1-1-1: how to work with your mental health

read about how to slow down, my tips for bad mental health days, andddd happy 50 editions!

Oct 15, 2024

october, 2024

edition 50.

weeee happy 50 editions! how silly is it that I sat down one day on a tuesday morning in california and decided to start a newsletter and now here I am, 50 editions later, still chugging along?! absolutely wild.

nothing much to report here except that it’s so cold in london that apparentlyyyy my toes turned a little blue while i was sitting in my shorts (optimistic) working today. welp. happy winter I guess!

other than that, I am nursing exhaustion (I am literally disappearing into the couch cushions as I write this) trying not to do too much while simultaneously juggling every single spinning plate. it’s a looot but work that I love isn’t work at all!

happy 50 — here’s to 50 more!

you can expect one email from me every week containing:

one quote that has been inspiring me
one journal prompt
one piece of advice*

* = if you want to submit a question for my upcoming emails, you can find the form here.

podcast

there are tons of guest episodes on the podcast from 2024 that are worth checking out — listen to them here <3

one quote

“I’m not a stable person, and often I encounter great difficulties in life, which often seems quite unbearable. there’s nothing I can do about that. but I love the world and life itself, and, even when in pain, I still have the pleasure of feeling part of a cosmic movement.”

—hermann hesse

one journal prompt

“how do you want to show up this week?”

one piece of advice

note: please submit questions for advice! I’m looking through old responses and I’m worried about reusing questions so it would be really really helpful if you could populate the advice box! submit here.

“Hi Katie! My question is how to learn to slow down? I'm a person that struggles with depression, anxiety, etc. so when my mental health is good I usually take advantage and want to do a million things. But while my mental health is good right now, I'm also dealing with a cold and I know I need to rest but all my brain wants to do is move.”

this is such a good question as someone who is a chronic over-doer and cannot, for the life of me, slow down properly. (that’s the one thing about living in london — I find it really hard to say no and reallyyyyy hard to slow down).

I’m going to break down my advice into two parts:

I. for good mental health days

you’re going to want to do it all. see allll the friends, do all the things you’ve been putting off, and really ‘take advantage’ of the physical and emotional energy you have right now. that’s okay! maybe go out and see a friend, but make sure it’s in line with the type of life you want to live.

for example, I’ve stopped saying ‘yes’ to random “for the plot” activities and only prioritised/said yes to the things I would actually do on my own. this has helped me from over-scheduling myself and also made me a happier person when I walk through the door after a really long day.

(a good example of this is that I try to combine seeing friends with workout classes or trying new cafes or working or eating. all things I need to do and enjoy doing and I would do by myself. all things that are also very pleasant to do with someone else).

also, try not to put too much on your schedule/plate when your mental health is good. since it sounds like your ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days are variable, it’s always a gamble to schedule things too far in advance. I try to have 1 thing each day, whether that be a dinner or a coffee or a workout class or a date night with my boyfriend. I can always add things in but more difficult to take them away!

II. for bad mental health days

trust me, I know how hard it is to do anything when your mental health is down in the dumps. it’s like you’re paralysed and unable to motivate yourself to do anything and now you’re hard on yourself for not getting out of bed and you’re still frustrated and oh… it’s 11pm and you really should go to bed because look at you, you’ve wasted the whole day and, and, and…

on these days, be gentle with yourself. get out of bed, even if it’s 3pm. open your curtains. cook yourself a meal. do one big task in or around the house (clean up the kitchen more than you normally would, sweep the floors, throw your sheets in the wash (this one is especially effective because you can’t climb back into bed anymore), or unload the dishwasher. if nothing else, you’ve accomplished one big thing at the end of the day without leaving your house.

these are also the times where I reach out to friends to do something simple. “hey, are you around later today to grab a coffee?” works. booking yourself into a non-refundable class (whether it’s a workout class or hobby class or a space at the gym) also works. just something to give you a level of accountability to get out.

finally, I try my hardest not to let my mental health dictate my schedule. if I cancelled plans when I wasn’t ‘feeling like it’ mentally, I don’t think I would ever opt to leave my house. push yourself to do the hard things, especially on the days when your mental health is suffering. act on the feeling you’ll have once the thing is done, not the feeling you have before even starting the thing.

honestly, though, things like this are so so personalised to you and your experience. these are loose guidelines for what works for me, so take what works and leave what doesn’t!

reading updates

currently reading: the queen of nothing by holly black (#3)

finished this week:

reading challenge: 39/50, on track

if you want to keep up with my reading throughout the week, this is my goodreads :)

discount codes

these links are affiliate which means I'll earn commission if you purchase through them. thank you for the support!

FreeSoul: 15% off with code katieeu
D.Louise: 15% off with code katieeu
lululemon: my current list of favourite things (aff link)

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