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Happy Halloween! I hope that you have fun spending time with your children, handing out, eating candy, etc. or wherever you find yourself this Halloween.
Much like Halloween, the Sunday Scaries can be....well...scary. You know the feeling: Sunday afternoon rolls around and you've got a knot in your stomach thinking of all of the things that need to get done throughout the week. Maybe it's the project you've been procreating at work, that difficult conversation with your friend, or maybe you're just a wreck thinking about when Monday rolls around. If you aren't familiar - this is that feeling where you mildly hold your breath as you know the week will change and you’re not sure what’s coming next. Yeah, that feeling.
As you begin charting with your Creighton Practitioner it can feel like the gut punch of Sunday evening with this same unsettling feeling. What will my chart look like I think? What if I have too much bleeding? Too much? And this mucus I'm supposed to char, what happens if I mess that up?? How long does it take to figure this stuff out? When can we have intercourse? What if I don’t want to face what’s on my chart?
This is the case of the Creighton creepies (can I call it that?). It's like the Sunday Scaries...but Creighton style.
To address this, I’d like to propose my remedy to the case of the Sunday Scaries first (for me it's the Monday scaries, because I have Mondays off...but it just doesn't have the same ring as Sunday Scaries...):
-Mindset change. Think of things differently throughout your week
-plan ahead. Sunday evening or Monday morning write out your entire week. Everything that you know that you already have planned ahead (yes, even picking kids up from school or regularly scheduled meetings). Having a good handle on your schedule makes the rest of the week's unpredictability more predictable. My time block planner and weekly calendar are some of my best friends.
-do something that you look forward to! Sunday evening watch your favorite movie, wear your favorite pair of pajama pants, have a special treat (it is a solemnity after all), or something else that brightens your day
-begin in gratitude: as Blessed Solanus Casey said “thank God ahead of time.” When the Sunday scariest settle in....think of the things that you are grateful for and looking forward to in the week coming up. And thank God for them ahead of time!
-make decision making and difficult conversations part of every day life. It makes having to face them Monday morning way less intimidating
Much like my list to the Sunday scaries, here are my suggestions to remedying the “Creighton creepies,” aka the Sunday scaries of charting with the Creighton Model System:
-Mindset change. Try to see your chart, situation, marriage, etc through another lens than you're currently seeing it
-plan ahead. Schedule and attend your follow ups. Even if your observations aren’t yet at 100%, these sessions are designed to help you navigate the difficulties, and address the difficult questions. I know that if I have something already on the books I am way less inclined to cancel
-do something that you look forward to! Whether that's watching your favorite movie with your spouse, adding whipped cream to your morning latte (highly recommend), spending time with friends, help make the situation less scary.
-ask your questions - yes, even the difficult ones. So much anxiety comes from the unknown; your Creighton practitioner has a wealth of knowledge and insights and wants to teach you
-thank God ahead of time for what He desires to do! And surrender your plans to Him.
-if you are married or engaged, share the family planning responsibility with your significant other. Having your spouse/fiancé in the equation can help release the burden you may feel of having it all together or that it's all on you to figure out. It also helps to learn the system more effectively and efficiently
-and, we've probably heard it before. What you are afraid of, don't want to bring up, etc - I promise: your Creighton Practitioner has probably heard before! We won't be frightened by your situation.
While I hope that your Halloween is scary only insofar as your costume is, I hope that your charting isn’t the same. We are here to help you navigate the "scary" nature of charting your cycles, and hope to turn it into something that you look forward to. Reach out to one of our Creighton Practitioners today!
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