Hey Friends!
To continue along with my mental health posts, I had to kick off with an app that mentioned the last time I spoke: MINDBODY app. Before I get into the weeds of this MINDBODY app, I wanted to talk about the importance of addressing your self-care needs, as it relates to mental health. A little over two months ago, I went into a deep depression and anxiety-laden state because of some trauma that I experienced (forewarning, in the upcoming weeks, I will talk about what happened). This trauma shifted my whole life. I went from dating, being the life of the party, being a social butterfly, to being downtrodden, never taking showers or doing my hair, stopped going to the gym, my nails were chewed down to the nub, I sat in my room with the same sheets for weeks at a time, and my back was so stiff from constant sleeping. I was truly an emotional and physical wreck. In fact, I gained 32 pounds between February 25th and May 16th. No one noticed. No one said anything.
While I was going to therapy every week, I was very much in what my therapist called, ” The Hell in the Hallways”. I was functioning just enough for me to make it to my bed the next day. My self-care was pretty much non-existent at this point. I didn’t even know how to get back on track with my life. My therapist suggested that I do the following things to jumpstart my healing:
- Clean my room
- Drop off my laundry
- Work on my sleep routine
- Get my body moving (nature walks, light jogs, get my endorphins going)
- See a masseuse for my body aches
- Practice intuitive eating and eating healthier
- Practice better hygiene.
While she admitted that starting these suggestions way wouldn’t be a “cure all” for what I’ve been going through, she admits that it’s a start and I will notice a difference once I start to make things a habit. Now, if you’re anything like me, I am sure seeing a long list of “to do” items gives you anxiety. So of course, I only reached for what seemed tangible: Cleaning my room and dropping off my laundry. Everything else seemed like a whole process. From Googling massage parlors to finding a new gym, to even finding new ways to address my nutritional needs. I admittedly did nothing about it.
Then about a month ago, I was introduced to the MindBody app.MINDBODY creates a community of wellness/health/personal care businesses, big and small, with locals so that they can build connections and find and achieve their version of wellbeing. MINDBODY is not just about fitness classes – it’s about overall wellness, with a variety of services included, and huge social connectivity and community element. Since I hadn’t found a way to address some of my self-care needs, I thought this was a great start. After downloading the MINDBODY app and entered my location and BOOM –> I saw a whole list of businesses that specialized in all of the needs that I had been looking for. From beauty services to fitness, to wellness, and even nutrition, MINDBODY had different elements of self-care, which alleviated my anxiety of finding ways to jumpstart my self-care techniques.
Screenshot of the MINDBODY app portal
The first aspect of my self-care that I wanted to address was my physical health. I picked fitness because it’s been a long time since I’ve moved my body. As I was looking at the many options that were there, I remembered when I saw my friend Anita Marshall taking out all of her energy on a punching bag. She is such a beast! I remember Anita telling me how boxing was so freeing and it released so much tension. So instantly, I thought to my self “Boxing”. Even though I’ve never boxed a day in my life, I was determined to try. Once I typed in boxing, a few locations in the Boston area showed up. I picked the place that was close to my house and went with it: Peter Welch’s Gym.
I am not going to lie, I was a bit intimidated at my selection, however, I couldn’t forget how much vindication I saw in Anita’s eyes. I realized that I had to fight for myself– I had to fight to get my life back because I couldn’t continue to gain loads of unhealthy weight and sulk anymore.
Once I chose to go with Peter Welch’s Gym, I picked the intro session for $30.00. After pressing submit, the MINDBODY app alerted me that it found a better deal and the intro session went from $30.00 to free for MINDBODY users! My motivation to go almost increased because I knew that at least I wasn’t bound to financial constraints and I wouldn’t be upset if I didn’t like the facility. So I went. As soon as I got there, I was great my Nick who was my instructor. He was very kind and took me through some of the drills we’d be doing in the larger session. FULL DISCLOSURE: I’VE NEVER BOXED A DAY IN MY LIFE!
He showed me basic counts and types of jabs…while I alerted him that I wasn’t the most coordinated person, he helped me develop a rhythm and confidence in my boxing skills.
Now that the lessons were done for the first 30 mins of the intro session, he took me to the general area to try out his 7:30 pm class. I was somewhat apprehensive because I didn’t know if the crash course in boxing would suffice for me to join a larger crowd. However, the person that he paired me gave me so much instruction and support throughout the process. For once, I didn’t feel judged or that I wouldn’t be able to finish the class. I felt supported and that I could truly start kicking some ass! We first started the class with some general cardio.
Then this is when the fun began: Punching the bag. Now I know what Anita was feeling. I felt that vindication that I’ve been needing to feel for a while now. I truly felt like I was fighting for my life. I punched so hard and fought so strong. I got tired, but between my emotional state and my NEED to do better for myself, I kept going. Every punch was more deliberate than the last. My partner gave me positive affirmations along the way and I was just landing punches on that bag like it was nobody’s business. I began to feel liberated. I began to feel a little bit like me again.
At the conclusion of the class and arrival at home, I cried. I cried tears of joy because I finally felt a little bit a spirit in me! A little bit of “YOU GOT THIS”. I couldn’t wait to tell my therapist because her suggestion was exactly what I needed. As you’re reading this, I am already signing up to be the latest member of Peter Welch’s Gym. It was pretty much love at first sight. While I found a great fit for my physical wellness, I now excited to explore the different options that MINDBODY has for the rest of my self-care needs. I already booked an awesome massage that I can’t wait to try. Maybe a massage twice a month will be part of my self-care routine– because after boxing, my body was screaming lol!
So if you are anything like me: Wanting to start sound ways of self-care but you don’t know where to start, check out MINDBODY.
Til next post,
Chardline.