17. Prioritizing My Mental Health

 

Over the past few years, I have made great progress in prioritizing my mental health.  Firstly, I made it a priority to use heart-focused guided meditations on a daily basis, to nurture my mind and soul and encourage a calm and a self-love I never knew before.  Secondly, starting a couple of months ago, I have taken advantage of a gym membership where the gym is easily accessible to me and I go regularly there to swim.  Thirdly, I have set aside time and effort to learn about mindful self-compassion from reading and discussing with a psychologist.  I still have plenty to learn about mindfulness in theory and practice, but my time online with a psychologist this year has been very beneficial.  Fourthly, I have made it my mission to be up every day by 6am.  I am succeeding with this goal at least half the time.  I am more alert, settled and positive when I do so, and can meditate and pray and study scripture before the demands and challenges of my day come.  Lastly, I have made consistent  effort  in the area of my health and fitness goal, recently changing to a predominantly wholefood plant-based diet, and regularly walking and swimming.  Doing so has strengthened my body, mind and my self-esteem!  I have lost at least 10 lbs so far, and I am going to keep moving forward in this health goal.  I am determined to keep to these five ways of prioritizing my mental health.

I don’t know where my head was when our children were younger… I guess I was so focused on them and struggled so much with brain-fog and anxiety and depression,  and I lacked understanding of the importance of prioritizing my own mental health, (apart from taking my prescribed medications), had little awareness of guided meditations and did not realize how badly I was needing of my own self-love, an all important area I have been able to grow thanks to Sarah Blondin’s heart-focused meditations and ‘Live Awake’ podcast.  But every one’s journey to a mentally healthy mind-set is different and I have found sources of help and wonderment at the speed at which I have been able to provide myself with the headspace  and time to be able to take on board the help I have found.

Suffice it to say, I have struggled with different mental health medications prescribed to me for years, and patiently incorporated changes in medication under the "care" of various psychiatrists.  Only in the last 10-12 years have I been prescribed mental health medication that has less bothersome side-effects.  Taking meds, coupled with prioritizing my mental health in the ways I listed above, is joyful work and so beneficial!  I can honestly say I love myself and I love the progress I have made in the past few years.  I am a beautiful work in progress, thanks to my God.  I look back today at my struggling self and wonder how I made it through every day, but I did, and here I am today feeling better about myself than I have ever done before.  I am so worth the work and so are you !!