World Mental Health Day 2022

Today is World Mental Health Day, and this year the big message is to look after ‘Number 1’ when it comes to your mental health.

Our mental state affects the way we see the world and ourselves. how we think, feel, and act. How we react to stress, how we relate to the people around us, and whether the choices we make are healthy.

I have been surprised to experience several situational depressions since lockdown shifted the world on its axis. Deep, dark pits where hope, energy and motivation are scarce, as the weight of the world pushes me down.  I’ve several times felt completely burnt out, overwhelmed, depleted, and isolated. When I really dig into those feelings, I can see that my energy is being overspent, so I’m becoming exhausted, anxious, and disheartened. Losing motivation for me, means losing power. And feeling powerless is the worst. This is also when it all starts to slide on the self-care front… sleep, nutrition, hydration, toxins… all the basic pillars of wellbeing. And so the negative spiral feeds itself.

There is no shame in this.

I repeat, there is no shame in this.

1 in 4 people in England will experience a mental health problem each year. Our mental state is affected by many aspects… financial uncertainty, isolation, inequality, grief, hormones, brain chemistry, conflict, violence, public health emergencies, accessibility of services, how much support we have around us. Also, our genes, life experiences, upbringing and environment… it all affects our mental health.

With everything that is happening in the world, it can be easy to feel powerless, but there are things we can manage and control… things we can do, or stop doing, or change, to tend to our mental health.

For me, it’s eating healthy food, early nights, yoga, walking in trees, turning my face to the sun and taking a few deep breaths, and the most important single biggest thing I do every day to tend to my mental health – my morning ritual!

My morning ritual is so important to me. Before I interact with a single soul, or look at my phone (basically before the outside world can get into my consciousness), I go into my studio and close the door – which I have asked my family to respect as a boundary signal not to interrupt. I take a moment to notice how I feel physically and emotionally, and then write in my journal, using my journaling prompts, including gratitude’s. Even on the worst of days, I can find three things to be grateful for… a roof over my head, or living in a peaceful country, or my eyesight. I journal about how I am feeling, what I am thinking, what I am dreaming, and what I intend to focus on for the day.

This has become an essential part of tending to my mental health, daily. This is how I can hear myself think before the world gets into my head. This is how I know who I am, before I am buffeted around by the strong winds of the worlds demands, opinions, needs and expectations of me. Sometimes I spend ten minutes, sometimes a little longer, depending on how much time I have. I’ll sometimes light a candle and put some meditative music on if I’m feeling super luxurious!

If I can't do my morning ritual for a few days in a row, I really start to feel off kilter. It’s so important, I created an entire Choose Love episode on the healing power of ritual.

This World Mental Health Day, we are all encouraged to ask ourselves… what can we do to make mental health our Number 1 priority?

What needs honouring? 

What’s draining your energy?

What will you do to choose number 1 and honour your mental health today?

💖