Every year the World Health Organization celebrates October 10th as World Mental Health Day. This year the entire month of October will be recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month. With the effects of the pandemic, I think it’s an understatement to say 2020 has been an extremely stressful year for us all. Anxiety is all around, we are anxious about our health and the health of our loved ones, our jobs, our children and their future.
For me, I was struggling with (postpartum) depression then lost my dad to COVID-19 in a manner I would not wish on my worst enemy. I never got to be with him in his last days, he was isolated in the hospital and I was “quarantined”. I was not satisfied with the care he got in the hospital and also felt like I failed to get him proper care. We couldn’t see him after he died and was unsure if we would even get to have a funeral services for him. In addition my children (boys; 7 years and 2 years) were also pulled from their routines. My 7 year old was so fearful of COVID-19 he felt like we would all die from it and my 2 year old going through the terrible twos. It seemed like I was thrown in a blackhole and things were only getting worse.
Everything took a toll on me, I try to be intentional about my mental care and some days are better than others. Here are some things I do to amplify my self care:
• I have changed the way I care about my physical health. I exercise daily, I boost my immune system with natural herbs/vitamins and I drink a lot more water.
• I take care of my spiritual being as well, I have incorporated meditation and deep breathing exercises, and I give thanks daily for everything I have and everything I will receive in the future. Gratitude really is magical and I try to focus on the positives.
• I try to spend as much time as I can with the boys in nature. On Sundays, I take them out of the house (we avoid crowds) we go to beaches and rivers and when they were closed we would just drive to an isolated area and get some fresh air and sunlight.
I don’t have all the answers and like I said some days are better than others, but I am more intentional and aware about my self care, about my mental health and about my well-being. How have you been managing mentally? Are you asking for help? Are you the strong friend that no one checks on? It’s ok to ask for help, it doesn’t make you less strong. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Virtual Joe – @virtualjoe876
https://virtualjoe876.com
info@virtualjoe876.com
