Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – May 16, 2024 – It’s #mentalhealthawarenessmonth, and if you know me at all, you know how much I stress the importance of mental health for my own personal well-being and the well-being of all of us. While going to therapy and prioritizing your mental health used to be somewhat taboo, in today’s wellness age, it’s thankfully considered much more normal. 

Just like you go to the gym for your physical health, we partake in daily or weekly practices so that we can “workout” our mental health.  Luckily, we have many options to help us stabilize our mental well-being and function in this busy, stressful world. Here are my suggestions: 

  1. Therapy and Counseling Services: Therapy services can provide individuals with an objective and confidential space to explore thoughts, emotions, and experiences with a trained professional. Therapy can help to overcome everything from anxiety to depression, trauma, or relationship issues and is customized to an individual’s needs. Therapists can utilize evidence-based approaches such as traditional talk therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (or EMDR – which is my personal favorite and what has helped me the most), and other psychodynamic therapies to help individuals develop coping skills, gain insight, rewire neurons from past trauma, form new behavioral patterns, and help achieve personal and professional growth. In Jonesboro, my top suggestions are any of the therapists at Pivot Integrative Health who offer a wide array of treatment options, or Mike Leatherwood, LCSW. 

  2. Meditation and Mindfulness: While traditional therapy practices are evolving and much different than they used to be, most people don’t go every day and sadly, many don’t have access to it. Meditation and mindfulness can also seem somewhat taboo, but are extremely powerful tools for managing stress, reducing anxiety, and promoting overall mental peace. By practicing mindfulness, we can be more aware of situations in life by being much more objective and nonjudgemental, allowing us to more easily handle stressors, triggers, and challenging emotions with a sense of calm and control. Meditation daily can seem extremely daunting because we’re not used to “turning off our minds”. However, meditation is not really about turning off your mind more as it is simply about becoming aware of how our brain works and the thoughts we have. Daily meditation lets us move through life with a greater sense of calm and peace no matter when or how life uncertainties arise (and they will). I highly suggest my own free personal meditations at bethanydaviswellness.com/moveandmeditate. I love and use Insight Timer daily, and I love Calm, Headspace, and Open. You can also join me for a weekly meditation in person at Soulshine Yoga on Mondays at noon.

  3. Movement, Community, and Support Groups. I know this is technically three, but they can all be tied together. Joining a run/walking group or exercise class are amazing ways to help balance brain chemistry through movement, but also by allowing for a space to connect, share stories and resources, and offer mutual support through life. Community groups such as churches, gyms, and book clubs are also great for connection, which are sustainable, long term ways to support our mental health. Even a phone call or text to a friend can have a great impact and you can combine it with a daily walk or stretch. In Jonesboro, I recommend joining the Trim Gym for sport courts or St. Bernard’s Wellness Center for great group exercise classes, Soulshine or Nirvana Yoga Studios, or Gearhead or Native’s Run Groups, trivia nights at Native or Skinny J’s, and Verb Cafe’s Bi-monthly book club. I also recommend getting your son, daughter, partner or friend and hopping on the mat with me for a free pilates or yoga flow if you’re more of a stay at home person. 

Working on your mental health is a time investment that pays dividends. These resources allow us to cultivate emotional resilience, have fulfilling relationships, excel professionally, and honestly just get through life a bit easier. Whichever you choose, find an outlet that best supports your well-being and also allows you to be the best possible mom, dad, partner, sister, brother, colleague, boss, or friend. 

If you know someone who is struggling or in crisis and needs immediate help, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.