In this episode of MMM, Suzanna shares her ‘Top 10 Mental Health Tips For Musicians’.
Suzanna goes through her ‘Top 10’ tips for keeping your mental health in shape, with a specific focus navigating yourself during challenging times, with a specific reflection on COVID-19.
1.Embrace your emotional awareness as a pro rather than a con.
Learn to see your emotions as friends, not enemies. There to highlight and signpost you to health rather than negative traits to be suppressed or destroyed.
2. Take the time to minimize your natural “catastrophizing” tendencies
Such as jumping to conclusions; if you have a tendency to jump immediately to the worst-case scenario – also take time to consider the best-case scenario – chances are wellness is somewhere in the middle.
3.The company you keep, you become.
Seek out encouraging environments and positive people, avoiding those who are relentlessly pessimistic or highly critical of your ideals;
4. Single out one priority at a time instead of spreading your energy
This is especially important as stress can easily make you lose track of your priorities; write out your top 5 priorities for the day on a post-it or in your notes and carry it with you. Keep referring to this to help keep focus.
5. Strive for excellence instead of perfection.
Excellence is a constant growth and reflection cycle – perfection will often stop you from starting, excellence won’t.
6. Journal.
Writing or drawing our feelings down can be very cathartic. If you are unable to hone down on what you are feeling try using a feelings/emotions wheel. Once you have been able to articulate what it is you are feeling, find a way to release any negative emotions. This could be by journaling, meditation or chatting with a friend.
7. Engage in activities that release joy
Reading
Listening to music
Dancing or exercise
Drawing, Painting, Something Creative
Watching an uplifting movie
8. Staying present with gratitude. It will help with staying creatively unblocked.
Writing gratitude lists, having a gratitude circle or phoning a friend to share what you are grateful for is a really positive way of staying present. When we or others put pressure on ourselves to create, this can sometimes rob us of the joy of creative expression and create blockages. Try using gratitude to remember the joy and connect with your creative self. Releasing gratitude can help to alleviate fear and worry and get you focussed on staying present.
9. Reduce the amount of time you look, read or watch the news and social media.
If it’s upsetting you then give yourself breathing space from it. It’s ok to switch off for a while. Connecting with yourself is the most important task in helping your mental health
10. Rest is key to results.
Taking time for self-care and rest allows your mind and body to relax. This time to stop enables you to store up energy, consider it like a car being taken to the petrol station to refuel. The refuelling means that you aren’t running on empty and have the necessary energy for the long journey of creativity.
Suzanna, a hypnotherapist, music manager and wellness manager offers her advice and tips on how to deal with this difficult time, as the duo reflect, on their own experiences of depression and anxiety as creatives.
Join the duo on their journey to break down the barriers of mental health, with an episode dropping every week.
A very special thank you to HYPNOTYST who created the jingle for the podcast.
