Breathing Through the Fire: Community Wisdom on Mental Health

Yes, it’s still May, and May is Mental Health Month, which is just another way of saying it’s Mental Health Month all year round, really.

Last week I wrote about mental health (My Mental Health) and invited readers to impart their experiences and tricks for keeping their noggins positively healthy, as well as for ways to change trajectory when things start heading south.

The post received more engagement than usual, which shows this subject is, if not top of mind, then deep in mind for many. Two readers, Lori Kothke and Wayne Rancourt, took the time to thoughtfully contribute their takes on the subject, which I’m going to reprint for you today as I think they both impart valuable wisdom.

So, let’s get into their responses.  First, we’ll hear from Lori:

“Thanks for this. It resonated deeply and I feel it, too. Everyday. Despite my best efforts. What are we to do when we incessantly tell our minds to cope, but our bodies refuse to comply? What's WRONG with us? But therein lies the problem. We're asking ourselves to not react to the heat when our hand is in the fire and can't pull away. Our bodies are responding exactly as designed. We're alarmed because we can't control or resolve the disconnect between our mind, body, spirit, senses, truth, trust, self, hope, and reality(ies). Our hearts are beating the warning drum. Our breath is stopping our flow. Our heads are spinning tangled webs. We're experiencing real and internalized pain. And we can't meditate or medicate it away. For me, inspiration is the only thing that ever alleviates desperation. It's what mystically connects me to a higher power, whatever that might be. Inspiration. Literally defined as to draw in -- to breathe -- to invite divine influence. It lifts me from despair. It invites the fire into my belly to own and fuels it with oxygen. That is, until breaking news and reality wake and shake me once again.

In your post, you attempt to diagnose the problem with yourself. Must be a mental issue. No. Rest assured. Your mind and body are working exactly as designed. The problem is that right now we can't put out the fire that's burning our lives.

Your words below inspired my response. Yes, an enemy energy is invading and taking your breath. But together we can take back the flame and breathe.

‘These days, though, it seems other items take my breath, as my routine of news and social media often triggers a stress response, a tightening in my chest and a pervading sense of water coming over the gunwales that alters the course of my day. It feels like an alien and enemy energy is invading my physical being.’”

And now, let’s hear from Wayne:

“This was a great piece and certainly a fit for our current times. My suggested mental health wellness verb would be “commune.” Commune with nature and its vast array of amazing daily gifts (arguably best done in quiet solitude) and commune with your fellow travelers who share an interest in leaving the planet and its inhabitants in a better place than when they entered the world for their ever-so-brief voyage on this rock.”

Thanks to Lori and Wayne for sharing with us.

Godspeed, friends.

Russ

💬 Think About It

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” Brené Brown

💥 Quick Hits

•            Values that are skin deep – Advertising holding company WPP calls itself the "creative transformation company." Well, turns out that WPP and competitor IPG both creatively transformed their websites in the dead of night by scrubbing their scrubbing their sites of DEI language. (Marketing Brew)

•            Take a trip on the Wayback Machine – Reporters at Marketing Brew used the Wayback Machine to time-stamp website dates in writing the previous DEI story. If you've never heard of the Wayback Machine, an archive of the internet, give it a go – great for research and plain fun, too.

•            My Agency Oliver Russell, Circa 1996 – Yee gadzooks, that's bad – taking a trip nearly 30 years back in time using the Wayback Machine to check out one of my agency's earliest websites.

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