Deer in the Headlights… let’s talk about my mental health

Today I had the pleasure of joining two very awesome ladies on their morning radio show to, as they put it, sprinkle some sunshine and bullshit. It was a lot of fun cutting up with them and discussing this and that! If you’re looking for some light hearted fun and a good laugh in the mornings, you should tune in and give them a listen.

Of course the topic of my homelessness and crazy adventure came up here and there throughout the show. It was lots of fun and I enjoyed my time with them. My “living in a camper trailer” story could quite seriously take on an entire show or podcast of it’s own, but I’m not sure that anyone really wants to listen to me ramble on about my daily adventures and struggles all by myself. That is exactly why I am blogging it instead! You get the cliff notes version of events… you’re welcome!

So… I had fun, yes. At one point Tonya asked me a good serious question about my mental health and what I’m doing to keep it in check basically. Wanting to know if I’ve found that I am needing to do certain things differently to keep my shit together on the road. I froze! Like deer in headlights FROZE! I’m not even sure why.

Let me take a minute here to address this, because I honestly feel that it is important to talk about. Why did I freeze on that question? Of course, I wish I could’ve said that I’d recently started meditating, or took up yoga, or started reading a self help book a week, because that’s the kind of grown up shit I would feel proud of sharing! Lets be real though, I’m not that grown up or intentional in my actions all the time.

I certainly didn’t want to admit that sometimes I just drive down the little path to the beach, crack open a beer, and sit there by myself playing really loud music to get out of my own head. It doesn’t scream, “mental healthiness” to me. Or does it? I thought about it for a while afterwards and decided that while I’m not really doing anything extra per se, I do take specific actions to keep sane, and they do differ some from what I would do while living in our house.

Keeping our routine as normal as possible is the biggest thing I feel I do for my and my family’s mental health. Sure, we’re traveling and enjoying some new and different places, but this is not one big vacation. We still have responsibilities. Nobody is running around catering to our every need and want, this is the camper life, not an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica! (Note to self… save enough money so that next time you move you can spend the interim in an all-inclusive resort!) I fill the fridge and pantry with healthy choices, try to get all of my water in each day, get a daily dose of sunshine, and take my vitamins. While I do have to make adjustments in order to make these things continue to happen, the premise behind them remains. Happy body, happy mind.

I wouldn’t consider myself a full on extrovert, but I know that when I go long periods of time without engaging with people outside of the camper, that I start to feel less confident, in my own head, and stuck. Therefore, I make it a point to socialize. Socializing takes some adjustment in an unfamiliar place. Typical day to day or even week to week interactions with friendly faces don’t just happen organically. For instance, I don’t run into my neighbor while chilling in the yard, I don’t chat with the cashier that I’m used to seeing weekly, and I don’t chat with the same group of ladies at the gym for an hour a few times a week. I’ve never been one to talk over the phone much, but I make it a point to reach out to my friends and family over the phone occassionally. I also give myself a change of scenery when needed. Sitting in the same spot day in and day out with the hubby two feet directly to my right gets old and frankly hinders my creativity and focus. I like to change things up every once and a while and will hit up a local restaurant, brewery, winery, or coffee shop with my laptop and spend and hour or so. Before you judge me (you would NEVER… right?) on my choices let me explain. I enjoy going somewhere I’m likely to easily engage with another human. Even if I’m not going to have a beer, I like to sit at the bar top when I go to restaurants because that’s where the conversation is.

Exercise, exercise, exercise! Ya… I said it three times. Maybe the more I say it, the more likely I will be to listen to my own advice. Making physical health a priority during a trying time to reduce stress and mental breakdown seems like a no-brainer, but it has been a challenge for me. I went from a strong 3–4 times a week work out routine at a great gym to nothing! A few weeks before moving I canceled my membership at the gym and I convinced myself that life was in the way. I ended up going a full 10 weeks without a workout. I felt like shit! I was gaining weight, moody, weak, sore, and not sleeping well. Guess what? The solution is less than ideal, but I have to embrace the fact that I have limited options now. I have some equipment that we carry with us for home (outdoor) workouts and after some research I also joined Planet Fitness because there is one near all of our destinations and their membership allows me to use any facility nationwide.

OK… so… this one is true for everyone completely regardless of your living arrangements. However, while in such close quarters with my husband and kids putting extra effort towards being patient and understanding is essential. We each have things that we miss doing and we all miss our privacy. Allowing myself to get frusturated and stressed out over the actions of one of my trailer mates is NOT good for my mental health, so I try to better understand their needs and practice patience. It’s partially selfishness too. I hope that they will show me the same patience and understanding as I try to show them.

Thats it… Now I can sleep at night knowing that I’ve officially answered the question! LOL! I guess if my current tactics start to fail I can always take up meditation, yoga, and self help books. Heck, maybe I should go ahead and incorporate some of those things anyways just to be on the safe side.

XOXO,

Jera