October 10 – the day when mental health is celebrated . I would say that it is the day of awareness of the importance of mental health.
Without thinking too much, lately, I wish people a happy birthday, or I end conversations with people with the words: " be well! " ".
This good refers primarily to the thoughts they carry with them. Because they, the thoughts, most of the time build our reality.
Am I an optimistic person?
I am a person who analyzes a lot. I'm a man with a thousand thoughts per second, of which more than 80% are negative, abysmal, "aoleu and valeleu". What do I do with these thoughts? Most of the time I do nothing. I let them pass.
But sometimes they are so strong that they reach the stomach. You all know that tight stomach feeling. Or the feeling that you are out of breath, shivering, dry throat.
Optimism and my current way of being is one that I have arrived at, that I have worked towards. I wasn't always like this. I still have moments when I feel like "it's clear, we're all going to die! Hey, what are we doing?".
The period we are going through makes us have these moods almost daily, whether we want it or not. Life is both good and bad.
In August I had a few days when I couldn't seem to find my place. I had been mute for two years since I was with the children every day. As much as I love them, sometimes I end up wanting a day or two all to myself.
I felt like I was suffocating, that if I didn't get on a train to go somewhere I wouldn't be sane. Even the man seemed to feel that I couldn't stand him around me anymore, nothing suited me anymore, didn't satisfy me anymore.
After a few days of feeling all the bitterness, all the sadness, I fretted, argued, reproached, calmed down, reassessed and started over.
What matters is what we do with the thoughts that come to us. How much we let them define us. We are not our thoughts. We are what we do, what we build, what we give.
Recent Movies About Mental Health - Netflix
I've seen a few movies lately that deal with mental health in one form or another.
Starling is a tender film, easy to watch, without dramatic scenes, but which raises enough questions.
To the bone , a film about eating disorders in young people. Quite hard to digest, but it's good to be aware that such things are happening right next to us.
The roommate is also dealing with mental issues, this time much more serious.
What I do to keep my sanity:
breathe
I talk to my husband - he is here, next to me, he is the one who knows me and accepts me as I am
I tell the children about how I feel, how I feel, that I am disturbed, stuck, anxious, tired.
I talk to one or more friends , either on the phone or online
I do something with my hands – there are so many sources of inspiration, it's impossible not to find something
I clean - cleaning helps us get our bodies moving, throwing away unnecessary things makes us feel like we're doing the same with our thoughts
I cook more dishes than usual, knead bread, make a cake. The simple act of searching for a recipe leads to watching themed videos, from there the appetite arises, the ideas arise. It is impossible not to think that life is beautiful in front of a cake with a cascade of fruits. Or in front of pictures of fluffy, powdered doughnuts.
I look out the window at clouds, birds, trees
I go out for a walk in nature or just to the shops, anywhere as long as I don't stay at home, in the same place
I give something or help someone . usually, when I'm not well, someone comes along who needs a commission, a kind word, a piece of advice.
I flip through a book , read a poem
I look at motivational quotes
I write in my diary – thoughts, emotions, questions, quotes, whatever
I listen to podcasts . Mindarhitect is one that I wholeheartedly recommend.
When your mind is not your friend, just be!
I think it's important to observe our thoughts, to let them flow, not to hide them anywhere. There are also days when, no matter how hard I try, I can't get over the bad moods, over the anxiety, over the sadness. Then I allow myself to be the way I feel. I allow myself to just exist. The body needs such periods to move on, to enjoy the good times again.
Books to help thoughts
I like to keep a few nice magazines with pictures on hand, but also a few books to flip through in times of trouble.
There is a spiritual solution to any book that you open and look for answers to the questions that bother you.
The little Hygge encyclopedia is a book of well-being, mood, to browse and look for the zest for life.
Recently discovered is The Comfort Book, by Matt Haig.
For Christmas, I recommend Christmas Days .
There are certainly many other books that can help us. Thank God, now there are informations everywhere, we can call on specialists, people have started to understand more about the importance of mental health. I hope we learn to be more tolerant with our peers, to learn to ask more often the question "how can I help you" and to be more attentive to the needs of those around us rather than to judge.
In conclusion
Be well, my dear reader! Let's be good with ourselves, with the world we live in, take care of ourselves and each other!