To Experience 👀
1. Record your family memories and stories in a beautiful way. I haven't paid for this yet, but I think I might. It's such an interesting idea to record your family memories as a private podcast so that others can enjoy them for years to come.
2. Or...animate your old family photos to bring them to life?! Ok, this is somewhat creepy. But it's interesting enough that I had to share it. What on Earth...either you'll love it or be totally creeped out. Either way, you'll feel some kind of emotion, and that means you're alive.
Why this matters for your mental health Our families, for better or for worse, shape how we view and experience the world. Whether you are still hanging out with your family of origin or if you've built a "chosen family" for yourself, it's important to reflect on what your closest relationships mean to you.
These two resources could help you understand your family in a new way.
To Read + Learn 📕📘
3. Learn how to read people's emotions (From the science behind the show Lie to Me). Emotions Revealed is the kind of book that teaches with stories, data, and images. Written by one of the foremost authorities on facial expressions and microexpressions, this is the book you want to read if you have any interest whatsoever in knowing what someone's face is telling you.
4. Read In the Land of Pain, one man's notes about living a life in extreme physical pain. We may not suffer from syphilis these days, but Alphonse Daudet did back in the late 1800s, and he used his immense writing ability to share his experiences.
Why this matters for your mental health:
These are two books I'm currently reading. The first is a fascinating one that includes lots of images that can help you better read facial expressions. I've always been so interested in body language and how humans communicate without even realizing they're doing it.
The second book is one I randomly found at a bookstore in Las Vegas, where I'm currently working. I visit bookstores wherever I go because I think they are a good way to tap into the look and feel of a city. This book won't be for everyone, but it has opened my mind to something I don't know very much about, living a life with chronic physical pain. As we all know, physical pain can cause emotional pain--and vice versa. Alphonse Daudet was a famous French writer in the 1800s, and he wrote so poetically.
To Understand ðŸ§
5. Is it OK for someone in immense physical pain to want to end their life? Listen to this gripping story about a former olympian's decision to pursue death by euthanasia (From The Daily Podcast from The New York Times).
6. Instagram just pulled the ads of fast-growing mental health startup, Cerebral, because of the way they played on young women's emotions around disordered eating. You have to read this Forbes article to understand how NOT to promote a mental health service.
Why this matters for your mental health:
These are the stories you won't normally hear. But I think it's sometimes the stories on the fringes that end up driving the mental health narrative in big ways. It's important to expose yourself to diverse mental health perspectives so that you can educate others about the variety of ways that mental health shows up in our lives.
Making tough decisions is a huge part of living a mentally healthy life, whether it's the ultimate decision to escape pain or a seemingly innocuous decision to target someone with an Instagram ad.
To Use 🔨🔧🔑
7. I've used the Goal Crazy planner to map out my life and accomplish goals for over two years now.
At first, I wasn't thrilled about the use of the word "crazy" in this product, but it's done in a way that fits with the planning methodology and matches the positive spirit / intention of the product creator.
Why this matters for your mental health:
This is, without a doubt, the best planner I've ever used. It's more than a daily schedule. Each 13-week planner walks you through an exercise to see how balanced your life currently is, and then it, step by step, teaches you how to set goals and get your tasks done.
It's really interesting to see how my life-balance has changed over the last few years. My spirituality meter ebbs and flows in opposition to my work / career meter, for instance. I need to bring that into better balance.
I highly, highly recommend this product. You can set up a recurring subscription to get a new planner right when the old one is finishing up.
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