Hey there friend.

Today let’s talk about mental health.

I know for myself, in this period of transitioning into a location I don’t want to live, with some pretty major changes on the horizon along with so much uncertainty – my anxiety has been running me ragged.

To the point where now I am suffering from depression as well. And the thing is, I’m not sure if it’s even something that I need to have treated, or if I can just work my way through it.

So for now, I’m going to stop wallowing, and am going to try to work myself through it. Here are some often recommended tips that I plan on implementing :

• Eating better – I struggle here because we usually have lunches on hand for our kids…and I end up eating the stuff. I’m not 12 anymore and cannot afford to eat garbage which in turn makes me feel like garbage. So I’m going to limit my snacking as much as possible, eat a small breakfast, a salad for lunch and a healthy-ish dinner.
• Drink all the water! I can tell just by my daily headaches that I’m a little dehydrated – but do I reach for my water? No – I grab another double shot espresso, slam 4 Advil and call it good. Eesh – even admitting that felt icky.
• Exercising regularly – I have not been consistent working out, so it’s time to start alternating between cardio and yoga again. Every day.
• Working on my personal development. A lot of my anxiety comes from not knowing what the future will hold. Why do I feel the need to always be in control of something that I have absolutely zero control over?
• Find my passions – my husband and I were talking the other day about what our gifts are. What are we naturally talented at? I could not think of anything. I’m going to work on finding this out.
• Alone time – this is a huge struggle for me right now. I was so used to being by myself for a large chunk of the day, now we are homeschooling and have a puppy that wakes up at 4:30 so there’s always someone around who needs attention in some form. Which isn’t a bad thing – but my brain feels stimulated all the time. I need to take some “me time” to just sit in silence, pray and meditate on what I want out of this life.
• Find joy in the little things. Somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to be lighthearted. I take everything so seriously that I have a hard time laughing – especially at myself.
• And finally – stopping the negative self talk! Ugh – another biggie. I speak to myself so horribly, it’s crazy. And it’s gotten to the point where I put myself down in front of other people now too…it has to stop!

I didn’t realize when I started typing how much of this stuff is part of my everyday life. No wonder I’m struggling right now! Also, I have been sunk in deep too because it’s been over a year since I got my colostomy bag – and I’m still no closer to knowing if I’ll be able to have it reversed at any point now than I was when I left the hospital. It’s kind of frustrating. (Okay, a lot frustrating!)

There’s still such negativity that seems to revolve around talking about mental health. That needs to end. Everyone struggles sometimes – and some more than others. There’s nothing wrong with talking about it. And putting it into the light can help hopefully, too.

So let’s keep the conversation going. In the comments let me know some ways that you are going to take charge of your mental and physical self today!