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When Routine Keeps You Sane
Image by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
It’s just passed the four year anniversary of the death of my friend. I can still hardly believe it. Sometimes it feels like it only happened yesterday. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and for just a few seconds, I forget, and I can convince myself that she’s still here. But then, I wake up and the grief hits me once more.
NUMB
The month after she died, I had no routine. I walked around in a state of shock and deep pain; numb; a shell, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, and doing the bare minimum that needed doing.
Things change after the funeral. People who check in with you, stop. The messages, and visitors stop. People move on with their lives, while you’re left in this sort of limbo, where you have to somehow, rebuild your life even though you have no idea of how you’re going to do that.
LISTS AND ROUTINES
For me, this is where lists and routines come into play.
I have a list of things that I must get done in a day (thank you OCD). When I’m not coping well, there are times when these things don’t get done. They certainly didn’t in that first month. It was taking me all of my energy just to get up and put one foot in…