Mental Health Resources & The Importance of Purpose
Mental health is just as important as physical health. You NEVER KNOW who is struggling and it’s our job as fellow human beings to show up with compassion, with love and support, and with understanding. You are not alone. You are not meant to do life alone and no matter what your home life, work-life or romantic life looks like there are people out there that support you.
Let’s be remembered as kind, good humans who did our best, and spread love, okay?
Well-being is much more multifaceted. It’s mental health, physical wellness, and emotional stability. There are little daily habits you can incorporate into your routine to help you check in on your mental well-being.
You are never too much or not enough. It’s okay to take a break and rest. Above all, it’s okay to ask for help. Remember: It’s ok to feel exactly what you’re feeling. You are safe. You are loved.
I love you!
SEEK HELP
If you are struggling with your own sense of purpose or mental illness, please get a therapist ASAP. I recommend Frame Therapy for one on one therapy or IGNTD for addiction and mental health support & daily groups. Private message me on Instagram @sophie.jaffe for a special code to either of these two offerings.
You can also explore HERE for free mental health courses or for immediate assistance SAMHSA’s National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357) is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service.
I’m sharing some of my other tools to check in on your mental health and whole being.
BREATHWORK
A breathwork practice to still the mind and ease your stress is absolutely imperative. We rely on our bodies and our breath to keep us grounded and centered. The moments when you go really IN are when you focus on what’s going on underneath the surface. The best place to start? Your breath and lifeforce energy.
Try this exercise: Take a DEEP BREATH in through your nose and fill up your whole body. Exhale through your mouth and release any stuck or stressed energy. Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly then repeat. Take another deep breath in through your nose - the biggest one you’ve taken all day - and exhale it out with a sigh. Give yourself a hug and repeat as often as you need!
DRINK WATER
Drink your water! Our lives can be so full, chaotic, and beautiful that sometimes stress, fear, worry or anxiety arises because we aren’t caring for our physical needs. A big glass of cold water can be SO healing.
I like mine with Sunshine Drops - shop here.
JOURNAL
Writing can be a powerful way to release your daily worries and clear your mind. Writing your stresses, worries or concerns physically on paper can be a mental tool to clear up your headspace and take the weight off your shoulders.
YOGA OR MOVEMENT
Yoga allows us to bring it ALL to the mat and greet every part of our bodies + true self. To feel all our power and light it. Try this pose to get out of your head and back into your body.
Try this heart-opening yoga pose:
1) Lie prone on the floor. Stretch your legs back, with the tops of your feet on the floor. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your waist so that your forearms are relatively perpendicular to the floor.
2) Inhale and press your inner hands firmly into the floor and slightly back, as if you were trying to push yourself forward along the floor. Then straighten your arms and simultaneously lift your torso up and your legs a few inches off the floor on an inhalation. Keep the thighs firm and slightly turned inward, the arms firm and turned out so the elbow creases face forward.
3) Press the tailbone toward the pubis and lift the pubis toward the navel. Narrow the hip points. Firm but don't harden the buttocks.
4) Firm the shoulder blades against the back and puff the side ribs forward. Lift through the top of the sternum but avoid pushing the front ribs forward, which only hardens the lower back. Look straight ahead or tip the head back slightly, but take care not to compress the back of the neck and harden the throat.
5) Urdhva Mukha Svanasana is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. You can also practice this pose individually, holding it anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds, breathing easily. Release back to the floor or lift into Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog) with an exhalation.
TRAVEL & NEW EXPERIENCES
We learn SO much about ourselves & the world when we travel and have NEW experiences so this is not something to skip no matter how afraid you are. Adventuring and traveling as a family is stressful by nature. But this is how we call in our next up-level and magical magnetic experiences that are already on their way for us. Moving from place to place, unpacking and repacking, figuring out how to create a sense of “home” in a completely different environment, and moving through all the discomforts creates so much growth in such a short time.
Remember:
It’s okay to be yourself
It’s okay to not be okay
It’s okay to ask for help and lean on your community
We’re all on this journey called life, together