Welcome to Indy Maven’s Mental Health column coming by way of Adair McDonald, LMHC (she/her/hers). Check out her website for information about how Adair works with clients, and to contact her directly to book a session.
Recently, I had the pleasure and honor of being asked to participate in a panel for the Women’s Health Summit at Maven Space. By the end of the day, when our panel of various health and wellness experts took the stage, we had all gained valuable insights into how to care for ourselves. We learned about treating perimenopause, sexual health, communicating with healthcare providers, finding community, improving nutrition, tracking menstrual cycles, weightlifting, the benefits of sports for women, financial wellness, and screening for breast cancer.
Then came the first question for the panel: How can women prioritize mental health when they are already so very busy? While all the information shared that day was valuable, it surely made some of us worry that we would never have the time to do it all. With demanding careers, children and/or aging parents who rely on us, partnerships, friendships, social activism or volunteer work we value, and bodies that need care, it can feel impossible to fit in all the self-care we need.
Still, we deserve to feel better. The answer lies in the question itself: PRIORITY. What are your top priorities for your mental health? This will differ based on your stage of life, personal preferences, family history, spiritual beliefs, abilities, and medical needs.
To help clarify this, I recommend a tool called The Wellness Wheel. Draw a circle and divide it like a pie into eight pieces. Next, draw smaller circles within the large circle so each pie slice is divided into five equal parts from the center to the edge. Label the sections with the eight dimensions of wellness: Social, Emotional, Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical, Environmental, Financial, and Occupational. Then, rate each area from one to five on a scale, with one being “nope, not doing that at all” and five being “crushing it.” Finally, color in the wheel to see where you are doing well and where you could use more attention.
Once you’ve identified which area of your life to work on, consider what needs to shift to make time for it. Take small steps that feel like a gift to yourself rather than just another “should.” It may be time to pause on commitments that are draining you and refocus your energy on what matters most. And because I know how truly impossible that can feel sometimes, I’ve provided some simple ideas in each category that won’t take much time.
SOCIAL
We all need connection, community, and a strong support system. Ideas:
- Reach out to friends you miss but love and suggest short phone calls during your commute.
- Look for opportunities to deepen connections in communities you’re already a part of, such as engaging in better conversations with colleagues or other parents at your kids’ sporting events.
EMOTIONAL
When we tune into the emotional needs of ourselves and our closest loved ones, many other areas of life improve. Ideas:
- Get in the habit of pausing and getting curious when difficult emotions arise. The more you practice, the more it becomes second nature. Ask yourself: What am I feeling? What triggered it? What does it remind me of? What might be the reason this emotion feels important right now? Simply questioning it, without trying to change it, may bring peace or clarity.
- Have “mini dates” with your partner. Put the phones away and spend 15 minutes having coffee together in the morning or chatting while one of you prepares a meal or does the dishes. Listen to each other.
SPIRITUAL
Life is better when we find meaning and purpose. Ideas:
- Journal for 10 minutes about what feels meaningful to you. Don’t judge what comes up, and don’t try to keep it only positive. If you feel deficient in this area, answering this question may be challenging. Just keep writing, and afterward, review to see if something surprising or helpful emerges. If so, condense it into a sentence you can refer to throughout the day or when trying to decide how to spend your time.
- Take advantage of free meditation apps or YouTube clips. Five minutes of scrolling on your phone can be fun sometimes, but five minutes of mindfulness can turn a day around.
INTELLECTUAL
Learning new things or improving our skills feels great and opens new possibilities for growth. Ideas:
- Podcasts! My favorite because we can listen while doing mundane tasks like dishes or laundry. If there’s something you want to learn more about, search for a podcast on that topic.
- Indulge in studying something just for fun. You’d be surprised how this may positively impact other areas of your life. Ideas: gardening, cooking, writing fiction, improv, history, travel, music… what sounds fun?
PHYSICAL
We’ve heard it all before—moving, eating healthy, and getting quality sleep are vital! Ideas:
- Think about what would actually feel good to do between meetings or obligations at work, and you might actually do it. I love stretching and taking deep breaths, and sometimes, I even do a five or ten-minute office yoga video on YouTube. I aspire to be the person who does plank poses and squats throughout the day.
- Kill two birds with one stone by scheduling movement activities with a friend, partner, or child you’re looking to connect with.
ENVIRONMENTAL
It’s easier to focus on other areas of life in environments that inspire wellness. Ideas:
- Don’t let your environment distract you from important tasks. If you don’t like how it’s making you feel due to clutter or other discomforts, grab your laptop and move to a different location—whether it’s a coffee shop, your front porch, or the one clean room in the house —just go!
- Lighting is one of the simplest ways to improve your space. If you work in an office with harsh or insufficient lighting, experiment to find what feels better. You may even have extra lamps or string lights around the house that you can use.
FINANCIAL
Money makes the world go ‘round, but oh my, can it cause stress! Ideas:
- Question the stories you tell yourself about earning, spending, saving, investing, and buying. All of us are impacted by cultural messaging. Get curious about which stories are serving you and which ones might need rewriting. You can do this anytime you have time to daydream, and there are tools to help if you decide to write things down.
- Subscribe to a newsletter from a financial expert you trust and ask for recommendations if you don’t know where to start. These newsletters are filled with quick tips you can read whenever you have a moment, helping you make small, approachable changes to your financial habits.
OCCUPATIONAL
Is your work adding meaning to your life, draining your energy, or both? Ideas:
- Reflect on what aspects of your work you find enjoyable and meaningful. Set boundaries to focus more on those aspects and notice if perfectionism or people-pleasing tendencies are getting in the way.
- Take a few online personality assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram, to see if your results align with your occupation. These can be fun and sometimes helpful if you’re considering changes in your career.
I hope you’re feeling inspired to care for yourself despite your busy schedule and that you’re coming up with your ideas for how to dedicate small amounts of time to your mental health and overall wellness. If you have any great ideas I didn’t mention here, please share! You can email me, and I’ll be so delighted to hear from you. In the meantime, take a deep breath or give yourself a little hug right now—it only takes a moment.
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