Outside the Comfort Zone: Mental Health

Two years ago, I was experiencing severe burn out. I had posted about it on LinkedIn and then immediately deleted it out of embarrassment. A trusted advisor (thank you Ashli Bobo !) gently nudged me to post it again and I was blown away by the comments and messages that I received from people feeling the same way.

Writing is a form of creative release for me and a way to process what’s happening. When I posted this, I was riding a wave of professional wins, getting married, and starting a new life. But I was so fried from work, constant pivots due to COVID, supply change shortages, societal and macroeconomic challenges, dealing with grief, and a life stage change that I was a little lost. ?

I started to do some research but felt ashamed like somehow I should be fine and to just get over it. Then, one of Nissan’s business synergy teams sent out this list of tips as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. This list helped me realize that I needed to get over the stigma and my own misperceptions on mental health and commit to my mental health in the same way I commit to trying to eat healthy and working out.

One of the things that really helped me was a gratitude journal. It may sound cheesy but starting each day writing down three things that I’m grateful for and what I’m hoping to achieve each day made me shift my mindset from feeling under water and overwhelmed to optimism and ready to take on the day. The consistency of doing this over time also helped. I’ll admit I got out of this habit and don’t do it as often right now so writing this article is motivating me to start it back up again!

It’s important to recognize the signs, ask for help, and open up the discussion on mental health because we are all going through something at any given time. I hope this list will help someone else.