Guys, self care is hard. I mentioned it before on Day 63 that I struggle with it (although I did manage my 5 grateful things that day) and I still have trouble doing it. It's hard to take the extra time to focus on yourself. There are so many regular care things to do, like laundry and cooking and dishes and taking the car to the shop and whatever else. Those all seem to have higher priority than myself. :(

Until today, I had not heard of Jamie Baker. He is a San Jose Sharks broadcaster, 404-game NHL centerman, and also struggles with mental health. This article on The Athletic goes into detail about his depression, ADHD, brain trauma, and his decision to end his life.

On Friday I talked a little bit about how mental health affects women specifically, but today I want to dive a little bit deeper into the difference in suicide completion rate in men vs. women.

Is dementia considered a mental illness? Until I did my research for today's post, I didn't really know. Dementia has a physiological/neurological basis, typically as a result of brain damage due to disease or stroke, whereas mental illness is more psychological and manifests similarly to younger people.

Women and girls experience mental illness differently than men and boys. The following mental illnesses are more common in women than men, and women are more likely to experience comorbidity.

Today I want to give a quick shoutout to another great #mentalhealth comic artist and advocate. Gemma Correll both keeps things lighthearted, but also nails what it's like to have a mental illness. I hope you check out her work!

Body dysmorphic disorder is a body-image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance. These negative thoughts may cause the person to obsessively try to fix or hide their flaws and avoid social interactions. It is more related to obsessive compulsive disorder and social anxiety, rather than eating disorders. A person with BDD may spend hours a day thinking about their perceived flaws and it can greatly impact their daily life.

I was super frazzled today, so I really struggled with getting a blog post together. My therapist said I'm supposed to do 20 minutes of self care every day, which I also find hard to do. One idea Brian found was to write down 5 things that you are grateful for that day, so here it goes:

The relationship between exercise and mental health is complex. It's pretty clear that exercise does boost your mood short-term thanks to endorphins which help relieve pain and make you feel good, but exercise is also effective longer-term in the treatment of mental illness.

There are a TON of great books out there about mental health, but here are some of my favorites! Do you have any you recommend?

We are about 2/3rds of the way through #shaweleveryday2019! As a reminder, I am raising money for the Independence Center. Part of their work includes Midwest Psychiatry, which meets the unique needs of people with serious and persistent mental illnesses. They offer a holistic approach and focus on recovery and wellness, helping patients achieve psychiatric stability.

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that describes an intense, irrational fear of something, someone, or someplace that poses no or little actual danger. A phobia is more than just a general fear about something, it can cause major disruption to your daily life and ability to function normally.

Suicide can be a tough topic to talk about, but it's an extremely serious aspect of mental illness. It's a really hard thing to explain to people who haven't experienced suicidal thoughts. Phrases like "it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem" are profoundly unhelpful. When you are in the dark place where the building is on fire, it does not feel like a temporary problem. Jumping from the building at least has a chance of escaping, whereas continuing to exist in a boring, lonely, meaningless, void is just not worth it.

While mental health issues can happen at any age, teens are especially vulnerable. A lot of changes are going on in their life, and things can get very stressful very quickly. It is estimated that 20-25% of teens experience mental illness and suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for people ages 15-24. One of the first things you can do is be able to recognize signs of a potentially serious mental illness:

It's #MediaMonday, so I want share some documentaries about mental illness. These are ones I have seen and highly recommend:

This past weekend, I went to Nashville for QuiltCon. There were so many beautiful quilts and so many things to buy, plus I had some time to hang out in my hotel room or hang out in town. On paper, it was a great trip. But in reality, I was miserable almost the whole time.

Comorbidity is the presence of two or more disorders in the same person and it's fairly common in mental health. It's important to treat both disorders simultaneously because they are very interlinked.

I mentioned yesterday that taking my medication regularly and on time has really helped me a lot. And what helps with that is having a system and having support. Brian and I have a routine in the morning of asking each other if we've taken our pills and set our fantasy hockey lines. "Pills and lines?" "Lines and pills." We also have alarms set in the evenings for pills we take at night. Having both of us on board helps keep each other accountable and healthy. What sorts of systems do you have to help you stay on track?