10/10/2023
☀️World Mental Health Day ☀️
Though it may not be at all apparent from my Instagram or upon first impressions of meeting me - I’ve spent a very large portion of my life dealing turbulent (to say the least) mental health.
Though I speak openly and passionately about improving the mental health of my clients, my own struggles tend to be a side of myself I keep somewhat private but in the name of transparency I thought I’d shine a light on it and share some of the things that’ve helped me when I’ve felt like there’s no way out.
1️⃣ - Minimum baseline.
When you’re in a depressive state, sometimes getting out of bed can feel like a unachievable task, let alone completing all of the other tickboxes on your to-do list. When I’m in this state, I find that lowering my expectations of myself actually ends up making me more productive. The minimum baseline theory is where you come up with a SHORT list of tasks that you must complete each day, anything else above and beyond is a bonus not a necessity. No, this isn’t an effective way to elicit growth in your life but it’s absolutely something that can help stop you feeling like your drowning.
2️⃣ - It wouldn’t be a PT’s post on mental wellness if I didn’t include exercising as a piece of advice. No, Im not going to tell you that exercise ALONE will cure all your mental woes however, it’s hard to ignore the bounty of research proving that exercise is known to lift your mood. Though I am indisputably biased, I truly believe that strength training is the best form of exercise for building mental resilience. It’s confidence building, it’s centring, it’s hard f*cking work.
3️⃣ - The last one though I could write another 10 - Zooming in.
If you’re in the thick of it, being weighed down by biiig thoughts of failure, hopelessness, feeling like you just can’t do this anymore - zoom in. Commit yourself to taking one step at a time, get through the next hour, one by one, all you have to think about is the next action you’re going to take. Again, not another tip for effective growth in your life but one that has saved me countless times in moments of crisis.
If you’re going through it right, hold out hope. You’ve got this ❤️
