Everything’s going well in my life at the moment, yet for the past week or two, I’ve found myself in a bit of a funk. Then, an email popped into my work inbox reminding me that October is Mental Health Awareness Month. It got me thinking: maybe it’s time to take a deeper look at what’s going on beneath the surface.
Congress established the first full week of October as “Mental Illness Awareness Week” back in 1990. And honestly, it makes sense. The transition from summer to shorter, colder, and grayer days can stir up feelings of sadness or anxiety for a lot of people. October feels like the perfect time to focus on mental health.
No wonder I’ve been finding excuses to skip activities I was actually excited about. I’ve been feeling anxious and a little out of sync with myself for no obvious reason. Well, on the surface, at least. Once I peeled back the layers and had an honest talk with myself, it started to make sense.
I realized I’m dreading the cold and another possibly harsh winter. The disasters from hurricanes Helene and Milton, the fear of bad news about my mom, and the overwhelming political instability fueled by disinformation and discourses of hate. All of that just piled up under the radar.
As I write this, I’m still feeling some of that anxiety, but I’m working my way back to my strong self. It even got me thinking about the old Roman calendar with ten months starting in March. Why did we have to change it? I mean, “octo” in October is “eight” in Latin, so shouldn’t it be the eighth month, not the tenth? Can we just go back to the Roman calendar and skip January and February altogether?
Anyway, this month is all about raising awareness and educating people on mental health, and this year’s theme is “Mental Health at Work.” I’d say there’s no better time to check in with ourselves and see how we’re really doing.
In my studio practicing Eagle Pose. A little wobbly when using Joby at the same time.