Saturday, May 4, 2019

Ways to Boost Your Mental Health & Wellness

May is mental health month with this year being the 70th year raising mental health awareness and boosting general mental health and wellness. 

I may no longer work in direct patient care as a psychiatric and mental health nurse, but this topic has remained near and dear to my heart. 


The Importance of Self-Care

When we're taking care of ourselves, and others, it's easy to overlook caring for our mental health. Sometimes in a society that's built upon a rapid pace of always doing, going, and being available up to 24-hours a day with social media, it's almost as if we feel a little guilty at taking time for ourselves. But we shouldn't. 

People might joke that they're taking a 'mental health day' but this time to relax and unwind is necessary for us to be the best version of ourselves. I, of course, will recommend reading a good book to enjoy a little mini-escape from the stressors of the everyday—a paranormal or fantasy one is my favorite escape. 




Nurture Your Mental Health

My first story features strong elements of mental health as I drew upon my years working in a state psychiatric hospital. I hope to one day polish this story enough to have it published while honoring individuals living with mental illness. 

Much of my freelance writing focuses around recognizing and nurturing mental health and wellness. I'd like to share some of those articles with you today so you might find ways to nurture your own wellness, or lend a hand to someone who might need one. 


This is just a sampling of my some of my articles on mental health and wellness. You can find many more here in my writing portfolio.

How Do You Take Care of Your Mental Health & Wellness?




Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her websiteFacebookTwitter

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9 comments:

Diane Burton said...

Taking care of our mental health is so important. Thanks for drawing our attention to it. I read. That's my way of escaping stress and relaxing. Watching movies does the same. For a few hours, I can forget everything around me. Winter is a difficult time here in the Midwest, esp. around the Great Lakes. Gray skies are the norm. It's easy to become depressed. A "happy" lamp helps. Getting away, even for a short time, and going south for some warmth and sunshine helps even more. Great post, Maureen.

Maureen said...

Thanks for stopping by Diane. I love movies as an escape, too :)

Nancy Gideon said...

Thanks for the great post, Maureen! Both my parents worked in the mental health field at our local state hospital and times have certainly changed since then. Going to open events with my mom who was an OT was my first exposure to people I noticed were 'different' but wasn't afraid because my mom was so relaxed with them. After working with an awesome criminal attorney, I discovered that many illegal actions are based in a mental health issues that can be treated with proper attention and care. My 'cure' is Vitamin D therapy time in the sun, reclined and relaxed which is tricky in MI in the winter.

Maureen said...

I agree, Nancy. It's sad that mental health is often overlooked and that some treatment can make a world of difference. Thanks for sharing your 'cure' and for stopping by!

Alicia Dean said...

Wow, I had no idea you were so knowledgeable in the area of mental health. These sounds like some fantastic articles. Thanks for the reminder that we need to nourish our minds as well as our bodies.

Maureen said...

Thanks Alicia! I appreciate you stopping by. :)

Francesca Quarto said...

Such important and timely remarks, Maureen! Balancing real life and creative life is challenging enough, but throw in the element of human interaction and its harder to keep a healthy perspective! Thanks for your insights.

Francesca Q.

Maureen said...

Thanks for stopping by Francesca!

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