The Big, Bad, Rutt

Lexi Penhorwood
Feb 3, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Feb 3, 2022

Dealing With The Rutt when you feel like you've tried all stops.

Okay - So what's next? Job problems? Relationship Problems? Having a rough time dealing? Here's what helps me:

1.) Water

In a German study, participants with depression reported a boost in mood after soaking in a 40C [I translated it so you don't have to; 40C is the equivalent of 104F] bath for 30 minutes. In fact, in this experiment, regular baths proved to be more effective in aiding depression than aerobic exercise.

Ignore that statistic for a second: First and foremost, before we even get to the rest of the list, regardless of whether it's a 30-minute set-up bubble bath, or 5 minutes of you standing under the water trying to organize the parts of your life that seem unmanageable - it's still beneficial. Try adding essential oils, or even throwing in a eucalyptus plant that hangs on your shower head, although, it may seem superficial - making your space somewhere you can enjoy or look forward to first will make you more enthusiastic about taking the time to actually spend in there. In times of difficult stress, it can be hard to enjoy the silence long enough to take care of yourself. But, I promise, it'll be easier to fill others cups when yours is already full.. Long story short - this is the part where I make it apparent that you have to take care of yourself.

2.) Music

There are four things that come into play when practicing music therapy: 1.) Lyric Analysis [This provides a listener to identify song lyrics that may correlate with their experience.] 2.) Improvisation Music Playing [This encourages emotional expression, socialization, and exploration of various topics. Creating escalation and de-escalation on your own , physically, with instruments can correlate to your highs and lows of particular feelings that you have. This also provides a chance to communicate further with those that you are playing with to begin a conversation.]

3.) Active Music Listening [Music can regulate your mood - Easily. Music engages the neocortex of your brain, which calms and reduces impulsivity. Obviously this depends on the beat style and such of the song you're associating your feelings with. Next time, try Sleeping At Last or maybe some Dermot Kennedy.] 4.) Songwriting [This counts with poetry also! Writing your thoughts and feelings down in a way that feelings vague to others but ultimately gets the feelings out that you need to - can be beneficial when it comes to providing self-validation, self-worth, and pride.]

3.) Hygge "Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment."

My mom used to always repeat the same stuff over to me when I was a kid - Like most mothers do, but now being almost 21 years old, I've began to understand what she means when she says your space correlates with your mind. A cluttered home leads to just that: a cluttered mind. Since having my daughter, keeping up on my space is definitely something I've tried to implement more, probably a symptom of PPD, but hey - no harm, no foul. The top three ways you can best start to incorporate yourself into a "hygge" lifestyle goes as showed:

Set The Mood - Candles, cozy socks, a fireplace; if you've got one, remember us talking about music? Turn on some Jack Johnson, maybe some Tyler Childers, if you're into that sort of thing.. But, basically, this goes as follows, create the space in which you feel the most peaceful (almost like when we mentioned the shower scenario).
Be Present - I know.. I know. This seems like end of the world scenario; and you will definitely be prone to check, but in the middle of a bad episode for me - I know the best thing I can do is to simply turn off my phone. Cut contact for the time being. Focus in on the space around you and letting yourself melt into the gentleness.
Treat Yo'Self - If "hygge" for you is taking your eucalyptus shower, throwing on your favorite peach lotion and then simply chilling back with chocolate pretzels and Greys Anatomy, then SO BE IT! This time is for you - Be selfish with it, and grant yourself the present of simply just being. (Given, if you're a mom, obviously babies being taken care of first goes without saying)

Take-Aways:
These are just some simple ideas - and you can definitely look more into each of these and see what type of night you want to provide yourself and what will best fit your needs, but I know when I'm stuck in a rut: Contacting contact, being present, and taking care of myself tends to let me relax enough to where I can focus in on the next right thing (that was a frozen 2 reference, and if you haven't heard the song and you're reading this post, I'm just gonna go ahead and suggest that one for you too).

As always, 
Thanks For Coming To My Ted Talk.