Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! 

I posted this 👇 on my Instagram feed this week and y'all had some thoughts.

It stirred up some great conversations in my DM's about how difficult it really is to face our emotions, trauma, change, heartbreak, overwhelm, disappointments …

The biggest theme of y'alls thoughts? → It's so much easier to ignore the hard stuff. 

We Can’t Ignore Stuff Forever, Though (sorry 😞)

I agree, AND, I think it's “easier” to ignore our emotions, temporarily.

BUT … Ignoring the emotions, denying them, or numbing them out doesn't make them magically disappear.

Ignoring our emotions is kind of like ignoring a craving.

It's tolerable at first, but pretty soon the craving starts to build up, and you eventually give in. Not only that, but emotions carry so much weight that we are not meant to carry and can eventually lead to, quite literally, a mental and emotional breakdown. Anyone familiar?? 🫣

Breaking Down Doesn’t Mean Broken

The definition of a breakdown is a collapse, decomposition or deterioration in something.

It does not mean broken.

Breakdowns happen and they are repairable and manageable.

I recently looked back at a journal entry from last year when I was breaking down and questioning if I was really living the life I was meant to live. In the entry I vent, validate, use my curiosity and give myself some inspiration to get moving again. Processing helps us manage potential breakdowns. 

The Power of Processing

As painful as it can be, addressing, validating and processing your emotions is one of the most powerful ways to care for your mental health – and caring for your mental health is non-negotiable. 

I'm curious: do you prioritize your mental health? If so, what does that look like? What are your practices?

If not, what are you willing to try this week to make your mental health a top priority? Hit reply and let me know!

 A Mental Health Workbook for YOU!

I nerded out yesterday and created a choose-your-own-adventure workbook to use to check up on your mental health. It has 21 journal writing prompts. You can download it below - it's beautiful 😍

**And just so we're clear, journaling is to not replace the support of a doctor or therapist. Journaling can serve as a healthy, empowering addition to therapy.