Tag: health

Let’s Talk About It: May is Mental Health Awareness Month

On By justmymomsenseIn Mental Health, PodcastLeave a comment

Today on the Just My MomSense podcast, we’re talking about something that impacts all of us: mental health.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and it’s a powerful reminder that we deserve to check in with ourselves just as much as we check in on our kids. As parents and caregivers we often put our own well-being on the back burner. But mental health is health and it matters more than we sometimes admit.

🎧 Listen to the episode here

Therapy & Finding Support

  • Psychology Today Therapist Finder
    psychologytoday.com/us/therapists
    Find a licensed therapist in your area and filter by insurance, specialty, and more.
  • Therapy for Black Girls
    therapyforblackgirls.com
    A space to support the mental health needs of Black women and girls.
  • Therapy for Black Men
    therapyforblackmen.org
    Reducing stigma and increasing access to therapy for Black men.
  • Open Path Collective
    openpathcollective.org
    Affordable counseling options for individuals and families—often between $40–$70 per session.

Support for Parents & Caregivers

  • NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness
    nami.org | HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)
    Offers free education, advocacy, and support for individuals and families.
  • Parent to Parent USA
    p2pusa.org
    Connects families of children with special needs, including mental and behavioral challenges, for peer-to-peer support.
  • The Mighty
    themighty.com
    A compassionate community where people share stories and experiences related to mental health, chronic illness, disability, and caregiving.

For Kids & Teens

  • Child Mind Institute
    childmind.org
    Tools and tips for supporting children’s mental wellness, from anxiety to ADHD and everything in between.
  • Crisis Text Line
     Text HOME to 741741
     crisistextline.org
     Free, anonymous support from trained crisis counselors—available 24/7 via text.

In Case of Emergency

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
    Call or text 988
    988lifeline.org
    Free, 24/7 support for people in distress or those supporting someone else.

You’re Not Alone

Whether you’re dealing with burnout, anxiety, or just feeling “off,” please know that your mental health is worth prioritizing. Even five minutes of stillness, asking for help, or talking with a trusted friend can make a difference.

You are not failing. You are human. And you are doing an incredible job.

Let’s break the silence, reduce the stigma, and remind each other: it’s okay to not be okay. 

Walking, Listening and Breathing

On By justmymomsenseIn Parent Life, writing challenge7 Comments

Two springs ago, my husband and I started going on walks while the kids were at school. We did it just as a way to get out, enjoy the nice weather and didn’t have a goal in mind.

Once the summer and fall came, I missed walking. What I hadn’t realized is that walking had made me feel better, even though I wasn’t feeling bad. So we got back into walking, sporadically, on nicer days.

Last year my 9 year old switched to a school that is in walking distance from our house. We walked him to school everyday and most days took the long way back home. Once this past summer hit, I made it a point to make sure I continued to walk. This time I did it solo.

Once my husband was done working, we would divide and conquer. I would go out, put my earbuds in and just walk. He started doing the same in the mornings before work.

We are still parents, so life can get in the way and these walks can’t happen everyday. However, we have made it a point to set aside this outside walking time for ourselves as often as possible.

Personally, I am walking for mental health and to move my body. I have Hashimotos and exercising is important, with gentle exercise being the preferred method. While walking, I like listening to audiobooks, podcasts and sometimes just music. We had ordered iLuv myBuds Wireless EarBuds awhile back, due to the cost and not knowing how often we would be using them. Now that we’re using them more, they’ve been great and I have no plans on switching any time soon. Just remember to keep the volume at a place where you can still hear your surroundings. If I can walk at the end of the day, I find it better because I don’t have my daily to-do list running through my head like it is in the morning. But I take what I can get!

Finding solo time as a parent is tough and everyone’s situation is different. Whether it’s a few minutes or a few hours, once a week or everyday, I would highly recommend it. Take time to watch a favorite show, favorite movie, go out for a walk, stay in and do a home workout, read a favorite book, journal, meditate or find something else that allows you time to breathe and center yourself.

If you would have told me two years ago that I would be walking on my own a few times a week, I would have said “I don’t have time for that.” Mental health is just as important as overall health and whatever you can do to help yourself be the best version of you, to feel good and get through the day, please do!

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Curveball Week

On By justmymomsenseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’ve gone longer in between blog posts this week. But! I do have a couple coming up that I’m really excited about, so stay tuned!

It’s winter break for us which means no school and no services for J. It’s been weird to have a week off of everything. But then I had a curveball on Tuesday night. My dad went to the hospital.

Without going into too much detail, he’s been having some issues which resulted with him going to the ER. He’s still in the hospital having tests done and hopefully we can figure out the underlying issue.

Plenty of curveballs in life-some good, some bad. What else can we do but roll with the punches?