Finding Joy: Mental Health Awareness Month
How to make yourself happy (again)
Lately, my mantra has been, “Follow the joy.” On some days, this means asking for an extra hug or kiss. On other days, it’s putting my phone down and replacing it with a funny book.
For a long time, managing my mental health was all about finding tools that helped me get above water or helped me stay underwater less and less. It was about surviving my life and not necessarily about enjoying it. Starting therapy in my early 20s shifted my relationship to managing my mental health and helped me build a life I am constantly learning how to enjoy.
That’s why I want to focus on bringing joy straight to you this May, aka Mental Health Awareness Month.
Throughout this month, I will send letters of encouragement, book and movie suggestions, or self-care ideas. I can’t control the circumstances of your life (or mine), but I can introduce inputs that align with the kind of energy I want and that you may want more of.
So, to kick off Mental Health Awareness Month, here’s a May care package that will bring you so much joy:
📺 Watch: Running Point (Netflix) — It’s Kate Hudson leading a basketball team. It’s an easy and incredibly fun watch.
📘 Read: How To Giggle: A Guide To Taking Life Less Seriously by Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo — a book so good, it was gifted to me twice. (You can also watch Amy Poehler interview both women on this week’s pod, it’s hilarious.)
🍪 Eat: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies — this is the recipe name, and it lives up to the hype.
🎧 Listen: Raindance by Jon Batiste — anything Jon Batiste brings instant joy
❤️ Enjoy: 15 minutes by yourself — take yourself on a walk without headphones on; you’d be surprised how good company you are.
My goal is to keep this newsletter free and open to anyone with big feelings for as long as possible. Your support can help me make that possible.
