My Mental Hygiene Toolkit
By: Olivia Batraski
Tags: Newborn, Parenting Advice, Mental Health, Motherhood, Parenting

So I started looking… I wanted to find an answer. An antidote. A cure. I was willing to try anything to be able to enjoy my life again.

And now… No judgment zone!

This is where I tried Reiki for the very first time in my life. My cousin had just got into doing natural healing. And oh, was I so hesitant! But hey, “it might help”. So I tried it. The next day I felt transformed, a wave of peace and calmness washed over me. I felt a sense of openness and love that I hadn’t felt before. I had a sense of presence and focus again. I felt like I was released from a small dark box. But a few days later, this started to fade.

“What in the world happened?” I asked my cousin. I wanted to know how could I maintain this state of what truly felt like bliss. When I asked my cousin, she just said, “it’s possible” but how?… So I started to research…

I uncovered intermittent fasting, deep breathing, cold showers, meditation, yoga, journaling, gratefulness… tools that enabled me to get back to this state of pure joy and bliss. I’ve documented these tools and some research in my mental hygiene toolkit.

We all hear these things. Meditation, diet, working out, are good for us. Self-care, it’s good for us. I describe this as “filling up my cup”.

Being a new mom of two kids, left my cup…well…negative. A new level of negative I’ve never felt before. The tools in my toolkit replenish my cup, even make my cup overflow.

This cure for me ended up being a list of tools I can pull from. A list of tools that for me, allow me to be and feel joyful. To enjoy my life.

The thing is, every single day, I have to ensure my cup stays full. Everyone fills their cups in different ways. Some people read, listen to music, call a friend, run, work...

The thing I’ve uncovered amongst this, it’s so important to be aware of how full my cup is and how best to re-fill it. Because if it’s not full, there isn’t anything to share without dipping into my reserves. And dipping into reserves puts me back into the dark box. So I fill up. Every single day…I work to ensure my cup is full…

The best state is when my cup is overflowing, spilling over, because I have enough to share with others. With my kids, with my husband, with my Dad, with my sisters, friends, and my community. The fuller my cup, the farther I can share this feeling of joyful bliss.

Some days my cup is so empty, and meditation is a drop in the bucket. Sometimes it takes meditation, a good journaling session, calling a good friend, doing yoga, and going to the spa just to refill me. If I’m totally empty, it can take a lot of work to refill.

My tip: know what fills your cup, what takes from it, and be aware of how full it is. Every single moment of the day.

My cup isn’t always full, and that’s just part of life. Sometimes my cup is emptied by one tantrum from my 3-year old or a fight with a close friend. But these tools allow me to feel a sense of empowerment. They have also lead me to a deep sense of understanding and compassion for myself, and others.

My husband and I try to ensure each other have a full cup, and help each other out when one is lower than the other. The challenging part is fitting in the time. But it’s worth taking the time, so I can enjoy and be present in the current moment. When I’m present and my cup is full, my kids are different, somehow, they know. I’m happier, they’re happier, our family is happier. And that is true bliss…

How full is your cup today?