May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and if you’ve known me for a while you know that’s not a topic I shy away from. So I wanted to share some unconventional ways to help you mental health journey today.
My mental health journey started in 2003 after I lost my mom suddenly. It felt like my world was flipped upside down in an instant. The life that I knew up until that moment was suddenly taken away from me and if it hadn’t been for my incredibly supportive and loving step-mom I don’t know if I would’ve dealt with the sudden change as well as I did. She was the one who encouraged me and my sister to start seeing a therapist and working through whatever emotions we were dealing with. Now from my experience that isn’t common, especially in the Black community so I have to applaud my step-mom for doing what a lot wouldn’t have done.
Work it out – Elle Woods said it best, “…endorphins make you happy and happy people don’t [unalive] people”. We all know and love ‘Legally Blond’, and Elle was right. The high that comes from working out, whether something high energy like cardio or a HIIT, or even yoga leave you with an endorphin high that will change your whole mood. It’s so easy to want to retreat into myself when I’m not in the best mood, but sometimes all I need to do is get out and sweat. Plus it improves my overall quality of life like heart health, metabolism and even concentration.
Take a break – Mental health days are necessary. Sleep in, have that cup of coffee at home, journal, get a massage, take care of yourself because you are a priority. If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.
Talk to someone about it – I’ve spoken quite a bit about therapy, and you guys have probably even heard some of my friends praise psychiatrists and medicine, and those are great and definitely tools that I think everyone should use in some form, and the fact that this expense was now being covered by someone else helped tremendously. In fact, last year my company started covering our behavioral health visits at 100% and it allowed me to ease back into weekly visits when I needed it, and I can’t encourage y’all enough to take advantage of it.
Take a nap – I don’t know why naps times aren’t a thing for adults. I was just telling one of my best friends yesterday that weekend naps are necessary, but if we’re being honest daily naps would be awesome. I’m in a completely different headspace after a nap and often times that relieves a lot of tension I carry in my body. And y’all know the tension I’m talking about; the tight jaw, high shoulders, strained eye tension. Something as short as a 15 minute nap can change all of that.
Now these are just a few ways I combat stress in my life, and they help a TON with my mental health. I hope that these tips help you not only this month, but throughout the rest of the year!