Bonus: Mental Health Month
still May
hello loves,
On top of the many things in May (Happy birthday month sissy! Mother’s month! graduations! AANHPI Heritage month! Happy Memorial Day!), it is also Mental Health Awareness Month.
This is a topic near and dear to my heart.
Mental health is defined as “a sense of overall well-being, a feeling of being comfortable, healthy, or happy”.
And in the spirit of celebrating this, of normalizing sharing stories about the status of our well-being, of tending to ourselves and one another with care when we are unwell, I’m sending out this special issue with Mental Health Resources for your use.
Your Own Self. You are your greatest resource. Get immediate nervous system support by moving the body or breathing in and out with intention for any length of time. Give yourself a hug. Dance. Punch the air. Cry. You got this. Full support!
Doctors. We love them, we need them. Consult your primary care or get a new one (functional MDs are a new breed that focus on holistic health); use Psychology Today filtered search for finding a psychologist/psychiatrist in your state specializing in topics you care about/need support with. Also: your health insurance Find a Doctor tool; memberships like Better Help and Talk Space.
The Public Library. Check out books like Radical Compassion and Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach; Burnout by Drs. Emily and Amelia Nagoski; What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo; the self-help/spirituality/science/psychology/poetry sections. ALL FREE!!
YouTube for free yoga, qi gong, tai chi, breathwork, meditation, and any other class you can think of. The internet is a marvel indeed.
Consider becoming a Mental Health First Aider, or encouraging your company to pay for someone to get trained on it. This is a peer-to-peer (virtual OR in-person) training program that teaches participants how to recognize signs of mental health challenges and how to support people experiencing them, especially in instances of emergencies.
Share your story with someone(s) you trust. Stigma and shame are attached to mental health challenges in some societies. This is unnecessary and has dire consequences, including preventing people from getting much-needed treatment that can make them better. In some cases, 100% better. I myself currently manage post-traumatic stress disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorder, the anxiety and depression that come with that level of nervous system dysregulation, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a recent diagnosis that means I have been neurodivergent from birth. I cannot emphasize my encouragement of people getting treatment enough - treatment has saved my life. I mean that.
Get a teacher. Someone you can learn from, someone who you connect with, who helps you with something you need. Pay this person accordingly :).
There are so many things we can do to support our mental, our TOTAL, health.
So many ways we can learn healthy coping skills, process emotions, set boundaries, and normalize feeling GOOD.
Do not let the fear economy convince you otherwise.
And if you struggle, like I do, it is not all of who we are. Not even close.
Sending love and light,
Colby