Getting on Top of Your Mental Health in the New Year

            My intention for 2024 is to allow myself to heal both mentally and physically.  Now, I need to figure out a plan to do that.  In this post I will focus on what I can do to heal my mental health.  It is extremely important for me to do this as my depression has gained a grip on me again.  You might wonder how I am able to write this if I am struggling with depression.  I think it is because writing has always been so healing for me.  I turn to writing when I am struggling.  It has always reached back and helped me. With this in mind, I will turn to writing more in 2024.  I will pick up my pen more often.  I will allow the words to flow out of me and in doing so help me manage my depression.

            What else can be done to allow me or anyone to heal mentally?  One thing I can do is acknowledge when I am not doing well.  I can reach out for help.  This is not easy.  When depression is in control I often want to hide beneath my blanket and shut out the world.  I have learned that this is not the way to heal.  Reaching out to someone who can help is an important and necessary step.  It is okay to need help and it is okay to reach out for help.  It is in the acknowledgment that I cannot get through the depression alone that I am able to accept help.  We go to the doctor when we have a physical illness.  It is important for us to do the same with mental illness.  So, in 2024 I will acknowledge when I am not doing well, and I will reach out for help.  I hope you will, too.

            Exercise can help with mental illness.  Going for a walk, even if it is a short one, can help relieve depression.  Right now, I can only walk short distances and maybe do a little stretching because of my physical illness.  Still, I need to make the effort.  My psychologist always encourages me to exercise, to go for a walk.  By doing that I can work on my mental health.  I was thinking about trying chair yoga.  It sounds like something I can handle physically.  I have read about the benefits of yoga.  Maybe this would be a good exercise for me.  It might help you, too.

            Another way I can work on healing my depression is through creativity.  In recent years I have discovered that I enjoy being creative.  Of course, writing is my go-to creative activity, but I have found other activities, too. I enjoy painting, especially paint pouring.  It isn’t difficult and I am often surprised by the outcome of my artistic attempts.  I find myself giving my artistic efforts as gifts.  It makes me feel good to create and share with others.  Sometimes it is difficult to get started.  The depression tells me to just lie in bed and ignore the world.  At those times I need to force myself to be creative.  Once I start creating, I slowly start to feel better.  So, I’ll keep painting.  I actually have an idea for a painting that I would like to turn into the cover art of my next book.  It will take some practice to get it the way I want it to look, but there is healing in the efforts.  

            Being consistent with my therapy and talking to my mental health team honestly and openly is a part of healing.  For the last 20 + years I have been consistent with therapy with my psychologist and seeing my psychiatrist.  I think this is an important part of healing from mental illness.  You may be thinking, “20 years? Why aren’t you better?”  I am better at times.  Depression is a lifetime illness.  It doesn’t have a magical cure.  I need to continue to battle it just like I must continue to battle cancer.  It is in staying on top of my depression through therapy that I continue to heal.  

            Being open about my depression is another way to heal.  There is no shame in mental illness.  It is an illness. That is why I talk about depression.  Hiding it only makes it worse.  There is nothing to hide.  It is not my fault that I suffer from depression any more than having cancer is my fault.  Being open about depression helps to heal it because in talking about it, I am de-stigmatizing it.  For so long, society has viewed mental illness as something to be ashamed of having.  Thankfully, there are more people talking about mental illness now.  It is becoming normalized in the sense that people are not hiding it.  Organizations like NAMI are leading the way in de-stigmatizing mental illness.  I do my part by talking and writing about my mental illness.  I will continue to do so this year.  

            When planning on healing depression anything that makes you feel good about yourself is beneficial.  The activities I have listed help me.  Everyone has their own go-to for healing.  Other things I have found helpful include listening to music and watching The Big Bang Theory.  I encourage you to find your thing.  Start small.  Healing depression is not an overnight thing.  We need to be patient.  It is important to understand that there will be good moments and bad moments.  Notice I said moments and not days.  I think it is important to break time down into moments.  They are more manageable.  You may have a rough morning, but if you try one of your healing strategies the afternoon might be better.  Allow yourself the time and space to discover what works for you.  Don’t force it.  If you aren’t sure what you want to try, discuss it with someone.  If you aren’t sure who to discuss it with, try posting a comment in the comment section here.  I’ll respond and maybe others will respond.  I don’t have all the answers, but it is a start.  One moment at a time we can all finding some healing.  Spend some time thinking about what you want to try and then go for it.

            May 2024 be the year we all find some healing.

                                        One of my recent paint pours.