mental health

hey what’s up hello,

recently i have noticed a relationship between how difficult something is to say and how important it is to say. i guess that is my excuse for why this newsletter is so late, but you know what they say, better late than never!!!

i am going to spend the next few months of this newsletter experimenting with finding meaningful things that are all related to a specific theme, and the theme of this month is mental health. i have found out that sharing these tidbits that i find online tends to be a direct reflection of my own thoughts during a given month. so i hope that y’all can appreciate my vulnerability because this was not a very easy thing for me to do, but i must say has been liberating. nevertheless, i’m extremely proud of myself and that is not something i say very often.

hope you’re doing well, bruh!

-a n d r e w

PS: at the end of these newsletters i am going to link to something that i made during the month, this time it is a video!

sounds for your ears

Paul Conti, M.D.: trauma, suicide, community, and self-compassion (EP.15)

This episode of The Peter Attia Drive Podcast is one of my favorite podcasts of all time. These doctors have an extensive knowledge of both trauma and suffering from their clinical work but also share their first hand trials and tribulations with darkness. I know it’s super annoying for someone to tell you to listen to two hour long conversation, but I really really think you should listen. Here’s a link to the show notes.

some thing(s) to watch

How to be a Friend to Yourself We all know how to be a good friend to others, why can’t we do the same with ourselves?
How to be Happy Awesome video about why happiness has to stem from internal peace rather than external achievements, and how Dan Mace uses his mental illness as a tool in his creative process.

some thing(s) to read

Some Practical Thoughts on Suicide

This is so important! It should be required reading for anyone who struggles with their own mental health or knows someone who does. Tim Ferriss’ honesty paved the way for thousands of others to talk openly about their own deepest and darkest thoughts, myself included.

The Reality Below Thoughts

Jack Kornfield’s writing feels like a warm hug on a cold winter night.

“Most of our mental suffering comes from how tightly we hold our beliefs, thoughts and perspectives. In the monastery Ajahn Chah used to smile and ask “Is it true?” He wanted us to learn to hold our thoughts lightly.”

Ursula K. Le Guin on Suffering and Getting to the Other Side of Pain

Interesting perspective of how we tend to mischaracterize our suffering.

"It is our suffering that brings us together. It is not love. Love does not obey the mind, and turns to hate when forced."

some things that help(ed)

a list of tools that i use to make me feel like less of a freakazoid

meditation app: Oak

This guided meditation app first got me into meditation and really opened my eyes to the wonders of just sitting down for ten minutes and doing nothing but breathing. Full disclosure I haven’t mediated in like two weeks so hopefully sending this message will guilt me back into it. It helps with so many things but you should find them out for yourself! By the way, this app is totally free and there’s no advertising which is cooool.

gratitude list

This one is simple but basically just take a few minutes to think about things that you’re grateful for, especially those that you usually take for granted or just ignore.

Here’s my example:

I’m grateful for the time that I get to spend with my grandparents because everyone is getting older and you never know how many more times we’re gonna get to hang!
I’m grateful for this internet connection that allows me to keep in touch with my friends no matter where they are.
I’m grateful for Christmas music because it makes it feel like that time of year even though I’m in Florida right now.

writing prompt

One thing that I have really enjoyed is expressive writing, or just keeping a diary/journal of sorts. This book that I read last year (Own the Day, Own Your Life) had a prompt of:

I’m sorry...
Thank you…
I forgive you…
I love you…

You could direct these prompts toward someone or towards yourself, I prefer the latter, then just write a few sentences elaborating on each bullet point!

wise words

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” -Khalil Gibran

“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” -Dr. Seuss

1 (800) 273-8255

until next month…

if you liked this, please consider forwarding to a friend.

& if you’re new, ⬇

other places to find “andrew on the internet”

silence is a lie!

i also made a video about my own mental health. because i’m supposed to be open and honest, that’s how this works, right?

sorry that this month’s newsletter was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long, and i appreciate you if u read everything! happy holidays ¯\_(ツ)_/¯