October 10th is World Mental Health Day. What does that mean for you? No, really—what does that mean for you as an individual? Odds are good it means something different than it would have five years ago. The days of keeping mental health issues in the dark are slowly coming to a close; with that, more people are comfortable opening up about their own struggles. With more people talking about it, mental health is becoming less of a taboo topic and more of an everyday conversation piece. But here’s the thing: with all these conversations, we can easily forget to take care of ourselves. Let me ask you a question.
How often have you said, “I don’t have time…” Probably, too much, right? But we both know – you’ll always make time to go to dinner with friends or go on a date with your boo. You’ll even find the time to go to that extra meeting or take on that extra project for work but won’t make time for you.
Guilty.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the most important relationship to nurture is your relationship with yourself.
In honor of World Mental Health Day, here are 5 ways to enhance your relationship with yourself:
Ask yourself the difficult questions.
If you were to go on a date today, what questions would you ask to get to know that person? Have you ever asked yourself those same questions? You know how difficult it is to write a bio – sometimes it’s because we don’t know ourselves (confidently) to tell others. Grab a journal right now and ask yourself these four questions:
- What do you like to do for fun?
- All modesty aside, what are you better at than 90% of people?
- What skill have you always wanted to learn?
- What are some of the turning points in your life?
Regularly schedule time with yourself.
You know how you feel a little guilt if you don’t spend as much time with your family? You feel like you’ve neglected your parents, kids, and man. Well… let me tell you, there’s such a thing as self-neglect. Spend at least 10 minutes daily with just you.
Establish boundaries.
Yes, you heard me right. There are many things we wouldn’t accept from others that we subconsciously turn around and do to ourselves. I.e., negative talk.
Talk to yourself intentionally.
Words have power; we know this already. Just like we are careful with what and how we say things to others – do the same for yourself.
Show yourself some grace.
You won’t get it right all time, and that’s okay. Show yourself just as much grace- you would anyone else. Actually, give yourself an extra dose of grace.
This World Mental Health day, let’s make a commitment to making time for ourselves. Let’s commit to taking a little bit of time every day to relax and focus on our well-being, whether that be through journaling, reading, meditating, or simply spending some time outdoors. Because when we take care of our mental health, we’re better equipped to handle whatever life throws our way. And that’s something worth celebrating!