Menopausal Mondays

Self Talk

I used to enjoy reading. I used to enjoy writing. Always loved to socialise and meeting new people. Even though I was a bit of a geek and loved playing around with MS Access and the primary scripts of web designing (yes, I found fun and sometimes mindblowing 😂). Our active life gets so busy that we can barely find time for what we enjoy. “Priorities” we call them. We get lost in the busy-ness of life and continue in auto-pilot, as if that was our most important mission. Our light dims, as we only do wat we need and rarely what we want and just forget about ourselves, about our interests. Hobbies are something of the past: “What, playing piano? Knitting? Where do I have time for that?”

It’s been hard to find the time and the motivation to read, let along writing… Social media feed news – humans most common first daily touch with words – are constant, unreliable, contradictory and 9/10 are utterly depressing. If I trust all I’m reading, the world is lost and there is no hope for the human kind. My contacts list is now reduced to half. We craved connection so bad that it exhausted our social skills. People don’t communicate unless it is to moan, to argue, to criticize or just to be polite.

As I wean myself off the social networks I decided to resume my reading by baby steps, by reading a happy eZine (the image holds the link). You can read the free online version or order the hard copy. The hard copy is always out first. eZine readers will be left in the dark for a few weeks before it is released but it’s well worth the waiting.

It is very carefully curated content around mental health & wellbeing. It is an easy reading magazine, addressing very current topics, all laid in a very positive way. If you are trying to find yourself (again), it’s a delightful read.

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Since the kids have become teenagers and more self-sufficient, I stopped engaging with other parents and it has become increasingly difficult to make new friends. Not that it is easy to build friendship with other parents (all parents think they’re doing a better job), that will probably explain why those acquaintances have not been kept. I have struggled a little with some British ways of raising children… The lack of rules and discipline are just a couple… So my options are reduced. Unless I find a hobbie I really enjoy, going to the pub regularly or attending a local church are not that appealing options.

We did used to go to ballroom classes. That was kind of fun. Fun (and romantic) cardio. Maybe I should add that to my 2026 resolutions. It is the time for it. So, 2026 notes to self:

• Read more
• Write more
• Hobby more
• Socialise more (OFFLINE)

Sounds like a solid plan 😉