It is Sunday midnight, which used to be one of the worst and most stressful times of the week due to being afraid of the coming very probable half-sleepless night and the following working week (and month and year). However, this time I was driving back home from a close friend of mine in a good mood, playing music aloud and half singing. Realizing this made me turning volume even louder, wow!
A couple of different friends just said, that hey, you already look better, are more relaxed, laugh more and are a kind of a different person compared to the previous year. Nice. Actually, I also even grabbed on to my piano a few times this week. And started seriously thinking about and looking how to arrange a few short travels to meet some relatives. Some clear progress in one month!
We don´t notice the gradual changes so easily, either in ourselves or around us. This is how and why you can eventually end up for a stress sick leave; step by step. It is beneficial frequently to stop for thinking and observing in a longer term. We all know this, but it´s hard sometimes. You can´t make a difference between two consecutive days, but still one day you suddenly sit face to face with the doctor, who is proposing you a stress leave. As stated above, in terms of observing yourself, people around are valuable. Like a company psychologist. I met her five times during a few months starting from when I was ordered to take a break a year ago. Those were the only spots she ever has had on me, so it was easy for her to compare my appearance between the visits.
ps. One gift item received from ex-colleagues is a colouring book for adults, which I haven´t tried before. Makes it very enjoyable to drift in your thoughts completely; a perfect way of wasting hours I’d say!