Mental Health Month: #4mind4body

May is Mental Health Awareness month! The organization Mental Health America (MHA) founded Mental Health Month in 1949. It was amazing to hear this month long campaign is run by an organization with 70 years of experience behind it! Spreading a greater awareness of mental health is essential in the world we live in right now; we need to create a culture where people feel safe enough to express their emotions and talk about their mental health.

This year MHA is hoping to spark a conversation around mental health by asking people “to post about how they personally use animals, spirituality and religion, humor, work-life balance, and recreation and social connections to improve their physical and mental health” with the hashtag #4Mind4Body.

Obviously, I was excited by this because my entire social media presence revolves around developing a mind-body connection using animals, spirituality, humor, work-life balance, recreation, and social connections! If you visit http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may you will be able to access a multitude of resources for mental health and ways to get involved in Mental Health Month.

My animals help me to improve my mental health through their unconditional love. My cats were bottle fed so they are cuddly and needy. If I have a rough day, there is something extra special about laying down with my kitties in bed and just cuddling them. I know it is the same with dogs because I grew up with them my whole life. Honestly, any animal can provide us comfort, I will not discriminate! Just ask my 3 rabbits & my leopard gecko!

Spirituality is a part of my mental health journey through my yoga practice, but it is still something I have trouble bringing into words. Humor on the other hand is something I have no problem with; I am one of those depressed people who hides their illness with humor. Honestly, I think it is because making people laugh makes me feel better! Maintaining a work-life balance, taking part in my recreational activities, and developing social connections all tie together in my mental health. Making sure I love what I do is important to me; I also have ensured that recreational activities and developing social connections are a crucial part of my business.

If you're struggling with your mental health, the best thing that you can do is reach out for help. Nowadays there are endless options for where we can go to try and get help, but the most important thing is finding somewhere where you feel safe. Trust your instincts. If you feel that a doctor/counselor/therapist is not a good fit for you, speak up! Find somebody in your life that you can go to when things get tough; feeling alone is the worst feeling in the world and no one needs to have that experience.

For years I allowed my mental health to prevent me from living my best life. It was not until I reached out for help that I was truly able to reach a point where I feel happy. Accepting that the dark parts of me can coexist with the light parts of me has allowed me to create major shifts in my life. There is still much work to be done, but I have taken control of my life back and stopped allowing my mental health to be an excuse to living an unhappy life.

Mental illnesses are common and having one does not make you any less worthy of an amazing life than the next person. Learning to live with your mental illness and starting a path towards healing is not going to be easy, but making small shifts in your life can start to create big changes. Creating an open dialog with each other can help to end the stigma of mental health. I would love to see what you are all doing this month (and after) to help create a mind-body connection. Share anything related to your metal health journey involving animals, spirituality, humor, work-life balance, recreation, and social connections using the hashtag #4mind4body.