New Directions

In my last entry, I talked about how my family has moved.  While some of the big items have been checked off of the list, I noted that there are still a lot of changes happening in our lives.  Today, I want to dive deeper into what has changed in my world related to mental health. 

 
In Iowa, I was a member of the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Iowa Board of Directors, and had served as its president for two years.  In addition I have taught NAMI Provider and NAMI Family to Family classes.  Also, I worked on mental health initiatives at my church.  For several years, mental health has been a big focus and a big interest of mine, so I assumed that this would continue when I moved to Arizona. 
 
Perhaps I have not given myself enough time to transition and adjust, because I have not gotten involved in much yet.  I have joined NAMI Arizona and a local chapter of the organization..  I have reached out to the Executive Director of NAMI Arizona but have received no response currently.  I am starting to think about if I could do a mental health Bible study or group at my new church, but I am not sure how that might look.  To sum it up, I am doing a lot of thinking, but not a lot of acting on it.  And, for some reason, that has given me pause.  What could I be doing about mental health here in my new home?  How could I go about it?  Who could I work with?  Where could this work happen?  I am hoping to find some more clarity soon. 
 
In the meantime, if you have some ideas or suggestions, please let me know – I am open to hearing your thoughts

Move

For those who did not know, my family and I have moved to Arizona!  This has been an over 3 month project, and the discussion to make this dream a reality was happening way before then.  I had always talked to my husband about moving to Arizona when we retired, but that is a long time in the future.  My husband was looking to move to a different house and has lived in Iowa his entire life, so between the two of us we decided to move to a retirement location early 🙂  My husband gets a lot of credit from taking something I talked about and making it happen.  It has been a lot of work, but we are excited to start this new chapter in our lives. While this is exciting for us, I would be lying if I said it was all rainbows and butterflies.  To me, moving halfway across the country was a HUGE step out of my comfort zone.  In Iowa, we had it all down and life was very comfortable.  I think part of it was that we wanted to make a change before we got so comfortable we didn’t do anything.  But, there have been many twists and turns along the way.  I have had days and events that were fun and exciting, and days and events that had me pretty down.  This has also been a lot of hard work, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  We have had so much to do, so much to take care of, and there were days when I did not think I would be sitting in my new home like I am now.  However, now that we are on the other side of some of the major events, things are looking pretty sweet 🙂 Of course, this project is not done.  While the house in Iowa has been sold and we are almost settled in, more work has to be done.  My mom moved down with us, and will be moving into her place next week.  That means more unpacking and sorting items at both our place and hers.  I am unable to keep my current job long term, and have been looking for something new.  My son is settling into his new routine at a new preschool and daycare.  We will likely have to start the adoption process all over again since we are in a new state.  My husband and I started a new diet and fitness plan.  And on it goes.  To me, EVERYTHING has changed, and that can be both scary and exciting all at the same time.  But, we truly believe this is an overall great change for our family.  We went to Sedona last weekend, and my husband and I got to hike to the spot where we got married over 5 years ago.  To me, in a way, it was a moment of victory to see how far we have come.

The Great Shift

We are now a little over half way through 2020, and it has been filled with dramatic changes and shifts to our everyday lives.  As we started the year, who would have imagined a global pandemic, protests, riots, and many other events that have shaped the year so far?  I know I had not made any plans for these events.  And, not only have these things affected us physically, but they have all touched us mentally.
 
Then, on a personal level, big changes are happening in my family.  We are moving out of state, so that comes with buying a new home and selling our current one.  I also will not be able to keep my current job, so that will have to change as well.  Alone, these are big changes, but we are making these personal changes in the middle of major global changes.  The only thing constant here is change. 
 
As I look back at the first half of this year, I think I remember someone calling this “The Great Shift”, and I absolutely believe that is true.  SO much is happening right now, and it is a lot to process.  The good news, however, is that I have heard so much more about mental health this year, including it in the conversation instead of having it as an afterthought.  It has been a bright spot in a year full of bad news, and I am glad that people are really considering it on equal footing with their physical health.
 
How has your year been so far?  Do you feel that we are in a “Great Shift”?  Have you been considering your mental health as just as important as your physical health during this time of pandemic?  I am hoping that the last half of 2020 will bring about more positive events and change.

Waiting

Another month, and the pandemic is still a big topic in the world.  Rightfully so, but people are also starting to get restless, and I empathize with that sentiment.  In fact, as I sit here writing this entry, I am struck by how much waiting I feel like I have been doing: 

Waiting to go out on a date with my husband. 
 
Waiting to take my son out to the park or somewhere fun.
 
Waiting to see extended family.
 
Waiting to go out with friends.
 
Waiting to take a vacation. 
 
Waiting to fly on an airplane. 
 
Waiting to go to church.
 
Waiting to attend an event. 
 
Of course, patience is a big weakness for me, but I am not alone in these feelings.  
 
Then, for those struggling with their mental health, I wonder what they might be waiting for, irregardless of the pandemic: 
 
Waiting to have the interest to get out of bed. 
 
Waiting to find something to laugh about. 
 
Waiting to feel less tired. 
 
Waiting to feel less anxious. 
 
Waiting on family or friends to understand. 
 
Waiting on society to understand. 
 
The list could go on forever.  But, how do we move forward?  Is waiting so terrible?  Is waiting necessary?  Is action necessary?
 
Well, there are many answers to these questions, and I definitely know there is no one “right” answer for everyone.  However, for me, it is time to start moving.  It is time to stop waiting and time to take action.  Some of that action may be uncertain and cautious, but it is time to stop thinking so much and to get out there and do.
 
How about you?  What are you waiting for?  Do you still need to wait, or is it time to move forward?  I hope that whatever you decide, you are doing what you think is important and best for you.

Life As We Know It Currently

As I mentioned in my last entry, we are in a time of pandemic.  From my point of view, the situation has not really changed much since the last time I wrote.  A lot of people are either working from home or not at all, children are not physically going to a school building, and most of us are still under orders to “social distance”.  Of course, I prefer the term “physical distance”, because that is the only type of distancing that we are doing in our household.  We are still trying to be as socially connected to others as we can.  Maybe it is just the day I am experiencing, but right now I do not feel like there is a lot more that I can add to describe the situation we find ourselves in.  Honestly, I am tired of the whole pandemic thing.  But, life goes on, and we must find a way to make the best of a tough situation. 

Here are some things I am doing during the pandemic that is benefiting my health, including my mental health:

1.Organizing/cleaning out certain areas of the house

2.Games, walks, etc. with my immediate family

3.Exercising 

4.Reading

5.Listening to music

6.Watching a movie or show

7.Helping/serving others by donating money, time, or things

8.Reaching out to extended family and friends

9.Creating something – writing, dancing, etc.

10.Watching, reading, or listening to funny things

11.Performing acts of kindness

12.Learning new things 

This list is what works for me.  I recognize that for some people this may be silly or overwhelming or not enough to stay busy.  All of that is fine, but the main point is that I want to acknowledge that we are all affected by this pandemic in some way, and we all have ways to keep our health at the forefront of what we are doing.  I hope that you and yours are doing well, and I hope that this pandemic begins to lessen its burden on the world.

Pandemic

No doubt that by the time you read this entry, you are well versed in hearing about the newest pandemic called the Coronavirus, or COVID-19.  I don’t need to rehash the current statistics or talk about the biology, but I want to spend my entry discussing some of the major themes that have occurred to me in the last few weeks.

 
1.The virus itself might be a physical issue, but so many other things come along with it.  For example, this virus is taking its toll on our collective social, financial, economic, emotional, and mental health as well because of the mandated and self-imposed social distancing.  I am concerned about all of the downstream affects this virus is causing, and our mental health is at the top of this list. 
 
2.With the dawn of the internet and social media, there has been a fear of increased social isolation – this pandemic has currently made that even worse.  Personally, as I see activity after activity get canceled, I have realized that we had a lot more social interactions than I would have believed.  Perhaps we were more social than we had thought. 
 
3.Even though I am home with my immediate family, I can FEEL the anxiety and depression rising in our world.  It is understandable, but it challenges me to think of ways I can help and make our current situation better. 
 
4.Even though the pandemic has come with a lot of negatives, I am trying to think about what I can do and learn from this experience.  I am in a fortunate place where I can look at the opportunities that are presented here.  I can find ways to help, and I can even take advantage of the time that has opened up for me. 
 
5.This pandemic overwhelmingly displays how unprepared the world is for an outbreak.  I hope that this will provide us the resources and knowledge we need to keep a pandemic from happening again.
 
6.Honestly, there is so much more to say here, but I wouldn’t know where else to begin.  I have no doubt that hundreds, if not thousands of books will be written about this pandemic.  This is an important moment in history, and we have choices on how it will play out.  We can still take care of ourselves and each other, like we always should have been.
 
Take care of yourself and others as much as possible – we will get through this together.

Blame

Last week was the beginning of Lent, which is a 40 day period before Easter.  Traditionally, during this time people will give up something.  Some big examples that I have heard of include a certain food, or staying off of a social media site, such as Facebook.  Being the hit or miss Christian that I sometimes am, I have had years where I have chosen to participate and years that I have not even thought about it.  This year, though, on Mardi Gras (the day before Lent), it came to me – this year I would give up undeserved blame.  Let’s explore this a little bit more.

When I really started to think about it, I realized how much blame is in my life.  And it is not only me blaming other people, situations, or things.  I blame myself for many, many things – things I can’t control, and things that are undeserved on my part.  Of course, I am not the only one who does this.  Then, when thinking about mental health, there is a ton of blame found in this area.  Again, much of it undeserved.  Can anyone or anything be blamed for mental health?  I do not like to use the word never, but I would say blame should almost never come up when it comes to mental health.  I do not think anyone should be blamed if they have a mental illness – and for well-intentioned friends and family of someone with a mental illness, those people should not be blamed either.

What would my world look like if I gave up underserved blame?  What would the entire world look like if we all gave up undeserved blame?  What would the world look like if personal blame was completely eliminated from any discussions about mental illness?  I am hoping to learn more in the next 40 days.

The Overnight

Hello everyone!  This month, I have decided to copy an email I have sent out to others describing one of the big mental health related activities I am planning to participate in this year.  Please consider supporting this wonderful event and have a great month! 

Dear Friend,

As you know, I’ve been spending the past few weeks preparing for the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk. This year, I will be joining with hundreds of people to walk over 16 miles through the night to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

I will be walking to take a strong stand against suicide, and my personal fundraising goal is $1,000.00. I’m hoping to not only meet, but exceed my goal before the walk, and I need your support to do it. I will be collecting donations online and via check until the day of the walk.

To those of you who have donated – thank you!  I have raised $275.00 so far, and I am excited to keep the momentum going!

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide. With more than 40,000 lives lost each year in the U.S. and nearly one million worldwide, the importance of AFSP’s mission has never been greater, nor our work more urgent.

I hope you will consider supporting my participation in this event. Any contribution will help the work of AFSP. Checks should be made payable to AFSP and are 100% tax deductible.

As I continue to prepare for the event, I thank all of you for your support and encouragement. If you have any questions about the Out of the Darkness Overnight or AFSP do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dawn Grittmann

Please visit my Overnight fundraising page if you would like to donate online or see how close I am to reaching my personal goal: https://www.theovernight.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=34984

 

Connection

As we begin a new year, I wanted to reflect on 2019 and look ahead to 2020.  Specifically, I wanted to share my “word of the year” for 2020, because at this time that sounds way more fun than making resolutions.  I am not a big fan of resolutions anyway.  Honestly, I can’t remember if I have done this before, but for 2020, my word is going to be: connection.  Let me tell you why.

As we wrap up 2019, I am concerned by how empty and alone I feel.  That probably sounds unlikely coming from me and knowing that my life is full of many wonderful and meaningful things.  Truly, I am a very fortunate woman.  But, when I say empty and alone, it isn’t all about one particular person, place, or thing.  That is where “connection” comes into play.  I feel like I have lost connections to people, places, things, activities, goals, values, etc. that are important to me.  How did I get so lost?  When did life become just getting things checked off of a list? 

So, for me, I am going to work on creating or improving the connections in my life.  And, the beauty of this is that it doesn’t mean I have to work harder or more.  It may mean I let go of some things or change how I interact with someone or something.  Connection can be liberating, and I am looking forward to a more meaningful and purposeful year.

When shifting this topic to mental health in general, connection is key.  In fact, I know of at least one book that discusses how depression can be linked to lost connections to nature, relationships, meaningful work, etc.  When we think about our mental well-being, connections are a factor in how we feel.  As we head into 2020, I encourage you to look into your connections and how they may be affecting your mental health.  You might be surprised to see connections between your connections.