6 Things That Have Helped Me Manage My Mental Health This Week
I consider this an accountability list. I’m trying to be better at actually balancing my work with my life, but it’s hard for me to notice when I do or don’t.
I don’t usually take time to account for how my time or energy was spent during the week. I’ll be sharing these posts every Friday so I can build that habit and so that maybe along the way not only am I able to reflect on it but actually able to course correct as it’s happening, or as my needs pop up.
For transparency purposes, I’m not a believer that life can be a 50-50 split across anything. There are too many parts of my life to play the perfectly cut pie game. Instead, I’m looking to slow down intentionally and to actually feel like I’m moving at a slower pace.
Rushing triggers my anxiety and I had this big epiphany a few weeks ago that if I’m the one rushing myself then I can learn to stop.
After you read through my list, comment below or jump onto my IG to let me know what’s been helping you manage this week.
Sunday Drive by Brett Eldredge
I’m a really big country music fan. Less the truck-lyric-driven country music and way more the singer-songwriters who commit to telling me a story I can relate to in under 4 minutes.
Eldredge’s new album is slow and steady. You can feel his emotional ups and downs through each song. It feels like what a Sunday Drive would feel like if I were visiting in Austin right now.
Favorite songs to start with if you’ve never listened to Eldredge: “Sunday Drive”,
BlockuDoku
I had a couple of nights this week where I couldn’t stay asleep. Usually if I start scrolling through IG or Twitter, it’ll just make falling asleep even more impossible. I downloaded BlockuDoku (a combination of Sudoku and Tetris) a few weeks back and it’s become such a wonderful relaxing tool. Meditation doesn’t have to just be sitting quietly and not doing anything. You can get into a meditative state with anything that allows you to shut off for a bit. BlockuDoku gives me this in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep or in the evenings when I want to transition from work to life.
Creating for Instagram
Creating content or writing for me are ways I let out a big sigh of relief. It allows me to put my thoughts somewhere so that they don’t suffocate me. Making them pretty or digestible for the Internet is something I consider a hobby way before I consider it a job. Being able to film an IGTV this week brought me so much joy and reminded me I have agency during this time.
A Bagel
This week I really really missed being able to go out and live my life in ways I used to. I missed going to bookstores and just happening across a book I might like that I hadn’t even considered before. I really missed being able to work from coffeeshops. I tried to make myself feel better on Thursday morning by walking around the block and getting a bagel and hot chocolate from my local bagel cart guy. Pre-COVID I would get breakfast there every morning before walking to work. As NYC entered phase 4, my local guy reappeared. A $3 breakfast made me feel a bit more like myself.
@JessieFinds Instagram Account
Interior design has become a safe haven for me over the last few months. I didn’t grow up having my own bedroom, so having our own home now, it’s opened my eyes to how healing it can be to decorate your space with the intention of helping you feel safe and love. Our home has become an extension of our relationship and the coziness meets peace is not something I take for granted. Jessie’s TikTok and Instagram has given me the most inspo over the last few months. I’m actually recording a podcast episode with her today for my pod, What Happened After?, and I can’t wait to introduce her to you.
Notion
I should have added Notion to the top of the list, but it works at the end too because it is my cherry on top of this week. I was introduced to the project management site by my boyfriend a few weeks ago. I took some time this past weekend to really set up some workflows that made sense for me and all the projects I’m working on. I LOVE it. It is my first full week using it and I can already tell that I’ll be sticking to it. Clunky project management platforms can trigger my anxiety and make it really hard for me to see where to even start. I’m a big fan of Notion starting off with a blank page that you’re able to build out.
I’ll be back next week hopefully with a list that’s as long or longer because I’ve actually held myself accountable to what I encourage others to do — practice more self-care and tend to their actual mental health.
Let me know below or on IG how you helped yourself manage your mental health this week.