The Field Guide for Radical Living: A Six-Week Series Part Four

The Field Guide for Radical Living: A Six-Week Series 

There is an art to living well, and even more so when living with depression, PTSD, or any other mental health condition. 

This field guide is a six-week blog series for those who want to master that art. 

Each “radical” is a practice. Together, they form a way of living. 

This guide is designed to help out during the toughest times. Chances are, if things feel like they are falling apart, if it feels like life isn't going how we would like it too, one of the “radicals” in this series is going to speak to you and be a call to action. 

Each “radical” is a little complex, a little nuanced. Some take a while to wrap your head around. Most of them contain within them a dialectic, or a need to hold two things true at once. 

Week four: Self-Repair and Compassion

Practices that heal shame, self-attack, and burnout.

These counterbalance discipline and responsibility, preventing rigidity, perfectionism, and emotional exhaustion.

Radical Self-Compassion

You are worthy, always. Even when you are a total mess.

You can be working on yourself and love yourself at the same time.

Self-compassion isn’t letting yourself off the hook, it’s letting yourself be human.

Try this: What would I say to a friend I care deeply about who was in this same situation

Radical Joy

Learning to see the little things and allowing yourself to celebrate them fiercely

You can enjoy the hell out of little things even when the big picture of our lives doesn't currently look great. Don’t wait for joy to be “appropriate.” Don’t wait for life to be perfect. Let yourself feel good, even when things are messy. Radical joy doesn’t mean pretending things are fine when they’re not. It means allowing yourself moments of beauty and pleasure, even in the middle of chaos. It says: Joy doesn’t need to be earned. It’s a human right. I can enjoy the small things even when life is stressful and imperfect.  

Try this: Go “glimmer hunting”. Can you find one small thing that brings you even the slightest joy, can you let yourself truly feel it?

Growth does not require cruelty. You are allowed to rest, to laugh, to feel moments of lightness even while you’re healing heavy things. Self-compassion is not a detour from the work, it is the work. And joy, especially in small doses, is not denial. It’s resilience in disguise. Let yourself be human here. Let yourself feel good when you can.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog.