Mental Health Self Care

I whine, “it’s not fair!” It isn’t. But, life isn’t fair.

“Suck it up, buttercup,” I tell myself and begin my day, thinking of the graphic below.

People hated me in school. I never really had to study to get good grades. Women hate me because I can lose or gain 15 pounds without really even trying. It’s just the way that I am.

But to get mentally healthier, and to stay mentally healthy, I need to do extra work. I have to be stronger and more agile to avoid the collisions with major depression, PTSD and anxiety. I can’t isolate myself, go and live on a farm as was suggested to my mother, to avoid my triggers. I want to live an authentic life. That means, on some days, I’ll be tripping over my triggers everywhere.

It’s not fair, but I need to be stronger and more agile to approach each day. I do this by beginning on the good days. Every day.

Self care, to me, is the base and foundation of my mental health triangle I discuss in my book, A Journey Into Depression. Chapter Five. I need to practice the below with the same kind of focus an athlete approaches training. It’s not like they can run onto the football field after spending the off season laying on the sofa and eating Twinkies.

I didn’t ask for this, but it was the cards I was dealt. I have one shot on this mud ball flying through space at 18.5 miles per second. I want to make the most of it. To make the most of it, I need to practice self care.