Routine can be so comforting. And easy. I can eat the same thing for breakfast every day—whole grain English muffin with plant based butter and blueberries and nuts. If it's Monday, I exercise at 9, start my work day at 10:30, and end by 6:30. In the evening I'll read, play games, spend time with friends or watch television. Other days are pretty similar, with the main variations being in my exercise routine. Is today strength training or pilates? This routine has been especially true since the pandemic. While hundreds struggled and are struggling with too much to do, my life got simpler during the pandemic, mostly because it became much more limited. I'm grateful that I don't have days filled with too much to do, too many demands, and extreme worry about loved ones. And I'm also aware that there may be others who are getting stuck in isolated comfort or discomfort. Staying in a restricted routine may have come from the pandemic, but the lack of novelty is limiting to our mental wellness.

Many days during the worst of the pandemic, I didn't even leave the house and unfortunately that can become a habit. When you live in routine, you don't have to think so much. That's a relief, right? But only to a certain extent. Too much........

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