It’s not easy adulting. There are two sides to it — your professional self and your personal self. Your personal life is you. It’s the fun you have with your friends and family. It’s the side of adulthood where you play and enjoy life. Who you are a home away from work. Your professional life, which makes up much of your identity, is how you earn the resources needed to have a good life away from work. Growing up, most of us saw parents struggling with this delicate dance between not pouring too much into the work bucket but never enough into the personal cup. It’s as if we never learned to take the time to care for ourselves because taking care of ourselves somehow took away from us making money and actually caring for ourselves. But when you think of it, your work should never be more important than your self-care because if you’re not healthy, mentally stable, and grounded, it can negatively impact how you perform at work, putting your mental, physical, and professional lives in jeopardy.
That’s why we take time every May to focus on our mental well-being. This month, which happens to be Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, is an annual reminder to check in on your strong friends, coworkers, family members, and most importantly — yourself. It’s an opportunity to evaluate the circumstances in your life that are not positively contributing to your well-being and actually do something about it. May makes an excellent time for a mental wellness check-in, too. It’s well into spring, but enough time to ensure you have a good care plan before summer heats up. Mental health stats are alarming and show us that our mental well-being, for some of us, has taken a back seat. As a matter of fact, in 2021, 1 in 5 adults in the United States experienced mental illness, while only 47.2% of these adults received treatment. Sadly, the average delay between when someone begins to start experiencing symptoms of mental unwellness and when they get treatment is 11 years.
How to Prioritize Your Mental Well-being
- Talk to a therapist: Scheduling time regularly with a trained professional can drastically help prevent the onset of a mental illness from taking hold. When we prioritize concerns, we can get on top of them to prevent them from worsening.
- Setting Boundaries like you’re setting goals: Yes! Boundaries are crucial to prioritizing your mental wellness. It’s saying yes to the things that serve your best interests and no to those that don’t.
- Taking a time-out is the adult version of a mental break: No one wanted to go into time-out when we were kids, but now that we are adults, time-out is a mental reset. It’s an opportunity to walk away, disconnect, get some fresh air, and give yourself time to be. Taking a break, however long and often, is a way to prioritize your mental well-being in real time.
Managing and Balancing Your Mental Wellness
- Don’t blame yourself for not being or feeling well: When you are not feeling like yourself, the last thing you should do is shame or shame yourself. Instead, recognize your feelings and identify what you need to get back to feeling like yourself.
- Plan your week and include wellness: Designate a day during the week to list all your professional and personal priorities, but remember to include time for yourself and wellness. Even if this means reminding yourself to take care of yourself with a notification, do what you must.
- Connect with your inner child: Playing keeps you young and lifts your spirits. When was the last time you took some time out of your busy schedule of adults to dance or plan in a park, swing on a swing, or play in the dirt? We sometimes get so caught up in the business of our lives that we forget to live. Live like you did when you were a kid.
Managing your mental wellness is twofold. You have to prioritize it to balance it. The goal is to be mentally in flow from May to May, every year and every day.
If you’re struggling with your mental wellness, contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness with a call or text to 988 any time of any day.
Know that you’re not alone.