World Mental Health Day, My Best Practices

October 10th is World Mental Health Day, an International day for Global Mental Health education, awareness, and advocacy against the social stigma of Mental Health needs. When I founded the nonprofit,  Every Body Deserves Love, my intention was to create more mental health support and resources in the community I grew up in. Like many others, I have dealt with my own share of challenges with little understanding of the coping skills needed to manage my own needs. As a model and an entrepreneur, I deal with a fair amount of stress on a day-to-day basis, and investing in my Mental Wellness is a must! Today I share with you my most helpful tools when managing stress and creating balance in my life: Meditation and community. 

Meditation is a great practice for World Mental Health Day

Meditation has improved the quality of my life. Did you know that stress, according to the Mayo Clinic, “is an automatic physical, mental and emotional response to a challenging event? It’s a normal part of everyone’s life. When used positively, stress can lead to growth, action, and change. But negative, long-term stress can lessen your quality of life.” When we do not take the time to address our Mental Wellness, which includes stress management, we are in danger of it affecting all areas of our lives. From our careers to our relationships, it is important to find wellness tools that can help us move through these heavy feelings, events, and triggers. 

Meditation has allowed me to be a better boss and a better person, in addition to minimizing my uncontrollable stress levels. Something I tell everybody is to be patient and gentle with yourself when starting off this practice. Some sessions are better than others. There is no wrong way to get started. You can do it anywhere and everywhere, at any time. Please do not expect too much at first, especially when you are just getting started and tuning in to a more calm and controlled version of yourself. What’s most important is that you create the habit of trying and you will see the benefits over time. 

Meditation Allows Us To Recognize Our Thoughts

When we focus on the thoughts that pass through our minds so we can assess them and release them. By meditating regularly we can familiarize our minds with beneficial states of mindfulness. In Buddhism meditation has to do with familiarization; the action or process of understanding something. In this case, we are making ourselves familiar with our own body and mind’s energy and stress levels. Tuning into ourselves is the first step to transforming ourselves to be more positive and relieving ourselves from stress. I can attest to feeling overwhelmed and stressed by having so many thoughts. Turning to a daily meditation practice makes me feel calm, connected, and more balanced.

Practice Community to support your Mental Wellness

Access to a loving community provides many elements that are beneficial and critical to Mental Health. Benefits such as belonging, support, and a purpose. As human beings we are naturally social creatures and we thrive when we feel connected to ourselves and others in our support system. Finding your “tribe” is so much more than just finding a group of people you relate to or have fun with. Community for me means finding a group of people that allow me to be authentic to who I am as well as offering that acceptance to them. Community is a stress reliever for me because when life gets hard they hold space for me and I can hold space for them. Together we celebrate one’s successes and achievements as well as support each other through our mental health. Community allows us to fulfill our need to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Every Body Deserves Love provides this for me.

Before founding Every Body Deserves Love, I spent years participating and volunteering for other organizations. I saw firsthand how belonging to a community can positively impact the lives of so many people, young and old. I also saw the need to provide more resources, have a safe place for people to come together and share their worries, anxieties, and even traumas. A place to talk freely without judgment but also a place that could offer them the tools and help they needed to surpass what life throws at them. Every Body Deserves Love was born from this need. 

I Invite You To Join our Community at Every Body Deserves Love!

So on this year’s World Mental Health Day, I invite you to be a part of our community and share our resources. I welcome you to participate, volunteer, follow us on social media or whatever you are drawn to do. I welcome you to join our tribe of “Self-love” warriors on Facebook. We work hard to share our message of acceptance, belonging, support, and purpose. Together we can normalize the difficult conversations that need to be had regarding Mental Health. Together we can show the power of Community and the role it plays in Mental Wellness. Head on over to our website to join us at our next Self-love Pop up or to see how you can contribute to our cause. 

But most importantly my friends, be kind to yourself on this journey. It’s ok to not be ok. We all are all dealing with something, know you are not alone and the tools and resources are out there. 

XX Alexa