Anyone who knows me knows that I love children. This probably explains why "Kid President" is my favorite YouTube personality. I adore his outlook on life and could spend all day watching his clips. If you haven't yet watched any of his videos, take Monday's Mental Health Moment as the opportunity to do so. Enjoy!
Let's talk about my favorite topic today: Journaling.
I began writing and keeping journals in elementary school. I can still remember my first diary. It was blue and had a cheap gold lock on it. The key was tiny and bent every time I unlocked the diary. Eventually, I lost the key and just broke the lock off. I don't remember what I was writing about in that little book, but I remember using colored pens and practicing my cursive. Third grade in Mrs. Weller's class, I looked forward to two things: Cursive and Mrs. Weller playing guitar for us.
Early on, I learned that writing was an outlet and served a very therapeutic purpose for me. Even though my only publication was in a literary magazine published through my college, I consider myself a writer. Not a professional writer, but a writer at heart. I've written fiction, poetry, essays, research papers, a literature review, songs, book reviews, and non-fiction. Keeping a journal probably my favorite form of writing because I can put whatever I want on the page. There are no rules. I can even misspell words, use incomplete sentences, run-on sentences, and not care. (Not much different from this blog, huh?) It is something I find to be relaxing and I often write in my journal right before I go to sleep at night.
What are the benefits of keeping a journal?
(These are just a few of my personal benefits that I have found through my writing. I'm sure anyone who keeps a journal could come up with their own list of benefits.)
It is a tool that helps me reflect on the day before I begin a new one.
I use it to set and assess goals. They say that when you write down a goal, you are more likely to accomplish it. I have found this to be true.
When I pass on, my journals and writings will be something I leave behind. I wish my grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even my parents kept journals.
I've been in many different mindsets and my journals reflect that. I can look back on my writings and see how many struggles I have gone through and how I came through each one a better, stronger person.
It's cheap therapy!
When I journal, I tend to be more motivated to accomplish things.
Eases stress and allows me to vent about whatever I want to vent about. Sometimes there are burdens on my shoulders I don't want to talk to another person about. My journal is non-judgemental.
I use my journal as a reminder to stay focused. To stay positive.
It's a record of things I don't want to forget.
So, you've never journaled before? How do you start?
First things first, you need a journal. It can be anything. A notebook, a calendar (yes, people journal in calendars), a journal, a sketchbook, a photo album. This is your baby. Find something that works for you. My favorite place to find a journal is Barnes and Noble. They have a huge selection, but some can be a bit expensive. Try shopping online.
When I studied abroad in Belize, we had to have a journal. It was an ecology course, so they wanted us to have sketchbooks instead of lined journals. In addition to journaling, we were supposed to sketch some of the things we were observing. This was three years ago and this completely changed the way I journal. I no longer buy lined journals. I like the freedom of having a completely blank page to fill. These are the sketchbooks I purchase and you can find them in a variety of colors at Barnes and Noble.
*As a personal preference, I avoid spiral bound journals and sketchbooks. They come apart easily and the pages tend to fall out. I work in Inpatient Behavioral Health and one of my favorite groups to teach is a group on journaling. Unfortunately, most of my journals are in storage and I don't think I'd be comfortable bringing them to work to show patients the endless possibilities of journaling. So, I started one that I could bring to use as a demonstration journal and I am having a blast with it! Here are a few sample pages:
A few things I do in my journal:
When I journal about the day, I always put the date somewhere on the page.
What I write (Not always all of these in one entry... just some ideas of things to include):
Something that made me laugh
Something I learned
An event that occurred (a holiday, a current event, a birthday, a storm etc...)
Something I could have done differently
Something kind someone did for me
Write lists!
Lists of "Favorites"
Favorite Songs
Favorite Movies
Favorite Places
Dream Travel Destinations
Favorite Places I've visited
Favorite Useless Facts (I have way more of these than anyone needs!)
Favorite Restaurants, Foods, Beverages
Favorite Summer Activities
Favorite Winter Activities
Favorite Apps
Favorite Websites
Favorite Coping Skills
Favorite Unhealthy Coping Skills
Favorite Childhood Toys
Favorite Memories
Accomplishments
Goals
Include steps to achieve them!
Positive Words to Use More Often
Make a page of favorite song lyrics
Go somewhere and just make observations of what you see! (At a park, a coffee shop, the mall)
Write down quotes that you hear throughout the day
Make a page of your favorite quotes from movies
Make a timeline of your life so far
I'm sure this is the first of many journaling blog entries I post. In the meantime, go unleash your inner writer!!
I was thinking about thinking. Do you ever do that? Well, I went to my trusty little buddy, Google, and learned that the mind can process anywhere between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts in a given day. At first I thought, there's no way I can think of 70,000 things in a day. And then, I thought about this some more. The last few days I have been paying closer attention to everything that comes and goes through my mind. Although, I don't have the patience to sit and count every thought I have, I am fairly certain I believe these numbers are accurate. At least for me. As I have been carefully observing my thoughts, I decided to share with you what I've noticed.
My thoughts are not full sentences. Well, unless I'm practicing a conversation I plan to have with someone. Or, I re-think a conversation that has already taken place. A mental eye roll counts as a thought, right? I make sigh, grunt, and groan noises in my head. (For example: arg, uh, oh, DOH, grrr.) When I laugh quietly to myself, I actually mentally say "Ha ha ha" sometimes. I'm guessing that at least 75% of the "thoughts" that enter my mind in a day are just one or two random words at a time. Random song lyrics occasionally pop in my head. Okay, not occasionally. Frequently. Very frequently. There is absolutely, positively no coherent flow to what goes on in my head. If my thoughts were written down in a book, it would never be on the New York Times Best Seller list. Here's why:
Chapter 1
Just kidding.
Once upon a time....
No.
Chapter 1. Yes. Chapter 1.
Where are my keys?
1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9... KEYS! 9th pocket. Always one of the last pockets. Ugh.
Wait. Snow?
(Will Ferrell pops in my head and he's dress liked Elf)
SANTA!!! I KNOW HIM!
Melissa. Focus.
Skip ahead to Chapter 10. I'll fill in the rest later.
What...is...that...
Hm. I'm shedding.
HELLO, COFFEE! Mmmm....
Yes, my mind works in goofy ways. A few weeks ago on the blog I talked about mindfulness. Our minds are pretty powerful and we spend a lot of time in our 'headspace'. Sometimes our thoughts aren't always silly, funny, or maybe even pleasant. It's probably unrealistic to think that all 70,000 of our daily thoughts can be upbeat, but I challenge you to make sure there's more positive than negative going on up there. It's also completely okay to quiet your thoughts and just let that space be vacant for a moment.
Last week Monday was April 1st. I played an April Fool's Day joke on everyone and no one noticed. I'll try harder next year.
As I was driving to Barnes and Noble this morning, the Mental Health Monday blog was on the back of my mind. Trying to come up with a topic to focus on has proven to be a challenge. I couldn't concentrate on any one thing. Mostly because I downloaded new music and having my own karaoke party in the car took priority.
When I finally arrived at Barnes and Noble, I walked in with my laptop bag all set to chug some coffee and blog about mental well being. If you are familiar with the Onalaska Barnes and Noble, you are probably well aware that the folks there are pretty stingy when it comes to wall outlets. In fact, there is only one in the cafe area. Of course, someone had herself planted right beside the one outlet, but was not using it. Typically, this would send the Melissa into a silent meltdown. The MacBook I have belongs in a museum and has a battery life that lasts about as long as a goldfish out of water. I handled "my spot" being taken over like a champ. I ordered my grande white chocolate mocha with a peanut butter cookie. Then, I walked across the store to a group of tables near a wall outlet and settled in for some hardcore blogging.
As soon as the laptop had a pulse, Facebook magically opened when I hit the "FB" link on my navigation bar. After all, Facebook is how all great work is put on the sidelines. Within minutes, the window cleaners arrived and began washing the windows directly behind my chair. To my left was a clear view of the register counter and I spent too much time analyzing how the store could be so organized, yet behind the counter looked like teenager's bedroom. To my right, the International Travel section started whispering to me and a Travel Ireland book was the loudest. You're Irish, Melissa. Pick me up. Read me. What blog?
What blog? was right! I gave up, packed up, and within an hour, I was in a fetal position on the couch in a sound sleep.
That's when it hit me -- NAPS! Sometimes, you just need a nap. How someone can crash for almost three hours after a venti (yes, they screwed up and my coffee was larger than I ordered) mocha? There is no explanation except that sometimes, you just need a nap.
Today's Mental Health Moment Summed Up:
If the opportunity to nap comes knocking, you go to that door with your favorite stuffed animal, flannel pajamas, and your blanket and give it a big hug.
If you're on Facebook or some other social media site, you probably notice people complain about Mondays. What is it about this particular day of the week that gets our undies in a bundle? When I was in school, I hated Sunday nights because they lead to Monday mornings. Like so many others, I despised Monday. Maybe now that I work a different schedule and I'm not a Monday through Friday 9 to 5-er, Mondays are a bit different for me. Unfortunately, for many others, Monday can cause quite a bit of irritability.
Sure, the alarm clock goes off and you're probably still in weekend mode. "Just one more day" echoes in your head as you smack that snooze button like it's a fly on the dessert you're about devour. A high percentage of workers arrive late on Monday -- more than any other day of the week. Monday is also considered "heart attack day" because more heart attacks occur on Monday than any other day.
Come on, Folks! Chill out. Monday is not that bad! It's an opportunity to start a brand new week. If you're staring at the clock counting down the days until Friday, that's sad. You're missing out. Make Mondays fun! Here are a few ideas on how to do that:
Treat yourself to something! Many people order out on Fridays. Maybe Monday would be a better day? Who doesn't like a delivered meal right to the workplace? And, you wouldn't have to spend time packing your lunch on Monday morning, which could give you a little extra time to read the paper, watch some funny YouTube videos, or sing your favorite wake-me-up-song into a spatula!
I don't believe that refrigerators were made to be naked. Go buy yourself some funky magnets and keep a list of "Things to Look Forward to Today". Sometimes when we wake up and already have a negative attitude about the day, the only thing that may come to mind is "Leaving Work" or "There's a 2% chance that class could get canceled". If you can't find anything better than that to look forward to, keep thinking!
Make a playlist on your iPod or burn a CD (if people still do that these days) specifically set for the Monday morning drive! Songs should be fun and upbeat, or whatever puts you in a good mood! Here are just a few of my favorite drive-to-work tunes:
"Find the Beat Again" - Sugarland
"It's a Sunshine Day" - The Brady Bunch
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
"Get Down" - Audio Adrenaline
"Good Day" - Jewel
"Man in the Mirror" - Michael Jackson
"Outside My Window" - Sarah Buxton
"Walking on Sunshine" - Katrina and the Waves
"When There's No One Around" - Garth Brooks
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" - Beach Boys
"Blessed" - Martina McBride
Remember last week when I talked about Me Time? Schedule yourself a Me Time session every Monday!
On average, people don't smile on Mondays until 11:15 AM. That's ridiculous! Smile, people!!! First thing when you wake up!
Make your own list of what you can do to improve your Mondays! They really aren't that bad! You have between 51 and 53 Mondays in a year! Go make them count!!!
Today is Monday. I bet you thought I forgot that last week I started this whole "Monday's Mental Health Moment" thing. I didn't. In fact, I started thinking about it last week. Not only is it Mental Health Monday in TheOtherMelissaMcCarthy's blogland, this is also the 100th blog post. That calls for a list.
Today, we're going to talk about something near and dear to my heart: Me Time! Everyone needs Me Time. If you are one of those people with kids, a significant other, a job (or several jobs), school, pets, and countless other obligations, you may not even know what I am talking about. As defined by Melissa, me time is time spent doing something you enjoy. It should be something you do for yourself.
In honor of the 100th blog post, I should have made a list of 100 me time activities. I didn't. I stopped at 71 because I'm ready to go to bed and enjoy 8 solid hours of me time. Your homework can be to come up with the other 29.
71 "Me Time" Activity Ideas!
(#1) Take a walk.
(#2) Read a book.
(#3) Treat yourself to a coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or whatever you like.
(#4) Plan a vacation.
(#5) Go for a massage.
(#6) Hop in the car and go for a drive.
(#7) Write in a journal.
(#8) SING!!!!
(#9) Sudoku.
(#10) Have I ever told you about Barnes and Noble? You should go there. They don't kick you out for loitering. Trust me on this.
(#11) Play a musical instrument. If you don't know how to play one, take lessons.
(#12) If you have no desire to play an instrument, go find some live music somewhere.
(#13) Ride a bicycle.
(#14) Go to your favorite ice cream shop and get ice cream! (The Pearl here in La Crosse is my personal favorite. I recommend the cotton candy ice cream!)
(#15) Take yourself out to dinner. Go alone. I dare you.
(#16) Make a to-do list.
(#17) Take a nap!
(#18) Have you heard about Netflix? It's amazing how fast 4,500 hours of a television series can add up. I hit the end of a television series and I always think to myself, "That was some incredible me time!"
(#19) Take your dog for a walk.
(#20) Refer to #19: If you don't have a dog, go to the humane society and adopt a dog.
(#21) Refer to #19 and #20: If you don't have a dog and don't want/can't have a dog... sorry about that. You can go to Petco or PetSmart and look around. They let you do that, I think.
(#22) Refer to #21: While you're at Petco, watch the fish. I've been told that can be relaxing.
(#23) Refer to #22: If you have a lot of me time on your hands, you could name all the fish.
(#24) Just about every device you buy these days comes with a camera. Go out and take pictures of stuff.
(#25) Find a spot you like and watch the sunset.
(#26) Explore the wonderful world of Craigslist. There is some interesting stuff on there.
(#27) Watch funny YouTube videos! Like this one:
(#28) You are never too old to color in a coloring book! Ever.
(#29) Write out some handwritten notes to people! A handwritten note is something that can make a person's day, so you're kind of hitting two birds with one stone on this one.
(#30) Walk around the mall and watch people. Just don't be creepy about it. People don't like that.
(#31) Listen to music.
(#32) Watch another funny YouTube video! Like this one:
(#33) Google stuff. Just not your ailments. WebMD gives everyone a brain tumor or cancer and me time shouldn't be stressful.
(#34) Crossword puzzles!
(#35) Watch a favorite movie!
(#36) Refer to #35: Go to the theater and see a movie!
(#37) Write in a journal: Make a list of your favorite moments you've had in life!
(#38) Jump rope!
(#39) Get a pair of binoculars and go explore the great outdoors.
(#40) Refer to #40: You could also spy on your neighbors. Not recommended, but it's a possibility.
(#41) Read the newspaper.
(#42) Watch another funny YouTube video! Like this one:
(#43) Take dance lessons!
(#44) Do Yoga!
(#45) Call someone you haven't talked to in a while. Yes, I said CALL. Facebook and text messaging cannot replace the sound of a human voice.
(#46) Go to Starbucks and get a birthday cake pop. You won't regret it.
(#47) Start a blog!
(#48) One Word: PINTREST!!!
(#49) "Word Chums" is an awesome game you can download on your phone/iPod/tablet/etc. Try it out!
(#50) Go to a store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby and find a project!
(#51) Go to the grocery store and buy one of those "naughty" items you never buy. (We'll talk about why we don't label food as "naughty" in a different blog entry!) My go-to grocery store favorite is Ben and Jerry's ice cream or Oreos and milk!
(#52) Speaking of eating, have you ever tried a Kit Kat?
(#53) Watch another funny video! Like this one:
(#54) Look through old photo albums. If you weren't around in the days when pictures were actually developed into prints, look through photos on your device.
(#55) Refer to #54: If you're looking through photos on your device, upload them to Walgreens, Target, or Shutterfly and order prints! Then, make an album or a scrapbook.
(#56) Look up cheesy jokes!
(#57) Research this day in history!
(#58) Write a poem.
(#59) Read poetry.
(#60) Go to a museum.
(#61) Plant a garden. Weed a garden. Do something in a garden.
(#62) Mow the lawn. (This is not something I ever do. There are people out there who actually enjoy this. I am not judgmental.)
(#63) Go to a sporting event!
(#64) Take a canoe or a kayak out on the water. If you don't have one, you can rent one!
(#65) Do pottery!
(#66) Learn to knit. Apparently, there are lots of YouTube videos on this, too.
(#67) Paint something. Just don't do vandalism or anything. Unless that's what you're into, but again, definitely NOT recommended and don't you ever say it's something Melissa told you to do.
(#68) Go test drive your dream car. Unless you're not licensed to drive a vehicle. This one isn't for you, then.
(#69) Refer to #68: Go-karts!!!
(#70) Find a rock climbing wall. What you do once you find it is entirely up to you. Some people are into that sort of thing. I'd rather sit on the bench and watch.
I am ashamed of myself. I have let 2014 carry on without posting anything on my blog. In an attempt to be a more regular blogger and possibly put my number of "followers" into the double digits, I decided to be unique like other bloggers. I'm going to start a weekly post called Monday's Mental Health Moment and, you guessed it, I'm going to post it on Mondays. I know Melissa very well and I'm guessing that next week Tuesday, I will wake up and say, "UGH! Melissa! You forgot to blog yesterday!" We'll cross that bridge next week. In the mean time...
Monday's Mental Health Moment:
Melissa's Mind-fullness
Where I work (which is Inpatient Behavioral Health - we no longer refer to these as 'psych wards' and 'mental hospitals') we talk about mindfulness quite a bit. If you are not familiar with it, basically it's being present, or what some say is being 'in the moment'. I was first introduced to this term in 2007 at a table in my dietitian's office when we talked about mindless eating versus being mindful at mealtimes. Not being mindful when eating usually meant that I was inattentive to the purpose food was serving for me. Instead of enjoying meals, I was thinking about exercise and how I'd burn off the calories, the crap day I had, the school papers that were due, and the list goes on and on. Mindless eating was the only way I had ever taken nutrition into my body. Mindfulness taught me to focus on food as fuel and completely changed the way I eat and why I eat.
So, that is mindfulness in a nutshell. If it's not something you're familiar with, I encourage you to explore it more in-depth. It is not just used for food/mealtimes, but it can help with daily stressors and many of the patients we see find this to be beneficial.
There is mindfulness, and then there is Melissa's Mind-fullness. It's being in a different kind of moment. Melissa's definitely got a mind full. I can tell you that a cockroach can live for 13 days without a head. I know that in the time it takes to drive from Wisconsin to Alaska, you can listen to John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" approximately 928 times. The actor who played Charlie Bucket in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" is a veterinarian. Kickstart contains 5% juice and has 92mg of caffeine. An elephant that doesn't matter is irrelephant. And things like this float through my mind and occasionally shoot out of my mouth. All day. EVERYDAY. This is mind-fullness.
When the mind is so full that it hardly has time to take a breather. Some call this "racing thoughts" or "mania". No, not Melissa. I call it normal and even sometimes entertaining. I like having a mind full of junk. It kind of reminds me of my car after a 60 day stretch of below zero temperatures. It's too cold to clean it out, so when spring finally comes, I find all this crap I've collected through the winter. Basically, my mind could be featured on an episode of Hoarders.
How does one deal with a mind full of stuff? Oh, there are lots of strategies that keep me balanced and functioning at a healthy level of abnormal.
Relaxation
I intend to dive more into relaxation and meditation on this blog at a later date. Some people seem to enjoy quiet music, nature walks, the beach, or reading a book for relaxation. Lately, my relaxation has been Netflix. Binge-watching, actually. I'm halfway through season 3 of Dexter and I started it last week. How watching a show about a serial killer is "relaxation" is something I can't really explain all that well. Like I said, keeping that level of abnormal as healthy as possible.
Me Time
I like to spend quiet time with myself. Googling more junk to pack in the trunk of my cerebral cortex.
Exercise
If you're one of the 9 people who follow this blog, you know I've been sick a lot since the end of last summer. Exercise is not really something I've been doing much of, but I used to. When I would exercise, I found that time hitting the pavement running was a good distraction. All that stuff my mind was full of found a closet to hide in while I focused on more important things. Like, how much I hate exercise.
I'd love to finish this, but I've had to pee since I started this blog entry and now I'm becoming quite uncomfortable. After I go take care of that, I'm going to spend some quality time with Netflix.
