Can you control your mental health? (Bettermental S2 E2)

This is supposed to be a post about our latest Bettermental episode, which is all about whether you can control your emotions.

The thing is, I'm having a pretty rough fall mental health-wise, so we're going to keep this short.

I'm no stranger to bad mental health; I've lived with anxiety, PTSD, and depression most of my life.

But in the past few months, I've dealt with longer-than-usual periods of fatigue, low energy, and high anxiety. It's harder to get out of bed and focus on work, harder to eat full meals and brush my teeth, and I can feel the fear of a panic attack or suicidal episode constantly hanging over me. It feels, honestly, like I'm walking an emotional tightrope.

Basically, this fall has been a great reminder that you can't really control what triggers you, but you can manage your response moving forward.

Here's how I'm trying to respond right now:

• Getting outside for at least an hour a day (or multiple weekly longer outings)
• Reducing alcohol and caffeine
• Drinking more water
• Taking daily CBD/THC edibles to help with anxiety and sleep

Most importantly, I'm checking in with myself everyday to see how much energy I have and decide how to spend it. Not gonna lie, it took a few extra spoons to write this post, so that's all I've got for now.

Oh, and here's the episode: