Reflecting on 2023

It has been almost a year since I have opened this site. It can be difficult for me to keep track of how I am doing over a period of time unless I write it down in the moment or talk about it with someone who was with me at the time. A lot of the struggles that I had during the year were directly listed as goals in one of my previous posts! It was surprising to see that I have made good progress towards the goals that I set at the beginning of the year. Even though I was not thinking during these difficult times that I was working towards my new year’s resolutions, I undoubtedly grew as a person through these challenges that I was considering last December.

The things that took up most of my time and energy in 2023 were my job and my mental health.

I have been working at my job for over 1 year now. It was insanely difficult and I probably cried before my shifts more often than not. I survived all of the obstacles that working in healthcare has thrown me and I have gained so much along the way. I made a few good friends at work who I can celebrate birthdays with outside of the hospital. I utilize my organization’s emotional support services and have been seeing one of their therapists monthly. That has been the biggest game changer for me. My therapist has direct knowledge of what it is like to do my job and can better help me navigate the situations that come up. The most important step that I have taken in my professional journey is choosing to work in one specific unit instead of switching between two units regularly. My body has been telling me for a long time that I need to make the choice for myself. I could write a whole article on how that went for me, but at the end of the day I was finally able to hit my year mark and make some changes for myself at work that will benefit me and my mental health in the long run.

My mental health has been improving over the past year as well. The ups and downs were still there (a lot of the sadness and anxiety I was feeling was directly related to feeling stressed from my job), but I have been really benefiting from the medication that my psychiatrist prescribed. I am 100% in a better place for taking my meds regularly and going to therapy monthly. I am still working on trying to feed myself well, but I have actually started exercising again! Doing yoga 1-2 times a week has been good for me. A lot of the year it felt too difficult to move my body outside of being on my feet all the time at work. I have found a friend to take classes with occasionally and I also really like how it gives me something to look forward to on my days off.

In 2024, I have a few things that have been on my mind. I am a bit of a messy person and want to be able to maintain a clean environment around me. I have a lot of half finished tasks that I would like to check off my list. I also have been thinking of finding a new job or a side hustle and going to part time at my current job if I can spend more time doing another job I like. I get stressed out a lot by my job and want to see if there is something I can find that makes me feel more at peace in my daily life. I want to continue working on my personal relationships, including dedicating time to my friends and visiting my family more often. 2023 has been quite the year, and it is nice to take a moment to recognize my progress.

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What are some challenges you endured this year and how did you handle them? How do you practice self love and self care?