My Trick For Better Mental Health

November darkness + lingering covid protocols + months in survival mode = mild-to-overwhelming anxiety.

It’s not a secret that many of us struggle, nor is it that as the days get darker, we have more trouble surfacing.

Coping with low mental health takes practice.

There are lots of ways to help yourself, but we’ve heard and tried them all:

💊 Medication

☀️ Vitamin D supplements

🏃‍♀️ Exercise

🛋️ Talk therapy, EFT, and Coaching

🫂 Big Hugs

💆🏽 Massages

📝 Writing

But there’s one thing that I’ve been doing lately that shocks me. I stumbled on this trick for self care at the start of the pandemic, and over the past 18 months I’ve used it at least weekly to keep my sanity.

I invite you to try it.

Video journalling is exactly what it sounds like: You spill your thoughts out and record them in order to gain clarity and experience catharsis. No pen and paper required.

As simple as this is (Step 1: Turn a camera on, Step 2: Unleash emotion), video journalling for mental health has a few rules around it. Use these rules to maximize the effectiveness of this tool. And then come give me a hug; it also makes everything better ;)

Find some alone space

In the early days of the pandemic, I escaped my tiny household of six by driving or walking by myself. It was during one of these outings that it occurred to me that I needed to voice what I was feeling. I took out my phone, turned the video on, and began. Being alone allowed me to speak unfiltered and thus get out all of the things I felt I needed to say. When people are around, we subconsciously edit for content, and thus our catharsis is incomplete.

Put your “s**t head hat” on

Even if you’re lucky enough to have people in your life you can vent to, there are times when you’re just feeling so negative, so petty, or so all-around-blah that you don’t want to saddle anyone with it. It’s times like these I use video journalling to its full advantage. I take out my “s**t head hat” so to speak, and I unload all of the childish, silly, unrealistic and immature thoughts I have. Sometimes I outright rant, sometimes I swear, much of the time I cry. It’s epic.

No posting, for the love of god

Some of us (no judgement) like to… overshare a little on social media. This is not one of those things you’re going to share. First of all, nobody wants to hear it, see it, experience it (YOU didn’t, even, which is why you video-ugly-cried in the first place). Second, you are not doing this for any external type of validation. The purpose of journalling on video is to privately express your own thoughts to yourself.

Watch it… or don’t.

Often when I video journal, I immediately forget everything I’ve ranted about. This is because I’m almost subconsciously unloading my brain in order to feel better. Times like these, I rarely re-watch what I’ve said. Other times, I use video to clarify a problem I’m having, and it’s these times I re-watch. I’m amazed by the clarity I gain when I listen to my own voice outlining problems. So there isn’t any obligation to watch your journal again, but sometimes it’s powerful.

Your challenge

In the face of November blahs, stress, and life in general, I challenge you: Try some video journalling. Create a ‘Video Journal’ photo album in your phone. Unload your brain into it for a week. See how you feel after.

Stay well guys. 💚