The Takeaway-October 12, 2022
Hello folks, today, October 12, 2022 I want to talk about Mental Health and a little bit about myself and my story and why it really matters to us. Having a good mental health in our bodies is very essential in our lives, when we don’t, we start going crazy, and acting down like Debbie downer.
Throughout this year, there has been a lot of bad crime happening around not just in the country but also around the world such as the daycare shooting. There has been gun violence throughout this year killing people around the country, also innocent people stabbed to death, and maybe mental health has something to do with it. Sometimes, people are just feeling down and bothered from all the social drama
Let’s talk a little about me first of all.
Throughout my life, I have lived with stress, anxiety, and at times, depression. When I was a lot younger I went through hell and back with my social life with friends and family although I was trying to be popular with dreams of becoming a movie star.
Even younger when I was in my early years of elementary school, I dealt with so much pain from being forced to stay home to do a lot of homework and being pressured to do well in school, but this could be due to the culture in China. Sometimes when I got to school when I take a test I used to get so nervous that I always worry about failing the test. Whenever I took a test in school I had that dramatic music playing in my head without any headphones and always had that worry that I would let my friends down.
I still have a problem with that today whenever I wake up and deal with it throughout the day. Nevertheless, as a honest and a nice person, I would always like to have an end goal of achieving that every day of being nice to a lot of people I talk to every day and always try my best not to be rude even with someone not in a good mood. I am sure there are other people out there that are always trying to achieve it, some of them I know very well and people still think I am a popular guy to be easy to get along with.
To me, I always think of myself as a talkative person whenever I am in a good mood or more of a social butterfly (as some people would describe) since I always hear conversation from other people, albeit something it can be creepy and rude, but always try to be mindful of everyone and be nice and courteous to people.
I am (sorry to be rude) somewhat not so easy going, mainly when I put myself in a situation when people verbally attack me (not a lot of people fortunately) whenever if it is a rumor, someone making fun of me (due to my education and performance in school).
Nowadays whenever I deal with a problem (even tough problems on certain occasions and I had to put myself through it), I always try to think of a solution. Whenever someone goes through a tough time, I do my best to not bother that person for a period of time in order for them to fully recover.
Throughout my Junior and Senior year of college and a little bit after things went back to normal, I am grateful to meet some people in my life that have helped me make my life and day better. I am grateful for people that have helped me stay happy and always bring a positive attitude. I would like to thank them for doing that.
Even now after post-COVID, things have evolved, but most of them are not in a good way. Many people are still having mental health problems from when COVID pandemic occurred.
My father had lost his job 6 years ago due to “being laid off.” It was hard for my father to find a job due to his age since then he has become a “depressive person (unfortunately not diagnosed with it)” attached to his home and when COVID-19 pandemic came, my father just didn’t get used to it. He had a lot of outbursts/meltdowns which led to constant arguments with my family members and other people associated with us. Now for the most part, I just leave my father alone nowadays to try to not get involved with him since he can get into an unexpected meltdown and for safety purposes.
What I have found out about my father’s history is the fact he was upon coming to United States of America, he has struggled socially to survive and I felt he could’ve gotten help but decided not possibly due to social norms in my father’s home country China.
My mother also has a problem but on a different scale. She works a lot and gets tired and sometimes I feel bad for her. When we work so hard, sometimes we get burned out. I sometimes get burned out from working so much and dealing with so many people. Also my mom is old and sometimes gets burned out from having to take care of my out of control father, sometimes I do too.
From all the stress from myself, from all the work wearing us out it is important to make sure we take care of ourselves first before we look after others.
The one most important thing we need to do is make sure we feel good physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Walk away when very upset
When we get angry it is best for us to walk away from the situation, take a walk or a deep breath and resume talking about what we are upset about when we mentally feel better.
Talk with Someone you Know
Usually when I put myself in a predicament based on a certain situation from a certain event, I would usually talk to my friends, co-workers, or family about the situation and get their helpful, experienced advice. Even though I have some good talks with my friends, I also have to rely on them when I need help with a predicamental situation.
Take Vacation Days (4-day workday with no holidays)
When we need to take a vacation day off from work to do some leisure activity at a place like a museum, that sometimes is the plan to go with it.
Usually when I take vacation days, usually on a Friday, I would sometimes go by myself to say like a museum like the Museum of Fine Arts and it was a great experience for myself to mentally recover from a long couple of weeks from working so hard, looking at the wonderful works of art and continues to be one of my favorite places to go when I use my vacation time.
Go Somewhere Green
Going for a run or just visiting a greeny place at any given time of the day also works. I work near Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts. Sometimes I go there after work I would sit on the bench appreciate the green nature or talk a nice walk in the park to take my mind off from a long day or week from work
Go for a Walk
Continuing from Bullet D, even walking around the town, your neighborhood, or around a Downtown City can also take my mind off a long day from work, appreciating the fresh air in the wonderful blue or black sky.
Go for a Bike Ride or simply put, exercise before or after work!
Usually I would go to the gym before or after work to get my workouts in. During Covid-19 pandemic, I became somewhat of a fat man and my mom wanted me to get rid of the fat belly and lose weight. I was on the same page as her but also wanted to get some muscles on my legs and arms.
When I started working out at the gym or biking from places within the City of Boston, I felt mentally and physically stronger and better, despite eating more (which I need to stop doing so) in order to fulfill my mother’s request of losing weight. Hopefully I am able to get a legit six-pack, muscles and lose the belly fat.
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