Mental health is as important as physical health

Let 2020 and 2021 forever be remembered as the years we finally, collectively figured out that mental health is as important as physical health.

While we’re all keeping Covid at bay, we’ve also been slowing down, taking a breath, hitting pause and downshifting from the always-on, too-many-activities, hustle-and-grind life we once considered normal.

And maybe, just maybe, the silver lining in all of this is that more of us are prioritizing self-care and preventive wellness for our mental AND physical health.

In fact, maybe we can just start calling it health in general – whether we mean mental or physical – since it’s all so critical and interrelated?

Feeling stress, anxiety, grief, confusion, frustration, despair, worry or fear is completely normal right now. Life is not normal right now. We need to be extra gentle with ourselves and others. We need to extend grace and kindness to ourselves and others.

I’ve written a lot on mental health and self-care topics since this pandemic began a year ago, and it’s time I put all that content in one place so it’s easy to find when we need it most.

Here are my favorite posts about mental health and self-care to help us all feel safe and secure, no matter what comes our way.

Boosting our mental health with gratitude. Developing a practice of gratitude journaling or mindfulness is a great way to stay in good mental shape. A grateful heart and mind helps put both adults and kids on the right path to a healthy mindset.

Heads up: kids are super stressed right now. Spring 2021 finds many schools in the U.S. heading back to five days in person after a year of hybrid schooling or distance learning. Many kids are anxious about this – and so are some of us adults! Here are some tips to help curb anxiety.

Ending the stigma about kids’ mental health. Just before the pandemic hit, I had the incredible fortune to tour and learn about the pioneering new pediatric behavioral health center right here in Columbus, Ohio. I learned some tips and information that can benefit all parents.

Why are tweens and teens moody all the time? Have you ever stopped to consider your child’s perspective on their own mental health? Here, our beloved tween shares what it’s like to be a kid today – and why adults should be more compassionate and have more empathy.

Access Bars helps stressed-out kids and tweens. At the start of the pandemic and just after the death of Z’s beloved Grandma, we tried some new-to-us energy healing modalities to help with our stress and anxiety. Access Bars really helped!

How do you get out of a funk? Although I wrote this post before the pandemic started, it is super relevant and offers some helpful tips and tricks for boosting our spirits when we feel low.

Deep breaths that can save your life. Control your breathing, control your mind and emotions. Yes, just by taking some deep, slow, mindful breaths, you can actually trick your brain and body into feeling better! Hey, it’s worth a shot, right?

How to create a joyful space and home. Believe it or not, decluttering your home can do wonders for your mental health and anxiety levels. Check out these tips and give it a try. Keep only what sparks joy!

Should you work with a health coach? A professional functional medicine health coach can be just the help you need to better your mental and physical health. Here’s my personal experience.

Why we love forest bathing. If anyone in our house feels down or blue, I always suggest a walk outdoors in nature. It is truly a panacea for feeling better!

Reiki is remarkable. If you’ve never tried the ancient energy healing remedy known as Reiki, you may want to give it a shot. I found that it gave me incredible peace, clarity of mind and relaxation – all things we can use during times like these.

There you have it, a random assortment of posts that should help boost your mood, mental state and overall feeling of health and well-being. At least, I hope they will!

If you have topics related to mental and physical health that you’d like me to write about, please let me know. There’s very little I enjoy more than researching and writing about topics that will help our little family and others.