The Daily Reminder - Day 22: Emotional Health + Feelings

Today starts our final week of this Daily Reminder experiment!  And what better area to focus on but our mental and emotional health?!?As a psychologist, I am privileged to get to know a lot of people. I see and hear the things that "really happen" in people's lives. Not the Facebook or Pinterest version of what we 'see' everyday. Have you ever felt like you weren't _____ enough for something or someone after seeing other people on social media? Despite all of us knowing the social media version of ourselves is the filtered version, it still impacts us emotionally. I know it does because I feel it and talk to so many other people who feel it too.One of the many reasons I love this part of my job is because I get the insider information about how people really live, rather than the facade version.  So I can tell you that everyone has struggle. Everyone has fear. Everyone has insecurity. Everyone. Even the strongest, most put-together person you believe is out there!

In other words, we are all in this together. We are more alike than we are different when it comes to this week's discussion - emotional and mental health.

For today, getting beyond that facade only takes one thing - taking a moment to sit with someone you care about and sharing how you genuinely feel about something.It doesn't have to be sharing a deep, dark secret. It doesn't have to be sharing your biggest hurt. Let's get to those at some point down the road!

It only takes a leap of faith to trust the other person with your vulnerable self.

It can be sharing your excitement for your kids' first day of school. It can be hopeful for an upcoming meet with your supervisor. It can be sharing how happy you are for your friends who just got married.  The feeling itself doesn't have to be big. It just needs to push you a little bit outside of your comfort zone to share a bit more about WHY you feel the way you do that will help the other person see beyond the facade.Let's start today with sharing a feeling that you are (or have been) experiencing with a loved one you trust. Try to have the conversation be longer than just "I feel excited." and then done! :) Spend 5-10 minutes talking and exploring those feelings!Recap from the spiritual weekIf I am honest, I felt a little ambivalent toward this week's goals. I am not sure why, because I believe deeply in the importance of a deep spiritual connection. I could blame it on being busy or pre-occupied with family things, but as I began to reflect, I wondered about two things. 1. It is hard for many of us to focus on ourselves.  and 2. It is hard to stay focused on goals for extended time periods.

1. When I first committed to doing this Daily Reminder, I sat down and wrote out the plan for every day for the entire 30 days. I planned the kid week first, then physical, spiritual and mental health. If I think back to the excitement from me (and most everyone else), it seemed the kid week was great. Lots of folks were excited, I was excited, and it seemed to really be working.

And then we shifted to our own health. We focused on physical health and it seemed harder. Less exciting. And I am not sure if my hypothesis is true, but I wonder if, as mothers, we tend to focus our energy on our kids and then run out of energy to be focused on our own health. What do you think??

2. Remember what got me to starting this whole experiment in the first place?!? I can't ever seem to string several days together that focus on these things? So it may have nothing to do with kids and our self-care and more to do with the challenge of longevity. So even if I would have focused on physical health first, the excitement may have dwindled by week 2 or 3 regardless...

Either way, I am fascinated with this process and am continually seeking ways to make myself, my kids, and the people around me better. I will keep chasing after ways to help all of us be better parents and teachers because I believe we are created to be ever-growing to become better and better versions of ourselves.And I believe that comes through making words matter with the next generation and the people we care about.photo cred pexels.com (Pixabay) - P.S. Don't you just imagine these two sharing their feelings and dreams with one another??