Hi! medicine
How’s your mental health?
The fact is that this season is tough on the brain. Shortened daylight, heightened pressure, extra financial demands, more obligations and increased opportunities for loneliness all conspire to deprive us of mental stability. This is somewhat true of kids and profoundly true for adults.
So what can you do? A few things.
- If you are already experiencing mental distress or an exacerbation of mental illness – get help. Don’t hope it will go away on its own, don’t ignore it. Reach out to your supports and your medical professional and let them know what’s going on.
- Control what you can control. Some of the stresses I just mentioned are out of your control, but the rest are not. Build some boundaries (Carlota link to most recent blog post about boundaries please). Align your “yeses” with your actual priorities.
- Get some purpose.
Purpose – the reason for which something is done.
Deciding on and pursuing a purpose that is valuable to you is one of the best ways to prevent mental distress from overwhelming you or evolving into depression. Your purpose doesn’t have to be grand. It can be temporary. It can evolve over time into something else. It can be new to you or something you’ve focused on in the past.
Your purpose could simply be to get as much joy from December as possible. It could be to let people who’ve helped you know about your gratitude. It could be to create good memories. It could be to rest. Whatever it is, name it and focus on it. Use that purpose to guide your choices and commitments.
Choosing a purpose and using it as your compass this month (and beyond) can strengthen your resilience and mental health. And get you more of the life you want! medicine
Can you think of one? Hit reply and tell me!
All my best,
Dr. G
