I guess that by now everyone is moving on with their lives. Just in case that’s not true and there’s another person feeling as nostalgic as I am, just keep on reading.
Am I the only one who feels like this? Completely unmotivated to do anything. Everything just feels blunt. I can’t hike without having Alvaro talking about scouts and Christina about bugs, I can’t do yoga without laughing at George and Erik, I can’t edit a video without asking a question about every tiny thing to Jowow, I don’t want to play music without having a private party in my room with Anna.
I’m extremely grateful that I got to spend such an amazing period of time with everyone but life has to go on. We can’t just keep clinging to the past, it’s not beneficial for anyone.
Because of that, I did some research on how to get over this and in case anyone else feels the same (you know, no song sounds good, you don’t want to do anything, every book/ show is boring, you don’t want to leave the house), I’m here to (try to) help you!
Here’s the things that actually kind of work 🙂
- Keep a diary: talk to someone about your feelings- There’s this special freedom you get when you actually address the way you feel. It doesn’t solve everything but it really helps, for me writing these posts helps haha
- Exercise: we also talked about this during the project. Exercising isn’t just good for your physical health and appearance, it’s also very good for your mentality. Basically, while exercising, our brains release a protein called BDNF which acts as a reset switch to our brain and endorphins that fight stress- which is why we feel at ease or happier after exercising.
- Do Something: anything, keep yourself occupied (which doesn’t include procrastinating). If you sit in the house for the whole day without actually having to do something, you’re going to feel bored and you’ll have plenty of time to think about pretty much anything (anything after a full week of exciting activities translates as ”thinking about all of the amazing things I did in Slovenia, oooh I’m so nostalgic”).
- Breathe: as Aljana taught us during the Stress management workshop, even though breathing is the most important thing we have to do to live, when we get stressed, we unconsciously breathe irregularly and our minds get deprived of oxygen. That makes us feel even worse than before. So just stop, inhale, pause, exhale, it’s simple.
One of the things that I found while googling “How to get over the emptiness you feel after an amazing youth exchange in Trbovlje”, was “start preparing the next time you’ll meet each other”. Therefore, this is an open question to everyone, HOW ABOUT WE ORGANISE A REUNION? (and actually, do it, I know that everyone wants to, but I know that it’s not that easy).
I reeeeeeeeeeeeally hope these actually help. Remember, if you need anyone to talk to, I’m available anytime ^_^.
-Stella
