Mental Health Matters

Fall is in the air, which means we are officially getting to the time of year which include things such as football and leaves changing colors, but also means longer days and less sunlight. Unfortunately for a lot of us, myself included, around this time of year, seasonal depression will start to creep its way back into our lives. Speaking from personal experience, I know that my mental health in general always gets a lot worse during the winter months, and I can guess that I’m not the only person to struggle with this. Let’s be honest, in general, this time of year can induce a lot of stress. While, yes, in some ways fall can be a truly great season, it can also be a very stressful one. Don’t get me wrong getting to break out sweaters is definitely a perk (and don’t get me started on my love for fall drinks), but there is also the fact that there tends to be a lot more stress that comes a long with it. Whether that be stress from the fact that the holidays are rapidly approaching, or school work is starting to pile up for students, there are lots of things that we can start to worry about.

For all of these reasons, and many more, it’s so incredibly important that we take the time to focus on our mental health. Recently, our society has started to realize the importance of this. We have come to the understanding that a person’s mental health can have an effect on many different things in their life. This can be seen in many ways, such as October 10 being made World Mental Health Day, and the month of May being Mental Health Awareness Month. Taking these steps, and normalizing the fact that we need to make sure we are doing things to promote good mental health, and health in general, is one way in which we can care for ourselves. 

Personally, my mental health was something that I always struggled with. I was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was in high school, and it has played a huge role in my life ever since. Struggling with things like depression is never any fun, but thankfully over the years I have found various ways that allow me to make mental health a priority and truly take care of myself. Some of the things that have really worked for me are: 

• Self-care. Self-care is something that can look radically different person to person. For some people, self-care might include taking a bubble bath and doing a face mask. For other it could be lighting candles and taking time to relax or meditate away from people. Whatever it may be, I encourage you to find whatever it may be that allows you to really take care of yourself and rejuvenates you. 
• Cultivate a prayer life. It is really important to have a prayer life in order for us to have a relationship with God. Through cultivating a life of prayer, and making sure we set aside the time every day to talk with Him, we allow ourselves to grow in the knowledge of what love truly is. By learning what love is through growing in relationship with God, we allow ourselves to love those around us better, as well as learn how to better take care of our own self. 
• Find support. One thing that we always talk about here at The Culture Project, is the fact that as humans, we are made for community. It is so important that we find that community, and those people we can talk to, in order to support us in times of need. When we have a community of people surrounding us, it can make those times of depression or loneliness seem a little less severe. Whether your find support in the form of a large or small community of people, it is extremely important to have those around us that we can go to in times of need. 
• Exercise. Much like self-care, this can look vastly different person to person. While for some people exercising may include doing things like cross-fit, for others it could be something as simple as going for a walk around the block. Either way, it is important to make sure we are getting up and moving around as much as possible. As Elle Woods’ famously said in Legally Blonde “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.”

These are just four simple steps that we can take to make sure we are taking good care of our mental health. It’s also important to realize while these are good ways to make sure we are taking care of ourself, it is also always a good thing to talk to medical professionals if we fall into serious bouts of depression, or struggle with larger mental health issues. It’s important that we take time to truly rest and give ourself grace when going through stressful times. I know that it can be hard dealing with issues like mental health, but it always is so worth it in the end when we take the time to take care of ourselves! These are stressful times that we are living in, meaning that now that is more important than ever.