I'm
busy working on a blog post, but since starting it a month ago, I'm struggling to make it readable! So, in the meantime I thought I'd share these two articles that have been shared with me. They both say important things about people's mental health in the western world.
This article from a US mental health website called The Mighty looks at self-care, and what this actually entails. And it ain't about candle-lit baths and a glass of wine! Her sub-headings are: take care of your body; quit; ask for help; take care of your relationships; and take care of your basic needs. She writes in a gritty, colloquial style, but I think that's part of the power of the article, in some ways. It feels raw.
The second article, from The Huffington Post, is about modern life and the need or obsession with being busy. I like his perspective shift towards the end, where he changes his feelings of being a victim of his busy life, to taking responsibility for it, and describing his life as 'full', as opposed to 'busy'. It feels like he is saying "I am choosing to have this full and busy life", rather than "My life is this awful busy slog, over which I have no control". This feels akin to taking ownership of his life, and there is an increase in his awareness as he realises has choices about how 'full' he wants his life to be. I should add that he rightly distinguishes between people who have busy lives due to economic pressure, or childcare, and those who are choosing to be busy as a way of escaping contact with themselves.
I'll post my next overly-laboured post soon!