Mental Health Moments: Mental Health Habits I Plan to Take With Me in 2021

I learned so much about myself in 2020, and I am still unpacking that internal wisdom as I craft my internal annual report’s year-in-review letter and writing in my journal. One thing is certain, though: I will never be the same person I was when the new year began. So much has shaped me individually, professionally, and collectively with everyone else on Earth. I already shared five lessons I learned in 2020 in a previous blog post. Here are a few elements of 2020 that I plan to carry with me in 2021.

Mental Health Moments: Delving Into The Drama Triangle

During a recent therapy session, my therapist told me about the “drama triangle” to aid me in my journey for self-actualization and healthy ways to combat challenging dynamics in life. I must admit, since learning about this social model of human interaction, the way I look at the world has changed. I don’t want to freak anyone out, but I can recognize the behavior in anyone I know and meet now. It’s immensely helpful, especially if you’re trying to figure out why you feel like you’re in a rut or want to better understand those around you.

Mental Health Moments: Handling Anxiety During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic is enough to induce panic, especially for those of us who are more inclined to anxious and depressive behaviors anyway. How can you reduce anxiety, depression, and overall stress when you’re worried about the effects of the coronavirus? Here’s what I have been doing, and I hope this will help you, too.

Mental Health Moments: How To Be Your Own Valentine

I’ll be honest. For years, I struggled with loving myself. On bad days, I still struggle with this. On good days, I still struggle with this. My stubborn inability to love myself caused so much internal heartache and bad decision-making on several fronts. I didn’t realize until my late 20s how vital it is to actually like yourself, much less love yourself. I couldn’t grasp this concept as an overachieving, self-deprecating perfectionist. It’s the season of love, so it’s the perfect time to learn to love yourself more.

5 Lessons I’ve Learned During My Mental Health Journey

I’m no stranger to talking about mental health. I opened the door into the private rabbit hole of my mind in an op-ed piece in May 2018, and I haven’t stopped advocating for mental health issues since. Today is World Mental Health Day, so I am feeling a natural sense of reflection for my own mental health journey. I usually save these posts for every other Tuesday’s Mental Health Moments blog entries. Today is a celebration of where all of us have been on our mental health missions and where we will continue to go.

Mental Health Moments: #Last90Days Challenge

I love a good challenge. I don’t mean just of the small business variety, but a daily practice that encourages me to make better choices and lasting changes. That is why Rachel Hollis’ #Last90Days Challenge appealed to me. Each year, I struggle from October to December. While this time of year is my absolute favorite, I usually drink my basic pumpkin spice lattes with added stress. My time management takes a backseat to holiday gatherings, trying to find the perfect gift for everyone, jamming 5,000 new business ventures into the fourth quarter and so much more.

Mental Health Moments: Recognizing and Dealing With Depression

“Things will be okay. Just snap out of it.”

If you have ever experienced acute or chronic depression, you know that this statement -- as well as others -- are not the most effective way to communicate with you in a depressive state. So, you’re feeling depressed, and it doesn’t seem to go away. If the following symptoms are compromising your daily activities and overall life for more than two weeks, you could be experiencing a depressive episode.

Mental Health Moments: An Open Letter To The Little Girl Version Of Me

A couple of weeks ago, I listened to the 15th episode of the “You’re Welcome With Hilary Rushford” podcast. While I usually listen to this podcast to give me that extra pep in my CEO step, she discussed one of the core areas of my being: perfectionism. The anxious me has a name, and it’s Kaylin. It’s no one but the little girl version of me. And all she needs is a little self-love. So, here is my open letter to the anxious little girl who didn’t know how amazing she was and would grow up to be.

Mental Health Moments: Managing Social Anxiety As A Communicator

Having social anxiety means that you fear social situations. This manifests itself in multiple ways for different people. You may feel awkward at a party in which you don’t really know anyone, afraid to start a conversation because you may feel “stupid” or out of place. Networking events could be like torture chambers to you because you have to speak to strangers, eat in public or start an actual decent conversation while you feel like you’re going to hyperventilate yourself right out of that room. Here are three practical tips to help you through even your most socially awkward and anxious moments.

Mental Health Moments: Being OK With Your Limits

It is vital to push yourself to achieve your goals and objectives; however, when it compromises your mental, emotional and physical health, it’s time to take a step back and analyze the pros and cons of your behavior. As I get older, I’m learning to accept my limits. I will be honest, though. I have not mastered this skill, and I may never reach the pinnacle of being OK with my limits. What I can offer in this blog post is how I cope with my thoughts and processes during flare-ups. Here are three ways I have found inner peace while attempting to accept my limitations.

Mental Health Moments: Five Wabi Sabi Mantras To Help Alleviate Perfectionism

Wabi sabi is the Japanese art of embracing imperfection, whether it’s at home, work or inside your own head. The term comes from “the Japanese words wabi (to be alone, not to be bothered by other things, to simplify) and sabi (the beauty of passing time).” Here are five mantras to help me ease the weight of perfectionism.

Mental Health Moments: Four Affirmations to Help You Get Over Your Sickness

If you’re a workaholic who lives for being motivated (like me) and finds yourself spiraling in and out of negativity when you’re under the weather, here are some mantras you can repeat over and over. And when I say over and over, I really mean hundreds of times until you actually start to believe them.

Mental Health Moments: Curbing Depression Spending

The holidays can be increasingly tough because you could use your depression spending tactics to find the perfect gift -- or 87 -- for others. You could be down because you miss a dearly departed loved one or anxious about all of the holiday parties you have to attend. No matter the reason, here are three ways to curb your depression spending during the holidays.

Mental Health Moments: Managing Holiday Anxiety

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but what if you’re anxious? The holiday season is merry and bright for many people, but when you have holiday anxiety (or anxiety in general), the last part of any year could riddle you with symptoms of your mental illness. Here are four ways to help alleviate your holiday anxiety so you can go back to enjoying this time of year.

Mental Health Moments: What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?

The Mental Health First Aid USA manual states approximately 18 percent of the U.S. adult population experiences an anxiety disorder every year. Like many mental health disorders, onset can occur in childhood, adolescence and/or early adulthood. The median age of onset for many anxiety disorders is age 11 and can be behavioral, psychological, and physical. Generalized Anxiety Disorder affects 3.1 percent of adults with an anxiety disorder.

Mental Health Moments: My Road to Grief Acceptance

I’m of the opinion that you never fully get over the loss of someone you love. The grieving process takes different forms over time, and I have reached the final level of acceptance; however, that doesn’t mean I still don’t break down over a smell, a photograph, a piece of her kitchen wallpaper in the cabinet I know have that was once hers. I do know that I have to move on without her while also keeping her legacy alive for generations to come. I resolved to come up with ways to manage my grief, like writing stories about her, creating an heirloom cookbook and being comforted by using her dishes in my house.

Five Ways to Better Cope With Anxiety

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all remedy for anxiety and other mental health issues. What works for me may not work for you and others. My one hope is that you can glean some sort of working ratio to balance your own life and anxiety. Here are five ways I have managed my anxiety over the last six months.

The Positive Sides of My Anxiety

This May (and National Mental Health Awareness Month), I finally began telling my authentic story with anxiety and my love/hate relationship with it. All of who have a mental health disorder know the downsides to it. I’ve focused on the negative in order to know where my behaviors and belief systems were born inside my brain. Now, it’s time to acknowledge and celebrate the gifts my anxiety has given me in my almost 30 years on this earth.