I’m gonna blather on in words again: What are you doing to take care of your Mental Health and the Mental Health of those around you? What examples are you setting for the people in your lives – your family? your children? your co-workers or employees? 

This is the time to make it a priority. There is enough trauma in this world without us piling it on ourselves more. There is no need for lashing out when we’re feeling hurt or sad – learn how to communicate and work through the emotions. Sarcasm and humor can be a defense mechanism. It may be a superpower, but at what cost? 

I’ve dealt with my own PTSD for years. I manage my own anxiety and fears through therapeutic journaling, meditations, and counseling. I have friends who use different approaches and work with animal therapy, music therapy, art therapy, and more. One friend both sets an example for the Soldiers he serves/served with and his family and friends by writing, discussing, and even surfing as a form of therapy. I’m proud of the impact Nate and Criston have in this world and am glad to call them friends. Nate’s most recent piece is here: https://medium.com/@natedanger/stigma-ptsd-and-addiction-the-importance-of-treatment-support-and-acceptance-531d4e306683

Amy and I have been chatting about our traumas and healing work for a couple of years now. We believe in conversation and communication so much. It helps to break the stigmas from the previous generations, and it helps those around us to see that we’re not ashamed of what we’re dealing with. More people than you suspect probably have some sort of therapy to help them process and deal with the hard things in this crazy world.

As humans, we navigate emotions daily. Being “happy” all the time is NOT possible or even a good idea. We need to feel other emotions and we need to acknowledge that most of the time it’s temporary and there is nothing wrong with us when we feel sad or frustrated. But if our brain chemistry is a little wonky, for whatever reason, then seeking help can help balance us back out and keep us going. 

We’re stronger when we talk about the real things in our lives. Right now, a lot of things seem weird and hard and our feelings roll over us all day long. Frustration, fear, anxiety, hope, grief, desire, excitement. I have days where I feel them all within a few hours. That’s okay. I navigate and process and try to feel what’s really digging at me. Yesterday the waves of grief and tears pulled me down as I cried over 91,000+ deaths in the last few months. Last week I sat on my porch and felt bliss listening to birds chirp. Today I applied for six writing jobs, that offer remote work, because my anxiety over my income is climbing but my anxiety over being out in public and an office is too high to even consider going in to work someplace right now. I will navigate it, and figure out ways to keep both my Mental Health and my Physical Health as priorities. 

Anyway. Here’s our “Winging It” episode for this week – have the conversations. Break the fucking stigmas and talk about it. Your life, or the life of someone you know, depends on it. Be there for them, so they know it’s okay to ask for help. Be the help. Set the example.

#mentalhealth #emotionsarenormal #therapy #noquickfix #ptsd #trauma#anxiety #depression #havetheconversation #talktosomeone#setanexample #bethedifference