Hi Friends! I’m Natalie Mason. I live in Charleston, SC and I am mom to Sterling 12 , Frances Moon 8 and our mini golden doodle Dolly.

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Things I do For My Mental Health

Feb 8, 2021

I exercise to take care of my body and I think mental health deserves the same attention. I strongly feel if our minds are not in a good place it affects everything else in our lives. I have always struggled with anxiety my entire life but Covid brought on almost a feeling of constant depression. It felt like all the things I looked forward to like vacations, big events, birthday parties were put on hold indefinitely. I would wake and just feel blah. I went through all the motions but I just felt a sadness within me, as I am sure so many others did too. Life felt weird and it affected my mental headspace.

I have been going to therapy on and off for years, and I can’t say enough great things about it. I feel like sometimes therapy can have a bad stigma, like wow, you must be so messed up to need a therapist and that is not true at all. There is nothing to be ashamed of about seeing a therapist. I look at my therapist as an essential person in my life just like a doctor or my hair dresser. She has given me so much wonderful advice and helped me navigate tough times in my life. Even when I feel like I am in a good place in my life I still go in and talk with her and always have lots of talk about! I think therapy is a gift for yourself.

Outside of my therapist I want to share a few things that I find help me personally with my mental health. I am no expert and trust me I still have plenty of bad days where I do feel down but overall these things help me.

EXERCISE AND VITAMIN D – moving my body and getting outside in the sun always greatly helps my mood. I exercise first thing in the morning and then I also try and get outside and walk as well. Moving helps wake up my body and is a good way to start the day.

THE DAILY STOIC – I have mentioned this book several times but I truly love it. I read a passage each night before bed and I find it very inspiring. It is book filled with 365 meditations on life from different philosophers. I like that it is short and to the point, nothing too long to read.

DAILY MANTRAS TO IGNITE YOUR PURPOSE | This is a new book I bought in January and just love it. It has a short mantra for each day and they always really resonate with me. I think it is a great start to the day and your mindset to read these mantras. I find having a positive mind can really change your day.

This was today’s passage, such a good one.

CALENDAR | If my life is unorganized then my mind feels unorganized and not at ease. This is my weekly calendar and I love it. It is a simple notepad and you just tear off the sheets each week. I use this every week in addition to my To-do list notepad. I also like that it has a habit tracker at the bottom and I use to track my exercise, water and vitamins. Keeping my week planned out and organized really helps my mindset for the week. Schedules and routines also help with your mindset as well.

PODCASTS | I listen to podcasts most of the day while the kids are at school. I pop in my AirPods and listen while I work, clean house, and in the car while I am driving. I love listening to motivating podcasts about entrepreneurs, Beauty podcasts, interviews with celebrities, and podcasts that just make me laugh. I have learned so much from podcasts and they always inspire me. I really think podcasts can help divert your mind from negative thoughts. If I feel anxious or off I will start listening and usually it gets my mind off my anxiety. My favorites are :

The Skinny Confidential – a great mix of everything beauty, wellness, business

The Bitch Bible – funny mindless entertainment

Heather McMahon– funny, Heather always cracks me up

Blonde Files – Health and Wellness

Second Life – inspiring interviews of different women entrepreneurs

ArmChair Expert – Dax Sherppard interviews so many cool and fascinating people

UnFuck Your Brain – ways to train your mind

Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations– it is Oprah need I say more

What’s Gaby Cooking– one of my favorite chefs talking all things food

Bad on Paper- a great mix of topics and always love grace Atwood been following her for years and she is so authentic.

SUPPLEMENTS | Finding the right combo of supplements is so important. I have an entire blog post coming at some point about what supplements I am taking. I worked with a wellness coach to test my hormones and these supplements have really helped me feel better overall. It is crazy how if you gut and other parts of your body are off it can affect your mental health. I do think Vitamin D is especially import during these cold dreary months and I find magnesium helps calm me. I use this pill case to organize my supplements.

CHAT WITH A FRIEND | I have a weekly lunch with my best friend and I always so look forward to it. I think time with friends can help your mind so much. I know us moms are always busy with our kids and the daily grind but I think it is important to set aside time with friends.

Just a few small things that I find have helped me recently! xo

Leave a Reply

  1. Jill says:

    Did you use a local person or an online company to find out what supplements you need?? thank you

  2. Nadine says:

    Thank you for this! I’m going to check out those books and start slowly 🙂