Finding A Fresh Start Out Of Iso | Journalling | The Indigo Blog

Finding a fresh start out of iso - Journalling activities to reflect on your time in lockdown

How good are fresh starts? We all love them, in fact, it’s why we’re more likely to embark on a healthy change at the start of a new week, new month, new year or even new decade. There’s something refreshing about going “Ok, here it is. A new beginning. I’m ready to start again.”

Post-isolation, many of us are facing a different kind of fresh start. The peculiar and at times, confronting, circumstances that have jolted us out of our usual routines over the past few months have offered a unique perspective on our lives and ourselves. Without the distractions and demands of our regular lives, we may have found new and surprising things to uplift us, inspire us, connect us, teach us, challenge us and frighten us, and we can use this newfound wisdom to help understand ourselves better and shape our future into something new. Something great.

With the help of Mary Hoang, Indigo’s founder, we’ve compiled some journalling activities below to help you reflect on your experience in isolation, and use those reflections to positively shape your life ahead. Our community has also shared some of their own experiences, which may also resonate with you as you personally reflect.

What did you find the most challenging about isolation?

Did any difficult emotions come up for you? What lifestyle/routine changes were the hardest to adjust to? What personal/emotional changes were the hardest to adjust to?

No social events

Being separated from work/activities, which play into my identity

Sitting with difficult feelings

Feeling empty

Parenting and working at the same time, with limited downtime

Confronting loneliness and insecurities

Working from home

Allowing myself downtime

Lots of time in my own company

No motivation for healthy habits, and loss of routine

Being with my partner 24/7 without much me-time

Fear of the unknown, anticipated grief

Lack of human interaction

Not being able to physically be there for friends & family who were struggling

Reflecting on these challenges, what can you recognise as important/valuable aspects of your life and self now?

E.g. Being isolated from friends made me realise that socialising and connecting with others face-to-face is really important to my wellbeing.

E.g. Working from home and parenting full-time made me realise I can be faced with a daunting and demanding task and meet it head-on.

E.g. Feeling empty and isolated in my own company made me realise that I need to spend some time working on my relationship with myself, practicing self-compassion and relying less on external distraction/validation.

What did you find the most rewarding about isolation?

What joys & learnings did you discover? What did you find that soothed you? What nourished your soul? What surprised you – in a good way? What did you realise you’d miss after the end of iso?

The simplicity of walking and listening to music/great podcasts

Enjoying time with myself

Giving myself downtime

Taking care of plants

Learning to create boundaries around work

My passion for art came back

Acts of kindness are good for the soul

I started making my own clothes and drawing again after putting it off for so long

I learned how to slow down which helped me to listen to my anxieties and understand them

Yoga

Reading and journalling

Relaxing at home and enjoying the little things

Sourdough baking (cliche I know, but SO yum!)

It’s ok to live day by day

How can you honour these joys and learnings, by weaving them into your post-iso life?

E.g. I can schedule in time for me, where I can be with myself and be ok with life slowing down for a while.

E.g. I can make a routine to read and journal at set times of the day, three days a week.

E.g. I can continue to be assertive and express my boundaries around work and honour my down-time in the process.

Finally, fill in the below to create personalised affirmations that you can journal regularly, or write down and stick up somewhere you’ll see often.

The most difficult thing I managed to overcome during this experience was _____.

In challenging & uncertain times, I learned that _____.

I now honour myself by making time for ________.

I know that when things get weird/scary, I can always ______.

Watch The Big Shrink ep, on creating a life of meaning and purpose, that helped inspire this blog post.

PhotoDR NAVIT GOHAR-KADAR

dr navit gohar-kadar, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoOLIVER SANTIAGO

oliver santiago, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoDR REBECCA HANNAN

dr rebecca hannan, Senior Psychologist

PhotoABELINA WOLF

abelina wolf, Registered Psychologist

PhotoDAFNA KRONENTAL

dafna kronental, Psychotherapist & Counsellor

PhotoAYANTHI DE SILVA

ayanthi de silva, Registered Psychologist

PhotoBRE ELDER

bre elder, Senior Psychologist

PhotoKIT HALLIDAY

kit halliday, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoMAJA CZERNIAWSKA

maja czerniawska, Senior Psychologist

PhotoNEKIYAH DHARSHI

nekiyah dharshi, Registered Psychologist

PhotoANNIA BARON

annia baron, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoTAYLA GARDNER

tayla gardner, Psychotherapist & Counsellor

PhotoLORNA MACAULAY

lorna macaulay, Senior Psychologist

PhotoSHUKTIKA BOSE

shuktika bose, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoDEEPIKA GUPTA

deepika gupta, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoNICOLE BURLING

nicole burling, Senior Psychologist

PhotoNATASHA KASSELIS

natasha kasselis, Senior Psychologist

PhotoDR PERRY MORRISON

dr perry morrison, Senior Psychologist

PhotoGAYNOR CONNOR

gaynor connor, Psychotherapist & Counsellor

PhotoSHAUNTELLE BENJAMIN

shauntelle benjamin, Registered Psychologist

PhotoLIZ KIRBY

liz kirby, Psychotherapist & Counsellor

PhotoSAM BARR

sam barr, Clinical Psychologist

PhotoDARREN EVERETT

darren everett, Senior Psychologist

PhotoJAMIE DE BRUYN

jamie de bruyn, Senior Psychologist


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