Mental Wellness for the Whole Family - National Preparedness Month -

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Recently I learned how to knit and I’m now teaching my daughter how to knit. It has brought us a lot of happiness, as well as extra bonding time. It has developed new skills and helped to calm our hands and minds.

Mindset is one of the least talked about topics, especially within the preparedness community. It’s not as sexy as underground bunkers, but I dare to say it’s one of the most important aspects about preparedness.

Our mindset plays a huge role in almost everything we do:

Controlling stress
Analyzing a situation
Adapting to a new situation
How we perceive events, people and things
Whether we take control or freeze
Calming our mind

Since the pandemic began in 2020, more and more people have experienced increased mental stress. Increased mental stress can lead to poor eating habits, poor mental thoughts, poor relationships and the lack of desire to do much of anything. It depletes us on almost every level.

When my second child was born, I experienced some anxiety that I never used to have, as well as some other emotional issues. I pushed them to the side thinking I was fine, it was just the situation that was bothering me. But the more I experienced the same feelings in a variety of situations and how I reacted, I knew I needed help.

We all struggle sometimes. And that’s ok. It’s normal. As long as we can recognize it and do what we need to do to help ourselves, that’s what matters.

Our mind can be stronger everyday if we spend time to be conscious of our actions and do our best to change how we perceive, act and react to everyday situations.

When you build a strong mind to handle the stressors of everyday life, you’ll have created a strong foundation to deal with the stressors of an emergency or disaster, no matter how big or small.

Whether it’s everyday or for emergencies, we need to make sure our mental health is taken care of.

Some ideas might be:

Music; listening or playing
Board games
Cooking/baking
Reading/writing
Puzzles
Physical movement such as dance & exercise
Yoga
Meditation
Talking to someone
Making family skits
Deep breathing
Stepping away from technology and observing people, places, things
Sewing
Knitting
Other crafts
Getting outdoors
….what else can you think of that will help our mental health?

Please pay attention to and be aware of your mental well being. Figure out what makes you happy and do your best to do it at least once a day, even if it’s just for an hour.