3 Things That Helped Me Manage My Mental Health This Week

I am writing this from the patio of a coffee shop in Chelsea. I’m nestled in the corner booth with my boyfriend, an iced latte, and an iPad. Honestly, if it wasn’t because I have a few other things that have really helped me this week those first two sentences would be the entire blog post.

I haven’t sat at a coffee shop to write since the beginning of February. Over the last six months, I’ve realized that being surrounded by other people working on laptops with their drinks of choice is a really big part of who I am. I thrive being able to people watch. As an introverted extrovert, it feeds me to be able to tuck myself into a corner but still be amongst people.

I’ve missed people.

I’ve missed people watching.

I’ve missed being able to be myself outside of my apartment.

These last few weeks have admittedly been harder. Cases in the rest of the states are rising, New York is maintaining its count while also slipping into this limbo new normal. I keep wanting so badly to live life like I used to, but with a deep simultaneous understanding that whatever normal was back then won’t be whatever we call normal next.

In an effort to remind me (and you) that managing your mental health is full of baby steps and small moments, here’s what has helped me this week.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Last week I started my list off with Gilbert’s TED Talk and I’ve kept the Gilbert fandom strong through the week. I picked up Big Magic again because I was yearning for something that would speak to where my creativity is right now. It delivered. One of the standout sentences in the book is actually an ode to Joan Didion. Gilbert writes, “As Joan Didion said, ‘I don’t know what I think until I write about it.’”

And well I just felt very seen in that.

My iPad

Getting an iPad was a bit of an unplanned, but perfectly-timed blessing. My Macbook needed some time with the Apple geniuses, so I planned on jumping at the chance of getting the iPad I’d been eyeing as a way to work in the meantime. After the first day, I realized that an iPad was going to be the tangible tool I used to set a new pace for myself. I’ve been struggling with not associating my fulfillment with my productivity. It’s been especially hard to not feel like it order to be productive I need to be doing fifteen things at the same time. The iPad is forcing me to remember a lesson we could all relearn — we are one person who can only do one thing at a time.

Candles and Diffuser

One night this week, my boyfriend took our puppy up to the roof to give me some blocked out time alone in the apartment. I lit a few candles and got our diffuser going with lavender essential oils and then I sat in a bath. I’ve promised myself that every night I can I am going to try to have a bedtime ritual that helps me unwind and actually close off the day. The feeling of an open, clean apartment made me feel so inspired last week — I want that feeling more.

I think overall, this is the message this week has drilled into me — I’m searching for peace, understanding, and feeling seen in my life right now. I keep catching moments of it, but not holding onto it long enough for it to shift my habits instead of just my present. I want to change that.