Intro to Mental Health 101

(Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. If you feel like you are seriously not in a good place, please seek a medical professional immediately.)

Happy self-care Sunday, cozy community! I wanted to get this out a little earlier than usual because today's topic is a big one: today we are talking about self care, listening to your body, and other mental health topics. While this may be a very controversial topic/post, it is IMPORTANT. For you, my readers, I wanted this to be an open place, so today I bring you a very open and vulnerable post. I suffer from anxiety and depression and it is something I struggle with every.single.day. And I know I'm not the only one.

Which brings me to Part I of this post: Self Care! Self care is the pillar (to me) for managing symptoms. Some of these ideas I already mentioned in a previous post, but they're also relevant here.

~Exercise. When I'm feeling anxious, I run it out. Can't run? Walk. You can walk literally anywhere. Stuck in an office? Walk to the bathroom and wash your hands or walk to the fountain and get fresh water. Just get up.

~Drink water. Tired? Drink some water. Hungry? Drink some water. Skin breaking out? Drink EXTRA water.

~Eat breakfast. I cannot stress this enough: breakfast really is the most important meal of the day!!! My favorite protein filled jump start: mug scrambled eggs! Takes a minute and a half and an egg or 2 and you're good to go. Healthier alternative-use egg whites instead of cracked eggs. Not in a rush in the mornings? Scoop some avocado onto a plate and have a bite of avocado each time you have a bite of egg!

~Light your candles & do your face masks. Take those few minutes to yourself to step back from the day and unwind and clear your head. Have a houseful of kids running around? Put them to bed, then put yourself to bed with these items.

~Read a book instead of social or emails. I am the MOST GUILTY of not always doing this, especially before bed when you don't need that blue light. Have Audible? Listen to that while sipping chamomile tea in bed or on the couch or in your comfiest chair.

Part II: Listening to your body--

Alright, make sure your cups of coffee or tea or wine are full because from here on out we get REAL. Listening to your body can mean a myriad of things: knowing when to stop working out or when to take a day off, knowing when to walk away, knowing your triggers, knowing when to just STOP. This is also the hardest part, because you need to pay close attention to the environments you're in. Natural Health Perspective gave a great example: you get a headache, you reach for your Ibuprofen or Tylenol or Excedrin, but have you ever stopped to think what is actually causing that headache (what did you eat today? Have you had enough water? Are you staring at your screen for too long?) ? Or how often you get headaches? Asking yourself these questions is intuitive and is the first step in listening to your body. These same questions can be applied when identifying triggers that make you stressed or anxious or add to depression. What are you doing when you start to feel this way? Who are you with? Because people can be triggers, too (but we'll talk about that in a bit).

Part III: Maintaining your mental health--

I'm going to share my Pinterest board with you all regarding positivity and taking care of yourself, as cliche as that may be. My most important things to remember are:

1. Take time for yourself. Remember self care? Now's your time!

2. Value yourself. Everyone is different and unique in their own ways, and that's what makes each of us individually who we are! YOU and your individuality is enough!

3. Cut out your triggers. How do you feel in a regular basis when doing things? How do the people you surround yourself with make you feel? This not only includes what you eat and drink or where you live, but people sometimes need to be evaluated too. It's hard to cut ties with people, but remember that this is about YOU and that YOU need to do what YOU need to do.

4. Express how you're feeling. Whether it's to a professional or to your dog, letting things off your chest is important, because bottling those feelings and emotions up can be detrimental and negatively affect your attitude, perspective, and your mentality overall.

5.. Ask for help. SAYING IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK: ASK FOR HELP. It's 2020-there are SO many resources these days, and you don't need insurance or need to pay insane amounts for it, either. There are even online services so you don't even need to leave the house! Betterhelp.com was one of 2019's top rated!*

Conclusion:

To conclude this post (sorry it's a long one-I could go on forever here), I want the biggest take away to be that mental health doesn't need to be this controversial and dark topic. It's a HUGE part of everyone's life and everyone is affected by it one way or another. You don't have to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression or something else to be affected by mental health. So, cozy community, I'm going to leave you all with this: you matter, you are loved and you ROCK!

Thank you for reading; until next time! :) <3

Resources:

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise.htm

https://www.aifc.com.au/how-important-is-water-hydration-to-mental-health/

http://naturalhealthperspective.com/antiaging/listening.html

https://spunout.ie/health/article/pmh-maintaining-your-positive-mental-health

https://www.e-counseling.com/tlp/therapy-1/?imt=1

https://www.pinterest.com/sydneydionne1/sayings-things/