Mental Health
Mental Health is interwoven with overall good health. Oprah says, “Mental illness is real. And like everything else in life, it operates on a spectrum. Though there are common symptoms, everyone experiences it differently.
Yet so many people live in shame, hiding their struggles, not seeking help. We, as a culture, have not fully acknowledged how much help is needed.
The only real shame is on us for not being willing to speak openly. For continuing to deny that mental health is related to our overall health. We need to start talking, and we need to start now.
Screen time
Screen time is the amount of time spent using devices with screens, including smartphones, video games, computers, and TV. While we all could cut down on it, we now know that too much screen time harms growing children and has been linked to:
- Obesity
- Poor sleep schedules and not enough sleep
- Behavior problems
- Delays in language and social skills development
- Violence
- Attention problems
- Less time learning
Depression and anxiety screens
Emotional thoughts travel at 100,000 miles per hour, while rational thoughts travel at 100 miles per hour. Therefore, we are ALWAYS emotional beings first. We need to feel what we need to feel – when we push down or ignore feelings, they make us sick! Mindfulness practices (link to mindfulness apps) are a great way to start noticing your “feels” – and these screening tests (link below) can help you understand yourself better, too.
Self Mental Health Tests at Home: Link to Screening Tool
Think you want to talk to someone to help you understand all your feels? Watch this video:
Healthy coping skills
Eating well. Sleeping enough. Moving joyfully. Learning to listen to your body. Feeding Your Spirit. All of these lay the foundation for increasing our ability to cope with our day-to-day lives.
Eating well. Sleeping enough. Moving joyfully. Learning to listen to your body. Feeding Your Spirit. All of these lay the foundation for increasing our ability to cope with our day-to-day lives.
Mindfulness
Be. Here. Now.
Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present to what’s happening in the moment – to our breath, to our bodies, to our thoughts, and to our feelings.
Our energy goes to wherever our thoughts are: worrying about your future? Angry about your past? Do most of your thoughts start with, “I wish” or “If only”? Bring yourself back to the present by sensing the temperature of the air on the tip of your nose! Or by feeling the ground beneath your feet. Regular practice – which can be just minutes a day – has the potential to increase memory and reduce stress, and is the number one way to heal from traumatic experiences. Download one of the recommended apps to your phone, or find guided meditations on YouTube.
APPS:
Meditation apps:
- Moodfit: getmoodfit.com
- Calm: calm.com
- Insight timer: insighttimer.com
- Headspace: headspace.com
- Smiling mind: Link to Similing Mind
Stress Relief:
- Sanvello: sanvello.com
Best for BIPOC:
- Shine: theshineapp.com
Happiness & Mindfulness apps:
- Happy not perfect: happynotperfect.com
- Mindfulness coach: Link to Mindfulness Coach
- I am – Daily affirmations: iamaffirmations.app
- Happify: happify.com
Mental Health Trackers / Journals:
- Sayana: www.sayana.app
- Reflectly – Journal & AI Diary: reflectly.app
Anxiety Relief:
- Breathwork: breathwrk.com
- Dare: Panic and Anxiety Relief: dareresponse.com
Best for PTSD:
- PTSD Coach: mobile.va.gov/app/ptsd-coach