WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This month behavioral health organizations are dedicated to spreading the word that mental health is something everyone should care about. Mental health is something we all have. And it’s okay to not be okay and to ask for help. This month I invite you to consider the BEST thing you have done for your mental health and share in the comments below.
For me, starting a yoga practice was the best thing I have done for my mental health.
It dawned on me in graduate school that chasing the grade and “checking the boxes” were never going to lead me to happiness. Because I had heard yoga helped with stress, I decided to give it a try.
The movement hooked me. At the end of class, I felt calm and centered in a way I did not feel in my day-to-day life. As my regular practice developed and evolved, pranayama (breath), meditation, and understanding of yoga’s philosophy softened and changed the way I think and move in the world. Yoga’s philosophy helped me to align my actions with my values and bring my mind back to what is important. Breath became a powerful tool I could use anywhere to balance my central nervous system. Meditation strengthened and cleared my conscious awareness – I am better able to catch my mind when it has wandered and bring it back to the present. Without yoga’s pillars, I would still be a stressed-out, highly anxious human.
While yoga is the best thing I have done for mental health, clients have shared the following:
Starting and continuing therapy
Trying medication
Letting go of toxic relationships
Changing jobs
There are numerous ways to care for your mental health. And mental health is just as important as physical health to prioritize. One out of five adults, and one out of six youth, experience mental illness. And while not everyone experiences mental illness, all of us experience the ebb and flow of mood and meaning in life.
I am curious, what is the BEST thing you have done for your mental health? Please share by emailing me: kristen@wellnesswithinfoxvalley.com. I will update this blog with a list of ideas shared (names omitted) to encourage those who might be feeling stuck.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS 2023
What is the BEST Thing You’ve Done for Your Mental Health? (As shared by readers)
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