6 Notes to Myself When My Mental Health Crashes

This week I’m going to write a shorter email than usual. Things have been difficult for me mentally the last few weeks, and more so recently. I have various strategies that I put into place when this happens. Here’s my 6 key ones that I remind myself of daily to try and lift the fog.

Old habits die hard

This weekend, I’ve been feeling particularly agitated, low, frustrated, exhausted. There’s been some unexpected events, and as usual, the self-awareness goes, and the old habits return. Push through, do the things that need doing for others, ignore yourself.

Some of this was necessary given the circumstances. But, on reflection, some wasn’t. As I was journaling last night, I remembered two sources of key information from books I’d read and work with a therapist.

A different path

The books – The Intelligent Body by Kyle Davies, The Reverse Therapy Approach by John Eaton. If you’ve read The body says No by Gabor Mate, you will have the idea. Essentially, we are not tuned into our body and mind. We miss clear signals that things aren’t right, we aren’t being ourselves. If we find out what these mean, we can decode them, and take action to remedy. For me – tinitus worsens if I feel trapped, don’t express myself and if I need rest. It improves if I do the opposite. Anxiety comes if I get stuck in my own thoughts, worrying about the future, particularly around money and my own mortality. Journalling, talking openly does the oppposite.

6 Simple steps

I don’t have a huge amount of energy to write today, so I’ll leave with this. These are messages I tell myself as I need to. They provide a compass for direction.

1. Symptoms are signals
My symptoms are here
Say what I feel NOW.

2. Too much
Too much of any one thing will give me symptoms
Both positive and negative
Aim for balance

3. Now
When I see I’m not engaged with what I’m doing.
Stop.
Place my feet on the ground.
Engage all my senses with now

4. Feel into now
Given what has happened has happened.
What can I do?
What do I want to experience?
Change something, if I can and want to

5. Stop and breathe
Feet on the floor
Or walk
Slow deep breaths in through the nose
Notice each breath

6. Accept
Something has occurred
Allow this to be as it
What do I want to do next, given it has occurred

I hope you find this useful. Hit reply and let me know if any of it hit home for you

Want to talk to me about your mental health? Click for your free conversation

Until next week

Ed

References:

The Intelligent Body by Kyle Davies,

The Reverse Therapy Approach by John Eaton.

The body says No by Gabor Mate

Photo by Dominika Kwiatkowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/broken-car-3368844/