World Mental Health Day. A Little “Mind Blurt”

With it being World Mental Health Day, I wanted to take a moment to share something, a bit of a mind blurt.

I sometimes get overwhelmed. For me, it’s like having too many tabs open in Chrome everything’s right there in front of you, but you can’t close any of them down. The system freezes. You’re left staring at the screen, powerless… until you finally have to hit reboot.

And honestly rebooting is good.

Making time for yourself to do this is critical!

Something I now do a lot more of with my newfound love for wellness. Mental and physical health is wealth!

Can You Think Too Much?

I’ve got a very active, very creative brain. It doesn’t always switch off, I even “compute” in my sleep, waking up with ideas or solutions that appeared in a dream. Am I ever fully reset when that happens? Maybe not. But during the day, with so many ideas and threads running at once, learning to try and focus on just one thing at a time has become essential.

I used to worry I’d forget about my flow of ideas, so I started doing what I call a “mind dump” like plugging in a USB stick and backing everything up. I pour my thoughts into Google Docs. Some ideas get actioned, some get parked, and some archived… but it clears space in my head so I can focus on what’s in front of me.

Brassic

Lately I’ve been watching the new season of Brassic. I’ve always admired how it balances humour with honesty around mental health. In one recent episode, Erin’s brother Ronnie confronts the bully who tormented him throughout school. It was powerful, seeing him open up about the lifelong impact of that trauma.

It reminded me that the things many of us experience at one point or another, bullying, abuse, grief, loss, financial worries, racism, body image, long-term illness or health concerns for yourself or people you love, can all leave marks that shape who we become. What we think can really shape outcomes.

Lockdown

Since COVID, the world has changed massively. Many people are still carrying the weight of loss, of loved ones, jobs, normal routines, or are struggling with long COVID, brain fog, and the mental exhaustion that comes with just trying to cope.

Brassic has done a great job of bringing mental health conversations into people’s living rooms, often through humour, helping us see that vulnerability and strength can and should coexist.

The truth is, you never really know what someone else is going through.

People might look “fine” on the outside while fighting feelings of guilt, grief, shame, anxiety, or depression on the inside.

Check in

So today, maybe just take an extra moment to check in.

Be kind.

Pause before reacting.

Smile at someone.

Extend a helping hand.

Because kindness costs nothing and it might mean everything to the person receiving it. It might even save someones life.

This past couple of years have been pivotal for me. With my own health scare and spending a week in hospital with a suspected brain haemorrage it made me reflect and think. It put me on a path of discovery, recovery, and a very different way of living and wanting to help others connect seemingly unrelated dots too.

And if you are struggling. Please know that help is out there, and you’re not alone.

There’s support available to help you process past trauma, release limiting beliefs, and start to live the life you truly deserve.

Let’s all look out for one another, not just today, but every day.

#WorldMentalHealthDay #mentalhealth