by Raymond Nichols, Kavette Smith, Nikita Sharma, Daniel Blank and John Miles
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We wanted to highlight the experience of our colleagues on what it feels like to live with mental illness and also talk about ways to cope with it.
Raymond shares that living with mental illness can be challenging. Every day, there is a different set of hurdles to get through. It’s hard for others to see what you are going through but you feel it. There is also a lot of stigma associated with mental illness which poses a barrier when it comes to getting a job or doing other things to start your life over. For Kavette, the struggle lies in finding the motivation to complete tasks. She struggles with lower energy and inspiration and that gets into the way of her dreams.
However, there are different things we can do to feel better and also participate in productive tasks. Based on everyone’s experiences, Kavette, Raymond, John Miles, Daniel Blank and Nikita came up with a list of some of the things we can do to feel better. Here they are:
- Stay on top of your mental health treatments: Raymond and John both share the importance of keeping up with therapist and doctor appointments as well as medications. “It helps you stay on track with your recovery,” they share.
- Do things you love: Kavette gets the most out of relaxing activities such as taking a shower or listening to music. She always feels better after that.
- Try to take life and its challenges one step at a time: When things get too overwhelming, it’s hard to stay focused and motivated. Dividing your goals to simple steps can be helpful.
- Exercising, walking, stretching: Moving your body in some way or other helps John stay motivated and increase his level of energy. Daniel also agrees with this.
- Healthy and nutritious meals: Nutritious food fuels your body with positive energy and strength. Making an effort to eat food is like giving your body the love and appreciation it needs.
- Mindfulness and Meditation: Daniel practices grounding techniques to stay calm. Staying in touch with your senses and focusing on the present moment instead of worrying about the future is something we can make an effort to practice more often.
- Art: Kavette shares using art helps her focus. Activities such as painting, writing, coloring, drawing are very therapeutic.
- Sharing with friends and family: “Talking about your mental illness makes you feel less alone especially when the person you are talking to is going through something similar,” shares John. Expressing your frustrations after a bad day gives you a chance to start afresh.
- Accepting yourself: Making an effort to understand yourself helps you stay motivated and also increases your self-esteem.
