By Iana Benjamin • JBA Bar Bulletin editor-in-chief
I discovered that July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month while researching what to write about for this month’s Bar Bulletin.
I decided that what better time than now to focus on what tools or rituals one might use to maintain good mental health.
What are you doing to ensure that your mental health is not only stable, but in a place to allow you to thrive and tackle life’s challenges with readiness, zest and vigor?
How many times have you struggled with work-life balance? I no longer use the term, because I blend work into every area of my life.
As an attorney who practices exclusively remotely, even after dedicating an entire floor of my home exclusively for work, there is more blending than balancing to my life to make my schedule and my life go smoothly.
The tools/rituals/nuggets that I use to maintain good mental health include exercise, quality time with my family and travel for the social person in me.
I am grateful to exercise with a wonderful group of women, and we have a coach who pushes us outside our comfort zones.
I also take lengthy walks on the trails outside our home, so spending time in nature, taking in the wonderful vistas in my new hometown does wonders for my mental health.
I also maximize my time away from work and ensure that I rest. Napping is a pleasure word in my home and of course, when we aren’t napping, we are soaking up quality time with each other.
I also travel, something I have deemed to be a ritual/tool/nugget to maintain good mental health. My family and I actively try to explore somewhere new together often.
What rituals/tools/nuggets do you use to maintain good mental health? Share them with me at [email protected].
Iana Benjamin is a litigation attorney at Cordell Law specializing in domestic litigation.
