Going Through Your Mental Health Checklist
It is officially Mental Health Awareness Month! Honestly!! We should recognize mental health more than anything. As a mental health professional, seeing individuals becoming more open in normalizing what has been stigmatized for many years simply fulfills my heart. Awareness is a form of calling that we bring to the world. Here is food for thought: 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience a mental health illness. Maybe about half receive the proper treatment. How do we feel about these statistics? It can be quite scary. As individuals, we tend to individualize ourselves and our experiences. Yes, we all go through various experiences that make us different, but there are others who are experiencing like you. We should view mental health not as a label, but as a symptom that we experience during specific triggers or times of our lives.
I hope during mental health awareness month, we can recognize, acknowledge, and value others through their struggles. As a therapist, you would assume I have the answers to what can go through my mind; however, that is not true. We have mental health that we have to challenge ourselves through.
We absolutely do not know when others are struggling, even if we think we know them very well. Stay humble to others and check in on how they are doing. We can simply set a five-minute window to send a message to others asking how they are doing or simply wishing them a good day. Not only to others but checking in with yourself as a priority as well. How can we do that? I have created a mental break challenge to ensure you check in with yourself. This challenge is set for 10 days or as a general checklist you can carry around with you on a month-to-month basis. This is a form of boundary that you create for yourself.
Checklist / Challenge:
1 – Give your brain a break
2 – Stretch or do yoga for 30 minutes
3 – Stay off social media for a day (or longer)
4 – Spend time with uplifting people
5 – Declutter your space
6 – Spend time doing your favorite hobby
7 – Give yourself a compliment in the mirror
8 – Spend a day alone in nature
9 – Journal your thoughts
10 – Check in with a professional
Here are the May affirmations:
My journey is mine to my own.
I am letting go of expectations and embracing what is.
I trust the process of life even, especially when it doesn’t unfold as I have planned.
I am capable of handling any challenges I face.
If you or anyone you know is currently experiencing a crisis, please seek professional help or contact 988.
