✨ 🍵 How to Take Care of Your Mental Health 🍵 ✨ [In My Opinion] [Basic Bitch Thoughts That Are Often Overlooked] [Monthly Newsletter] [May 2021] (Patreon)

Today's topic: How to Take Care of Your Mental Health [In My Opinion]

✨DISCLAIMER:✨

This is in NO WAY an in-depth, professionally informed look at mental health problems. This is a ramble post from a lady who voices hentai! Please seek professional help, if you require it.

Other than that, please enjoy this well intentioned, generalised advice ramble.

So, what on earth makes me qualified to talk about mental health? Well, I have a brain, and sometimes it makes me wanna kill myself. Okay, maybe that’s not a mark of qualification, but you get the picture - I have experience in waning and rising mental health. And actually, I believe most everyone does (not to the same degree, not in the exact same way) but still, we all get physically ill, we all go through shit, and sometimes we all feel a little crazy.

So, from one crazy to another, here’s my two cents on how to manage your mental health:

One important thing to remember about mental health is that it’s very much like most things in life - it doesn’t really stop. It doesn’t have an end point, it doesn’t have levels, or a finish line - It’s just like you, it keeps on going through shifts, phases, and even growths. And I can imagine that in some ways that is both a bit uplifting and a bit depressing. Uplifting in the way that it has the ability to constantly change, and depressing in the sense that “HOLY SHIT CAN THIS THING NOT JUST BE DONE AND DONE LIKE A DRIVING EXAM! FOR FUCK’S SAKE”

Well, maybe that’s just me. But either way, mental health is part of the package called “you”, and just like our bodies, we have to figure out how to take care of it.

So, let’s roll.

Routine

I don’t care how loose or alternative it is, we all need a vague routine. We all need structure, we all need purpose, we all need a reason to not stay stuck. Your routine doesn’t have to be the model for all, but it does have to work for you. So, as much as you can, keep a schedule and stick to it. I don’t mean to the exact minute, just enough so that you feel things move along.

Depression and other mental illnesses feed off inaction and free time. Keeping yourself active and on schedule gives you a much better chance of not going down the rabbit hole of “what’s the fucking point?!”. There isn’t a point, not unless we make one. So, make one that works for you. Make a schedule that alines with your personality, work schedule, and interests. If you’re not a morning person, allow for that, start later (your job and circumstances allowing). If you’re prone to anxiety with social media, close your account or at least make a conscious effort to spend less time online. Whatever your predilection, poison, or passion, write your schedule down and tick things off as the day goes by. It’s been scientifically proven that we love to tick things off. So, make a plan and tick shit off!

Exercise

When it all comes down to it - move more, think less. Yes, caveman rhetoric is sometimes the way! Exercise (whatever form it takes) is a great way to kill time, release happy chemicals, and improve your overall mental and physical health. Now, if you’re like me, and the thought of gyms makes you roll your eyes, that’s more than okay. Not everyone is a gym freak (thank every deity), but that doesn’t mean you can’t (and even enjoy) moving around.

So, let’s crush the idea that exercise is this arduous, painful, serious thing. It doesn’t have to be. Exercise can be ridiculous, fun, and even calming. I do possibly the gayest exercise ever created - I hula hoop. I slap a weighted hoop around my stomach over, and over, and over again whilst blasting RA-RA-RASPUTIN into my ear drums! Because that shit just works for me. I also roller blade, skip, and have dance offs in my bedroom (all the while imagining I am the star of my own personal concert). Exercise is what you make of it. I have no desire to be an athlete, but I know I hate myself less when I get my heart pumping and I’m fully immersed in THAT’S SOME WET ASS PUSSY!

There’s a HUGE variety of ways to move around, including, but not limited to:

Walking your dog

Cleaning the house

Late night walks with the homies

Going to the local park

Dancing

Workout videos in the living room

Swimming

Sex (with a little creativity)

Wrestling

Martial arts

Aerobics

Weight lifting

Gardening (shit is really, really physically demanding)

Decorating (again, you use so many muscles)

And many, many, many more.

Find the ones you least hate and make it a weekly thing.

Food & Sleep

I cannot stress enough the importance of eating and sleeping well. There is quite literally no substitute for these two. Absolutely everyone needs food and sleep, and it’s really, really important you get the best out of both batches.

And the best way to get the most out of something is, of course, to enjoy it.

So, make both eating and sleeping as pleasurable as humanly possible. I know we have to eat the green and lean stuff, but it’s also really important to give yourself fats, sugars, and other things that make you happy. Food is such an amazing way to add to an experience - meeting someone (grab a coffee and a muffin together), studying late (have a black tea and some dark chocolate), holding a birthday party (CAKE, CAKE, CAKE). Food is so much more than just putting good stuff in your gut, it’s about making memories, enjoying the immediate, and even sometimes, rewarding yourself after a long day.

The exact same can be said for sleep - it’s not just about us powering down, it’s about relaxation, comfort, and safety. Sleep should be intimate and personal. We’re not all the same beast, we think differently, feel differently, and sleep in completely different ways. That’s all good. I am not someone who can just hit the sheets and pass out, I have to make myself ready to go to sleep. I wash my body, clean my teeth, moisturise, read in bed, and slowly wind down until I’m ready to switch off. Essentially, I use the principle given to young children - I “get ready for bed”. I can see that this might not work for everyone, but I also think it’s quite easy to brush it aside without giving it a try. Sometimes, it’s the little things that add up to a bigger picture.

Also, make sleep more enticing with:

Fresh sheets

Candles

Low Lighting

Pillow spray (it makes your pillow smell gorgeous and helps you relax into the sheets)

Comfortable sleep wear (I highly recommend baggy pyjamas)

Open windows (creates a gentle, relaxing breeze)

Essentially, make bed time special and inviting. Nobody wants to climb into a dirty, chaotic, unkempt mess. But a clean, calming, snuggle bundle? Yes, please.

Socialisation

We may not always like it, but we absolutely, positively need other people. Even the most antisocial hermit needs to speak to another antisocial hermit. Individual personalities and preferences aside, we are social animals. We need interactions, relationships, and even conflicts to keep us from becoming ego-centric, single-minded, lonely monsters. And that’s a cold-cut truth.

We need other people because we need to care about someone besides ourself. Our brains are programmed in a way that we cannot possibly help but see things from our perspective first. That’s just survival. “How does this affect me?” is usually our first response to information. And to a large extent, that’s a great asset. However, if pure beast-like instinct was all we were made of, then we’d be out in the wild, snuffling along, foraging, fucking, and being pretty oblivious to anything else.

Unfortunately, that’s far from our entirety. We just had to be complex and shit! I know, such a fucking drag.

But whilst we’re here being all complex and multifaceted and shit, we might as well try and find the good in it.

So, why it’s great to be complex and socialise with others:

Other people offer us different ways of looking at things.

Other people show us things we haven’t seen or heard of before.

Other people can lift our moods or distract us from going further down the rabbit hole.

Other people can make us feel less alone.

Other people can call us on our bullshit and make us reassess a situation.

Other people can make us less selfish.

Other people can help us be better people.

For this, and so many other important reasons, we need each other.

So, even in this climate, even when you feel fucked in the head and shitty, reach out, ask for help, offer help back - connect.

And always, always remember - small steps are still fucking steps. So, send that text, make that call, and care about others.

Medicine & Therapies

I think we’ve already established that I’m no doctor. I cannot diagnose, prescribe, or even recommend specific meds. I am simply not qualified. However, I can say that in the pursuit of wellness, most things are worth trying (maybe skip Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina eggs, though).

So, aside from sticking Jade where it doesn’t belong, here’s some ideas:

Get in touch with your doctor (discuss different treatments).

Investigate herbal remedies (I’m not talking magic crystals or miracle cures. I’m talking vitamins, fish oils, and natural shit that is just good for your physical and mental wellbeing.)

Consider talking therapies (you can discuss this properly with your doctor. I think people are very quick to try medication before cognitive behavioural therapy or counselling. I personally had little success with medicine, and much more luck with psychological guidance. I appreciate it’s an incredibly personal thing, so, really talk it through and consider which might work best for you.)

Practise mindfulness (it’s very easy to think of this as some hippy-dippy, unrelatable thing, but actually, mindfulness is simply mindful thinking - being conscious of the immediate: your senses, your body, your breathing. It’s essentially all about reducing stress and keeping you where you should be - in the present).

I feel this is a great place to acknowledge that some mental health issues are incredibly detrimental and make reaching out for help incredibly difficult. I fully, fully appreciate that. That’s why I highly recommend seeking help when you’re going through a good patch. I know that might sound strange, but good patches, just like bad, come to an end. If you’re persistently struggling with mental health issues, it’s a good idea to strike whilst the iron is hot and talk to someone whilst you feel able to do so. Just because things are okay for a few days, weeks or even months, doesn’t necessarily mean the problem has been solved. I don’t say that to be morbid, but rather from hindsight.

Reaching out for help is probably one of the hardest parts when it comes to mental health maintenance. Feelings of shame, insignificance, or just plain self-hatred often combat any desire we have for wellness. If that’s the case for you, I hear you. But that’s all the more reason to take this in hand when you feel you can - people can only help if they know we need help.

Be brave, dig deep, reach out.

People will help you.

Sex, Self-love & Interests

Okay, now here’s the fun bit. And I mean that sincerely.

Self-love is all about taking care of yourself and making sure you’re doing okay. A lot of the above has covered that in serious and practical ways. But now, let’s think about the silly stuff, the cringey stuff, the fun stuff.

We simply don’t put enough fun into our lives, and that to me, is just not gonna work.

So, just like with the therapies, be mindful about fun. Look for ways to put fun into your life:

Read that book you loved in middle school.

Buy flowers for your mom (or anybody else).

Stick photos in an album.

Play music ALL THE TIME.

Fantasise (daydreaming is the SHIT).

Game.

Buy new clothes and do a fashion show (just for you, of course).

Sunbathe.

Have a long, ramble phone call with a friend (the one that goes on too long and you end up doing random chores as you talk).

Bake, cook, clean for somebody you love.

Pet your pets (seriously, if you’re lucky enough to have an animal, ENJOY THE FUCK OUT OF THAT ANIMAL).

Play in puddles (Did I stutter? Okay, you can just walk in them, if you’d prefer, but puddles are THE SHIT).

Listen to someone talk passionately about their life.

Buy candles (they just make things better).

Go for an early morning walk (one where no one’s around and the world’s just waking up).

Plan a trip with friends (the climate isn’t great for this one, but plans can be for whenever).

Go for a night drive and BLAST that music.

Write (anything and everything. The ridiculous, the horny, the sad, the self-pitying. Get it all out, go to sleep, and cringe your ass off in the re-read).

Make noise when you orgasm (trust me).

Essentially, make time for fun. Put it out there, be active in it’s happening. Don’t wait for it to spontaneously happen, make it, be it!

Now, let’s talk about sex!

For all the anxiety, embarrassment, and sheer confusion that surrounds sexuality, sex really can be the most amazing fun. And I absolutely include sex with yourself. Masturbation has been proven to improve mood, regulate hormones, and even reduce stress and anxiety. So, no partner? Absolutely no fucking problem. Don’t just beat your meat because of our hidden goblin instinct, beat your meat because it’s fun, beat your meat because you deserve a good night’s sleep, heck, beat your meat because you have some time to kill.

Also, seduce the fuck out of yourself. Just because it’s only you doesn’t mean you’re not worth making an effort for. So, wash your body, have a drink, moisturise and caress yourself, watch porn, play some music, and go to TOWN on those fantasies - the more romantic, degenerate, odd, the better.

Jazz it up, sex it up, self it up!

In Conclusion

Finally, the most important piece of advice I can give (with regards to pretty much anything) is try.

Try to do it, even when you don’t want to (especially when you don’t want to). If I only did the things I wanted to do I wouldn’t really do anything besides sleep, eat, and orgasm spontaneously (no foreplay, no penetration, no ma’am) just “Ahhhhh, lovely. Right, now back to sleep.”

What I’m advising is very simple - be good to yourself.

Once more with feeling: mental health issues are complicated, ugly beasts. The above advice is just some lady who’s had some problems offering some generic, but sincere thoughts.

Whatever you’re going through, I know you’ll be going through something.

I wish you nothing but the best in taking care of yourself.

Best wishes,

Tea