back in the habit of things like cooking and eating at home, washing dishes and tidying up every once in a while.

This course seems like a manageable amount of stuff that probably ties in well with the goal of trying to improve my mental health while skating on thin ice when it comes to being in the middle of a burnout and depressive episode.

On a side note, I'm delighted that I remembered my coursera password straight away. It has been seven or eight years since I did the "Greening the Economy" certificate.

Ooops, this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days. It's been way longer than that since I registered for this course and then didn't even watch the introduction video. Thankfully, since about mid-January I have been declaring the most recent depressive episode finally over and done with and so, slowly, very slowly, I am picking up the threads of my life again. So, again, this seems like a good time to do something towards a goal of trying to improve my mental health.

It was of course very difficult to answer a lot of the questions in the week one happiness and character surveys because I am feeling a good bit better already but, on the other hand, I've just made it through this particular episode and all the work I did in clinic and since then has not actually fully addressed all the other shit going on in my head. That work is still ongoing.

I do feel like I answered quite a few questions from a depressed place, because that's how I would have answered them anytime in the past two years. And some other questions I answered more positively than I might have even just a couple of months ago. The answers are not the important part, though, the work is, so on we go.

My overall well-being came out at 3.88 (on a scale of 1-10)
My authentic happiness is 1.96 (on a scale of 1-5)
And my top five strengths are:
1. Honesty
2. Kindness
3. Appreciation of beauty & excellence
4. Fairness
5. Judgement

That tracks fairly closely to how I see myself (or at least how I would like to see myself), which was interesting after reading so many different lists on the first part of this thread. Yesterday when I got my list I definitely thought well, sure, everyone will have these things first.

Again, the questions drove me a bit mad because there is a difference between do I do something and can I do something. So, actually, I can organise groups and what have you but I hate doing that and don't feel like I do it as well as others but that might be because it is so effortful for me. Someone else might just see organised groups and think that is so me. For things that I can do but know I loathe, I made sure to answer in the negative as much as I noticed them.

I opened all the extra reading and video bits on my phone and am making my way through those on the tram to and from work. Hope ye don't mind me dragging this out of the depths but maybe some people who haven't seen it before will decide to join in now. Hope everyone is still looking out for their well-being!

[oneday]

I appreciate the reminder that this thread exists. It is still not time for me to do it, though. Summer semester I have no classes, so that will be a better time.

[HeyMickey!]

Thankfully, since about mid-January I have been declaring the most recent depressive episode finally over and done with and so, slowly, very slowly, I am picking up the threads of my life again.

Deeply relatable, friend. I started this course in 2020, then again late 2021...easy to set aside the strategies when everything feels bad man. Maybe I'll have to give it another try with y'all :)

[Serendip]

I enjoyed this course when I initially did it and might revisit it soon.

For spring learning, I am starting the Artful Practices for Well-Being course. A dose of new perspectives might help inspire me to start making art again which is so good for my mental health and life-satisfaction.