Mental Health: A Lifelong Journey of Intention

According to Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry, “The adult Black community is 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems, such as Major Depressive Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder.” But why is that reality that we live in? 

Licensed mental health clinician Celeste Viciere suggested that the Black community is more likely to experience mental illness at higher rates “because we have to work on surviving, we live in a country that was never meant for us to thrive.” Viciere runs a wellness center called Shifting The Way You Think. When I asked her how she maintains her own mental health while doing a lot of emotionally heavy work as a therapist, she told me, “I’m constantly reminding myself what I have control over. Like, what are the moments I’m spending with myself to be okay?” From that, I recognized that you have to make intentional space for yourself. Nothing happens by accident, only with intention.

What steps can take to improve our mental health?

One thing I have always wondered is, what are the little things you can do to better your mental health? 

As a Spanish teacher at Brooke High School whose passionate about nutrition, Vanessa Salinas acknowledged that students don’t see “the connection of, if you fuel yourself, just like you would fuel a view of a vehicle, you would be able to fuel yourself enough to think better, to do better, to feel better.”

In my experience, when I don’t eat breakfast, I often feel tired and grumpy. As a student, I have seen that students can be irritable, grumpy, or low energy. There may be other factors at play, but fueling yourself with the proper nutrients can dramatically improve your mood and overall health. For example, in the mornings that I eat breakfast, I feel more engaged in classes since I have energy to learn effectively.

For those who want to improve their overall nutrition, Salinas advised: “Not all plates are designed the same, not, every meal plan or lifestyle plan is going to be one size fits all. So it’s all about trial and error, and I think being able to explore that and not shun food away.”

It takes time to develop good habits, so give yourself grace. It is a process of trial and error to figure out what is best for you.

Additionally, exercise is a small thing that can greatly improve mental health. During the winter, I am a part of a fencing team and practices are tuesday, wednesday, and thursday afterschool. There have been many times that I felt too stressed to attend fencing due to school. After practice, I still had the same pile of homework to do, but I felt lighter, calm, and less stressed. As a student, being active is a way that I deal with stress. I like going for walks and bike riding. Making sure you have breakfast or going for a walk are small and intentional things you can do to take care of yourself. Similarly when Viciere starts her day, she mentions, ”I’m moving my body. I’m listening to music. I’m really mindful of the energy that I hold.”

Advice for your younger self…

In both of my interviews, I asked what advice would you give to your younger self.

Salinas would say to her younger self, “You are beautiful, you are kind, you are respected, and you are beyond your physical appearance. Your happiness is what’s most important.”

Viciere would tell her younger self, “It’s OK if you’re not OK. Accepting that life has ups and downs and everything will not go in the trajectory that we plan it. Life doesn’t come with a book. There’s a lot of books about life, but there’s no manual for our specific life.”

So in those moments where you’re struggling with things not being OK, I think you should ask yourself, “What part of this do I have control over?”

Mental health is a journey that is everlasting, painful, and joyous. Along that journey, you’ll learn how to truly take care of yourself because at the end of the day your wellness is the thing that matters the most. It takes one spark to make a flame. What is one thing you will do for yourself to start this journey of self-care in spite of everything going on in life?