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Mental Health
Eric Belliveau • October 30, 2018

Mental health is something that we all experience whether we observe it or not. It can affect some in more ways than it does others. World Mental Health Day is observed October 10th each year with the objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and rallying efforts in support of mental health. World Mental Health Day (October 10th) provides an avenue for individuals to talk about their work with mental health issues and for those to share their experiences and what needs to be recognized and acted upon in today's world.

I realize October 10th has come and gone but I would like to share my experience with you all in hopes that it will have a positive impact! In April 2013 I was working as an Athletic Trainer on the medical staff at the finish line of the Boston Marathon when the bombs went off. In the moment we all responded and didn’t think twice about what had just happened. It was all a blur until reality set in later that night. I was sitting in my house in Keene NH as a senior in college and the marathon coverage came on the news and I froze. After that day I suffered from anxiety and insomnia. I didn’t sleep much for a while and if I did, I would wake up exhausted.

My anxiety caused me to overthink everything I did each day. I would get nauseous when I had to do something or go somewhere. I would have never thought that that day would have affected me for as long as it did. The team of us who were on the medical staff met with a counselor the following day. I wasn’t about it and didn’t think I needed to, but after I felt a lot better and realized you shouldn't deny help. Ever since then I have worked on self talk techniques that have improved my quality of life in more ways than one! I also knew I wasn’t alone and would talk to the others who were alongside me that day. Having others to lean on and talk to who were experiencing the same thing I was helped greatly. Having family and friends to lean on is one aspect of life that you should not take for granted. That day made me appreciate my friends and family that much more.

Spend time outside each day. Seasonal depression is real and can be reduced by simply going outside and taking a deep breath!

The BIGGEST factor that aided my healing process was going back to the Boston Marathon the following year and working the finish line medical staff again. Going in to that day I had the saying in my head that we had “unfinished business” to take care of and that powered me through. Having a runner cross the finish line and grab on to me telling me to take him to the nearest bar was a mood booster. Also seeing one of my athletes cross the finish line was pretty damn cool too! Looking back to that day, my mental health has come a long way and continues to get better everyday my feet hit the ground. Remember you are not alone!

Now enough about me, here are some ways that you can improve your mental health everyday:

  1. Sleep. I’ve talked about this before in a previous blog, but establishing a sleep routine is HUGE!. It can help you in more ways than one. First and foremost sleep helps you recover, it aids in immune health and in daily performance. There has been research that shows sleep aids in reducing levels anxiety and depression.
  2. Spend time outside each day. Even if it is just going outside and taking a breath of fresh air. This is especially true in the winter months. Seasonal depression is real and can be reduced by simply going outside and taking a deep breath!
  3. Don’t sweat the small stuff. When you are stressing about something in your life, take a step back and think is this really going to affect me? How much of an impact will this have on my life? If the answer is not really and or no, then forget about it and move past it! After reading the book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson PH, D. (A great read by the way!) I learned to not let little things people say and or do or little roadblocks in life affect me more than they should. Being able to tell yourself that something doesn’t truly matter and moving on can have a great impact on your mental health.

I will leave you with this quote that I saw on the lululemon Twitter feed on Mental Health Day: “Strength isn’t only found in muscles or on mountaintops, sometimes it's in the moments we put one foot in front of the other”

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • October 7, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • September 23, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • October 7, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • September 23, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.
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