Neurobalm
Nervous system regulation in progress.
I’m working on getting cortisol levels down again. It’s going well-ish. Sleep still disrupted more than is my kind of normal in perimenopause. Food is mostly anti-inflammatory. Walking and movement help too. But gentle movement - like walking.
Anyway, that’s a quick update on what I wrote in my OY! PAY ATTENTION! Newsletters last week.
Also part of getting back to a regulated self – preferably all three parts (body, mind and nervous system) – is creating things. In my case it’s paintings. Sooooo many paintings. You should see my walls.
Let me tell you the story of this one that I’m calling Neurobalm.
I didn’t feel like painting. Yet, I did it anyway, because I now know how it helps me. I was grumpy and reluctant to put on a base color. So, I didn’t. Because I make the rules here.
Sometimes a blank, white canvas is all you need. No grounding color. Just raw and white.
Then the colors just happened. Some were mixed. Some were their authentic selves. Some flowed. Some got stuck a bit. Some ended abruptly. Some overrode others.
What a ride!
There was a feeling of tension and release. More release than tension. Urgency. Overwhelm. Anger. Passion. They all found their way onto the canvas.
There was pause and soothing and re-connection. Space to reset. Space to re-calibrate. Space to regulate.
It generated balance and renewal; sparked hope and reset orientation. Like a compass providing reorientation.
The ambiguity you see in this painting is no coincidence. It’s not quite settled yet, but also not entirely chaotic. It’s the space between dysregulation and calm. Between wounds and healing.
The messy part is winding down. The re-calibration has begun.
I didn’t like the result initially. Now it feels like balm to my soul. Balm to my nervous system.
Healing balm.
I like it 🎨 and the name 🧡