This is a weird one...

Good morning!

Has it really only been 7 days since I last sat down to write a newsletter?

Nothing of importance has happened. Still it feels like the world has completely shifted. Have you ever experienced this?

The week was tiresome.

It felt like I could have slept for days and days. Work was uninspiring and hard to get done. I did not want to do it, and I also had nothing else I would have rather done.

Depression had hit.

My on and off companion for as long as I can remember.

The symptoms: tired, uninspired, ready to cry at any moment. I’m always surprised by it’s arrival. One would think by now I would know the symptoms and be able to brace myself for impact.

As soon as I recognize it for what it is, it starts to ease.

Mainly because I take necessary precautions.

I allow myself to rest and sleep as much as needed. I walk away from work tasks that are too hard and can wait. Chores are no longer chores but a ritual for self-care. I make lists in my head over accomplishments rather than what I need to do.

It helps.

3 days in with intensive self-care I start to feel better.

The outlook on the world is more optimistic. I can find myself smiling a little.

Every time I re-emerge into the world after a hit I feel like a toddler.

The world seems new and unexplored. I’m trying things out, not sure how everything works. It’s liberating, there are no rules yet.

Maybe it’s adjusting to the rules that gets me depressed in the first place - maybe life will be easier if I stop living by the rules.

Only one way to find out, I guess.

xo, Yvonne

🖊️ This week's publications

🕯️Inspiration to go slow

Forest bathing is epic.

On Wednesday I ventured out into the vast area just north of my home town Oslo. 45 minutes on the subway and I found myself in the middle of nowhere.

Then I walked - taking in all the green, the fresh air, the feeling of being completely on my own.

The world with all its problems seems smaller out there.

👽 Currently exploring

During this already weird week I also peaked down a new rabbit hole.

Inspired by this Webcrawler’s Podcast I started researching timeline / quantum jumping.

It’s based on the idea that every decision you make starts new branches on your timeline. There is the timeline with your decision. And then the ones with the decisions you did not make at that moment.

Example: You decide to have oatmeal for breakfast.

And then there is also a version of you that ate something else. While you are riding the oatmeal timeline, you can also perceive the other version of you. That is so far the easiest explanation I have come across.

A theory says you can reach out to all these versions to gather information.

What did they do to get where they are?

If you want to write a book, you could ask the version that already has published the book for advice. When you are stressed, you could connect with a calm and serene version of you.

How?

Take some deep breaths and calm down your mind, like when you start meditating. See and feel the other version of you. You can either ask them questions, or step into / merge with that version.

I’ve been playing with this over the last few days.

Does it work? Time will tell.

But last night, after stepping into a version that sleeps like a baby, I finally had a good nights sleep - uninterrupted for 8 hours. Waking fully rested. Curious to see what this day might bring.

I don’t know if quantum jumping really works.

But I’m willing to play and experiment.