Mental Health May

May 12

TEACHER FEATURE :

Each month a new teacher will share their common themes and musings.
This Month we are featuring a piece by Katie Schrock all about mental health and the importance of taking care.

*** TRIGGER WARNING : Suicide. ***

WHY MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS

On June 22nd, 2010 at 1:30 am, I was awakened with a phone call from my mom to the heartbreaking and traumatic news that my beloved brother, Patrick, passed away. His heart was so kind. He saw people. He was silly and had a gift for making people laugh. His mind was brilliant. He had a true grit and toughness to him.

And, at 19 years old, he died by suicide.

This month is Mental Health Awareness Month, which has come to mean a lot to me. Awareness gives us insights into our beliefs, how they are impacting us, and a space to move forward from. When awareness grows, so does compassion, advocacy, and the ability to influence outcomes. I have experienced walking next to and loving someone suffering with mental illness at a time where it was greatly stigmatized. Stigma, a shame amplifier, robs a person of the love and compassion that is desperately needed and deserved in the fight against this illness. As my brother was someone who lived with mental illness and who was crushed by the stigma of it, raising awareness about it means so much. I will only be able to share my experience as a part of my brother’s story, as he is the only one who could tell his whole story. This is the part of his story that I walked through with him.

I remember feeling so much joy and excitement for Patrick as he was heading into his senior year of high school. He was doing well in school, was accepted into the honors programs at multiple colleges, was starting his senior year of football, was involved in many school organizations, and had a great group of friends.

In what felt very sudden and unexpected, I got a call from my parents that he was in the hospital due to a suicide attempt. My family and I were shocked as we had not seen any warning signs. And while we still have more questions than we will likely be able to ever have answers to, what we learned is that around the age of 18 is a common time for mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, severe depression, and schizophrenia to develop. Illnesses that we would come to learn that he developed and illnesses that led him to a year and a half of fighting for his life. There were hospital visits, inpatient programs, outpatient programs, many psychiatric & counseling visits, and medication trials that were not effective. As his friends were leaving to pursue the next chapters of their lives, he had to let go of his college acceptances to stay home to fight for healing from the illness. I witnessed him fight his illnesses with everything he had.

I remember seeing and feeling his longing to be a “normal” 18 year old. To be with his friends and to continue to learn and grow. However, his mental illness grew to dominate all aspects of his life. As he was nearing the end of his life, the monster in his mind that he was fighting to control caused him to feel great pain, confusion, and isolation. It breaks my heart to know that these are the emotions that he spent the last months of his life feeling.

Throughout the 11 years since he passed, I have wondered if the advances in medicine and therapy that we have today would have healed him. As mental health awareness pushes the advance of support for research and treatments, mental health awareness is crucial to improving the quality of lives and saving lives of those who live with it.

My aunt passed away from cancer. A gift that she had was her beautiful voice, and she shared it through singing professionally. When my aunt was informed that she did not have much time left to live, the singers she sang with came to her home to sing her favorite songs to her. I was there. I remember the angelic sounds of the singers while tears streamed down their faces, and the gentle smile that appeared on my aunt’s face as she gently closed her eyes to allow herself to really listen. She could feel the love for her from her fellow singers. After she passed, I have remembered this moment often as a reminder of the power of compassion. The people who came to sing to her filled her with so much life at the time hers was ending. When I have grieved her, a comforting thought that has come up is;

She got to hear the songs.

While I can graciously accept that a beautiful singing voice is not a gift I have been given, writing these words is my song. My song of deep love to all of those who struggle with mental illness. Who love someone with a mental illness. And who have loved and lost someone they love to a mental illness. It is a song I sing today and will always sing. A song of love that pours out from every part of my being.

It is the song that reminds that mental illness blurs the truth. The truth is that the illness is not who you are. That the illness can not and will not ever take away how lovable you are. How worthy you are. How enough you are. How deserving of the hard healing work you are. And that you are loved beyond measure.

Where I see hope is in how much more information is available and provided for due to the advocacy work of so many. This has led to greater understanding and validation of the realities of mental illness compared to the time when my brother passed. I see hope in how conversations have evolved from judgment to recognizing that mental illness is an ILLNESS. It is not a choice. It is not a weakness. I see hope in places like The Space who provide community and safe spaces for healing and growth. I see hope in the recognition that one of the most loving gifts we can always give each other is compassion.

— Katie Schrock

TAKE A BATH.

Water reboots our energetic field. Sometimes we just need to take the edge off with a soak.

We love to get in the water. Water is purifying. It is cleansing. Detoxing for the body if you put the right things in there with you.

If you need to reset, add water.

Drink it, soak in it, sweat it out.

Decide and retrieve.

Our favorite SOAK: Pursoma. We wouldn’t sell it if we didn’t believe in it.

If you follow the directions of these soaks, you will reap the ultimate benefits. Do it right before bed, or after a stressful day. Let yourself sweat in the tub. Turn off your devices. Lay in bed after and slip away to restoration. Wake up and GLOW.

Reflections from the Ritual :

Last month, our Ritual workshop was a huge success. Hayley and Liv led the group through a series of meditative rituals that can be incorporated into a daily routine. When we have rituals in our tool bag, we have access to ourselves anywhere, anytime. As we head from Spring to Summer, what rituals can you carry with you? A practice of sorts that offers you your own presence.

Eileen Miles guided us in our first Beyond The Space virtual gathering last month and it was AMAZING!! These sessions are created as a moment to go deeper with our teachers at the Space and the themes that they are processing in their classes and in their lives. It’s taking the work we do off the mat and into a more intimate setting where we can process deeper and get to know our community too.

Our next session is May 31st with Hayley Pierzynski as the guest of honor! Sign up on mindbody to join. Can’t join live? that’s ok! These sessions are recorded and will be sent out afterwards to view. (Although the best experience is live!!! ;) ) If you want to view after, sign up as usual and be sure that your email on your mindbody account is accessible to you.

Book it.

“The most important relationship you have is the one with yourself.”

Sometimes we need something to SHIFT us into connection with ourselves. A redirection. So we bring to you—

THE SHIFT : A one day in house retreat where you can be submerged into practices and exploration that rekindles our connection to ourselves. We will be guided by several amazing leaders, eat nourishing food, and be sent on our way with fun tools that will help us maintain what we’ve learned.

Space is limited and spots are filling fast. Book it today.

TODAY FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH :

a checklist of ways to CHECK IN

have a phone free morning and or night
call a friend to catch up
plan a weekend getaway
journal in the morning
create a vision board
take a mindful walk
declutter a corner of your home
unfollow anyone who makes you doubt your magic
cook a new recipe
volunteer somewhere local
sign up for a class/workshop
buy yourself flowers
write a love letter to yourself

—

You are not alone.

If there is one thing you can remind yourself of time and time again is that you are not alone in this life. There are so many people that feel what you feel and think what you think. Everyone has a mind that needs tending to. So check in. see what you need. And take care.

We love you so much.