mental health | talk about it

january 4, 2021 (actual date of post) ... last night i watched a documentary that started turning the wheels inside my ol' brain. hang with me here, please.

i have always been transparent with my mental health journey. basically, life is good but it can always improve. i can be a better mom, wife, friend, business leader, or even stranger by working on a shit load of things in therapy. it's been the best self care gift i have ever given to myself. ever. i'm not ashamed of going. not one bit. i think it should be as normal as going to see any doctor.

during therapy, i have learned A LOT. and i can't just learn this stuff. i have to actually put it into practice for it to work. you know? i can't just KNOW that i need to fact check or do breathing if i get triggered by something. i have to DO IT. even as an adult, someone completely capable and intelligent, it takes work.

now, back to this documentary. and where our lives are right now in the middle of this mental health pandemic. that's right. if you don't think that's just as much as a pandemic right now, you're sleeping.

i know some schools + teachers + such already incorporate mental fitness into their curriculum, but i am 90394% sure we need more of it. could you imagine if our kids were being taught from a young age (kindergarten) how to use mindfulness to help control or express their emotions better? could you imagine if they ALWAYS knew that it was okay to talk about things instead of stuffing them down into their gut? i know some people might be rolling their eyes about this right now ... but i don't see any negatives to this whatsoever. many kids DO NOT KNOW how to talk about, express or control their feelings. that's when it starts to effect SO MUCH MORE. don't believe that mental fitness effects kids? look at where we are? we are in the middle of yanking them around (for 10 months) with their education and social + extra circular activities. MANY ARE STRUGGLING. we are dead set to make sure they are staying active right now, but is anyone checking in on their kids mental fitness? are they sharing just how hard things are for them right now? do they know of anything that can help them with those feelings? do they know they are not alone? do they know how to take care of themselves and do self care? this shit is important for everyone.

gah. so, here i am. my mind is swirling about how we help support our youth with their mental fitness. it's just as important as physical fitness. it's maintenance for your brain.

how many of you know if your schools/district incorporate this into their curriculum? what do they do? i have seen examples where it starts in kindergarten and it's SUPER SIMPLE. and the kids respond! they love it. to be honest, i don't even know if my kids own school does much of this.

if you have resources, please share! i'm trying to get educated about this and see if there is any way i can help make a difference. i'm not a teacher or a mental health professional, but i'm a mom, wife, friend + community member who cares about mental health something deep.