What I've enjoyed this month: February 2012

Another month is over and 2012 is now two-twelfths of the way through. Eek.

February is actually quite a hard month for me to review. It has been one of the busiest, most hectic months of my working life, and I have found myself feeling more than a little overwhelmed on more than a few occasions. Without boring you with the details of my work life, there are impending deadlines that have quite a bit of importance, and I suspect that full relaxation will continue to elude me for a little while longer. A preliminary deadline passed on the 22nd February and things have been somewhat calmer since then, but the final, conclusive deadline is the 14th March. I'm certainly looking forward to our trip up north to Exmouth over Easter!

Although there are some obvious downsides to this work-related busy-ness, there are upsides too. The main one is that is that I'm still intact. I have been a bit distracted, a bit (anxiety-driven) sleep deprived, and had semi-amusing memory lapses (names, mostly, and things like getting in the shower before I am fully undressed - something I really thought I had mastered by now), but I am in one piece. I am quite proud of this.

Putting work aside, there have also been other good things this month. Here are some of them.

This view...

Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia

...taken the evening of my brother's birthday dinner, this photo reminds me that I am lucky to live near the coast and makes me think that I should make an effort to visit the beach more regularly.

This picture isn't bad either.

Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia, again

Fixing (hopefully) my plantar fasciitis

This might sound like an odd thing to list. And, granted, it is a bit of an odd thing to list. But I started February with a right heel that was incredibly painful to walk on when I walked bare foot or in non-supportive shoes - which in summer, was most of my shoes. The verdict was plantar fasciitis, most likely as a result of my over-pronating (rolling in) feet and the lack of shoe support, outside of my running shoes, over the last few warmer months.

Just for fun, my right hip and upper back also joined the party, which meant that I was finding routine movements surprising hard 4 weeks ago. I've now used almost all of my annual physiotherapy health fund rebates, which with 10 months of the year still to go isn't exactly great, but the plus side is that my heel is now fine, my back is back to normal, and my hip is improving.

My new work bag

This isn't actually new any more, as I bought it in the post-Christmas sales. The zips on my previous, black work bag gradually lost all zipping ability, so it was with some relief that I found and bought this replacement. It usually takes me a while to find the 'right' bag but this one appeared within a few hours of arriving at the shops.

Although I bought this in January, it's only after two months of use that the bag is starting to prove its worth (and it is worthy!). I can fit A4 documents in it (just, if sideways, or sticking out the top, if upright), it has usefully located and sized pockets, and the zips are still going strong.

Finding kale, using besan flour, and returning to smoothies

All worthwhile discoveries / re-discoveries.

My enjoyment of homemade ice cream and frozen banana soft serve deserves a mention here too, as I have really become quite obsessed.

Picross 3D

Another slightly random entry to this list, but Mr Bite's Nintendo DS Picross 3D game has been one of the few things to quickly and effectively distract and relax me this month. This game requires all of my mental energy, which means there is no energy left for niggling doubts or anxieties. Perfect. It's also rather fun, and I'm on a private mission to catch up to Mr Bite (he's on the Hard level, I'm on Easy...).

As an interesting aside to this point, did you know that researchers in England are trialing Tetris in emergency departments, for individuals who experience traumatic events or injuries? Playing Tetris and other visuospatial games in the aftermath of trauma has been shown to reduce the intensity of later trauma-related flashbacks and intrusive memories. The theory is that trauma-related information can't be encoded in detail when the brain is using its visuospatial resources to play Tetris. This reduces the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and related symptoms. From my experience with these sorts of games as an anxiety reduction tool, I can see how this could work!

How has your February been? And how do you reduce anxiety when you're in the midst of a busy patch?

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