In 2019, I flew out to New York to participate in PBS’ Share Your Road series. During the interview, I opened up about my struggles with addiction and mental health.
And while it looked like I had all my s*** together during these interviews, I didn’t. I still grappled with stimulant addiction at the time of this interview, and shortly thereafter.
While I’ve been sober for a little over 2 years, I still struggle with depression, anxiety, dyslexia and OCD on the daily.
I put this out there to let you know you are not alone. Optimizing one’s mental health is an everyday activity, a never-ending process that is rooted in self-love, gratitude and kindness.
A few simple, yet profound daily activities that have helped me amidst the depths of depression include:
- Developing a consistent gratitude practice: Before grabbing for your phone in the morning, write down 3 things you are grateful for and why. This in and of itself is LIFE CHANGING!
- Meditation: Just 5-10 minutes of stillness per day can have profound psychological and physical benefits! I use the ZIVA technique, but the Calm and Waking Up apps are highly effective as well.
- Exercise: This is by far my absolute favorite anti-depressant. Psychology today says 60 minutes of fun exercise per day is the equivalent of taking an anti-depressant ! Movement is Medicine. We don’t HAVE to move our bodies, we GET to… and this simple reframe will elevate the positive energy we experience before, during and after these sacred sessions.
And if you want to see the PBS Interview I was featured in, click this link!
Keep your head up. Keep your heart open. We are in this together, fam.
Much love!
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