For the past few years, I’ve done research surrounding mental health and the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month. I think it’s important to understand what mental health challenges exist for unique communities and groups of people, and these statistics help paint that picture. There is a lot to unpack here, but one thing is clear – there are many, many LGBTQIA+ people, both youth and adults, who are unable to get the mental health care they need and deserve.
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I Took Time Off And It Felt So Good
I’ll be honest – it wasn’t my plan to not write a post last week. I’d had a few things planned but never hit the button to schedule them, so they didn’t happen. But for the first time in a long time, I took a vacation where I was totally, completely and 100 percent offline for a whole work week. And let me tell you…it was wonderful. And I’m writing to you today not to advocate for vacation (which I think you already know is great), but to make the point that actually being offline – whether that’s personally, professionally, etc. – is something that’s sorely needed every once in a while for our mental health.
Continue readingFive Ways To Prioritize Rest
Earlier this week, I wrote about my upcoming vacation, which is coming on the heels of learning just how bad at resting I really am. Most of the time, my first step toward change is awareness – in the past few weeks, I’ve become painfully aware of just how poorly I prioritize rest and getting what I need for my physical health. That’s why I decided to try and five ways that can help me begin to prioritize rest – not because it’s what I want, but because I know it’s what I need.
Continue readingDo I Know How to Rest? Probably Not.
Exciting news – for the first time in a while, I’m going on vacation! I’m going to see my family, enjoy time off work, and hopefully reset and recharge in the way many of us do on vacation. But one thing I’m nervous about is that I’m going to try doing something that doesn’t come easy to me: I’m going to try to rest. I recently learned that not only am I pretty terrible at resting, but it’s probably something I’ve never learned how to do. So how do I handle that?
Continue readingFive Things I Do When I’m Not Feeling Like Myself
Earlier this week, I wrote about what I do when I’m feeling restless or “off.” I think this self-awareness is important for everyone who is trying to understand themselves in a better way. Getting to know yourself is a lifelong journey, and there are many chances to get to know ourselves in a better way, almost daily. I mentioned that there are some things I try to do when I’m not quite feeling like myself, so I wanted to share them today as a chance for reflection, and hopefully some inspiration to anyone aspiring to do the same!
Continue readingWhat to Do When You’re Feeling “Off”
Every so often (maybe one or twice a week), I get a little restless. I feel like I have a lot of nervous energy, and I don’t know what to do with it all. In larger sense, I describe it as feeling “off.” Most of the time, I end up finding a clear reason about why that is – a big life event, a change in my schedule, even just missing a meal or a step in my routine can cause it. But sometimes I can’t quite pick out what’s missing, and that’s what I want to talk about to today. When we’re feeling “off,” what can we do?
Continue readingClosing Out Mental Health Awareness Month 2022
Every year when I reach the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, I try to reflect. I reflect on mental health in the state of my community, my city and my country, and I wonder if anything has happened this month that could lead to substantial change. This year, I have to say I’m a little discouraged. I know I’m usually a little more positive about mental health awareness, but after this month it seems like we have so much of it backwards. That’s why, to close out this month, I want to share why talking about mental health – the right way – is more important now than ever.
Continue readingWhy Mental Health Awareness Is Important
May means one thing on My Brain’s Not Broken – it’s time to talk about mental health awareness! May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, which means it’s a time where there is added emphasis on how we talk about mental health in this country. And before I dive into that topic (which I’ll revisit later this month), I want to talk about the concept of mental health awareness. There’s a big misconception that the only people who have mental health are people who experience mental illness. And this month, I’m here to tell you that spreading mental health awareness is important because we ALL have mental health.
Continue readingCalming the Noise in My Head
I don’t know if there’s something I’ve written about more in the past month than my increased interest in meditation. And while I’m slowly learning what the benefits for me, a very helpful one became clear earlier this week. A huge benefit of reaching a meditative state is that, even though it’s incredibly brief, the noise in my head quiets down. But it wasn’t until it quieted down that I realized just how loud and constant the noise is in my head – and learned, yet again, how anxiety can manifest in people.
Continue readingLooking Inward Instead of Outward
For the past month, I’ve been getting more into meditation as a daily practice. I’m trying to use meditation as something I look forward to during my day-to-day, instead of adding another item to my to-do list that I need to check off. This lets me put less pressure on myself (which is nice), but it also lets me go into those meditations with a bit of a freer mind. And it’s that freer mind I’m grateful for, because that plays a big role in looking inward during meditation – something I’ve really struggled with before.
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My Brain's Not Broken 