Car broke down

My car broke and was off the road for a week.

Instead of it just being a simple inconvenience, just getting taxis or walking the kids to school, it literally knocked me for six days.

My routine was completely messed up and this change caused a ton of anxiety and overthinking. My mental health deteriorated very quickly and my ability to function was very low. I was shutting down.

The Impact

• I didn't clean my house or do any chores
• I struggled with self care
• I barely communicated with friends and family
• I cancelled all plans
• I didn't cook

I used every bit of energy I had caring for my children and everything else got neglected.

The Aftermath

I picked the car up from the garage on Thursday night. I was supposed to do a first aid course on Friday but I cancelled. I couldn't tell them I was cancelling because my car had broken down and as a consequence I had broken down too. I felt really embarrassed, so I said I was ill. So then I had guilt to deal with too because lying is something I really struggle with and don't like to do.

This is just an example of how one thing going wrong, a simple change in our routine, can have so many knock on effects across our lives and it can last for some time.

We can't predict things like cars breaking down but if it is something that can be predicted or prepared for, it is very important we do so.

Recovery

Over this weekend things have started to feel more "normal" again, I've cleaned up, spoken to my family, done my eyebrows and been out for lunch today.

Hoping that tomorrow we will get back into our weekday routine and I will be a fully functioning human being again!

Fingers crossed 🤞🏼