How is your mind today? Is it chaotic on this Monday? Is it quiet and at peace? Are you struggling? And if you are, have you verbalized it to someone? The entire month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Let's check in. One in five women have experienced a mental health condition in the last year. ( womenshealth.gov) For me, I am one of those women. For all of my life I've suffered from some pretty gnarly anxiety. Until I found ways to cope in the best way for me, it debilitated me. I'd get sudden onset panic attacks, where it felt like I was unable to breathe. If I was out in public, I'd have to stop and leave. Postpartum anxiety whooped my butt, as I have stated before. I didn't even know that was a thing until I came across it in an article almost a year after I had my son. I thought my behavior was stemming from current stressors at the time (which some of it was) but it was also from postpartum anxiety. I barely left my home for the first six months after Preston was born, only for his doctor visits. I told myself it was the winter, and I was better off at home with him when it was sick season and cold temperatures. But, in reality it was me struggling to cope with my mental health. I was the one who did everything for my son, and then I'd see that I had gone two days without taking a shower. Shortly after he turned one, I became a solo parent. After wallowing in some tragic stuff that occurred in those months leading up to that, I knew I had to get my mind right.
Joining the gym completely transformed my mind and body in ways I never thought it could. I have always been health conscious, but moving my body helped heal my mind in so many ways. I had lost close to forty pounds after giving birth, but I only gained 27 when I was pregnant. I was stressed beyond belief and breastfeeding while trying to keep my head above water. When I am super stressed, my body's reaction is to lose weight. Fast. Those extra pounds I lost were not intentional and I knew it was time for me to make my body and mind strong. I immediately fell in love with weight training, and I noticed the positive impact it had on me mentally. I found more patience, better sleep, more confidence, less anxiety. I knew that in order for my mental health to be a priority, fitness had to be one too. Luckily, my gym had a daycare and my son absolutely loves it there. It was my time to disconnect from reality a little bit and focus on me, and it still is. Being able to move my body outside is also a great way to get in this time too. I love to hike, I love to be outside in the woods. Being able to disconnect in nature and ground myself has brought so much peace to my life. Last summer I made it a point to hike once a week at a local state park, and I plan to do the same this summer. It's a change of scenery from the gym or the Peloton, and I love being able to just park my butt on some rocks when I've made my way to the top and just breathe. It's pure serenity for me.
It wasn't until recently, that I've been working hard on meditating. It's opened me up to a whole different type of mental healing. I connected with this amazing woman from another amazing woman, who I have been doing reiki with about once a month since January. It's truly changed my mindset so much. I am not a religious person, although I did go to Catholic school for nine years. But, I do find myself to be spiritual. It was hard for me to find a connection where I could meet in the middle. Reiki has done that for me. Never in my life did I think I could meditate, but I set aside a little time each day now and I do it. Calming my mind has brought me so much peace and I can see a transformation in so places in my life because of it. Every morning I wake up, I don't immediately reach for my phone anymore. I grab my little daily spiritual devotional and read the designated passage for the date. It focuses on so many different topics, and there are SO many options out there based on your wants and needs. After that, I have a moment of quiet and set my daily intentions and ask for peace, love, and light throughout my day. Then, I wrangle my little guy and we do our school and morning routine. I find that taking those few minutes in the morning for myself sets a positive tone for the day along with the way I organize my day to avoid anxiety triggers.
Don't get me wrong, some days I struggle with anxiety pretty bad still. But, learning to cope with it in these ways have helped me tremendously and have given me more good days than rough ones. Also, getting acupuncture and balancing out what I was deficient in with my naturopath played a huge role. You need to know whats going on inside your body too, because it can completely wreck you mentally if you're lacking anything. Mental health is still such a taboo topic and that frustrates me to no end. What is wrong with talking about what we're struggling with? If there's anything I have learned in the last six years of my life it is that secrets keep you sick. I gladly have conversations about mental health with the people who are close to me, and honestly I think it's a really good thing to do in relationships/friendships because it makes your communication and bond stronger. If you are struggling or have struggled, please talk about it. You don't know who you could help by sharing what you've gone through or the ways you have helped yourself. My email is always open.