All tagged mental health

Managing My Mental Health During the Holidays

Managing My Mental Health During the Holidays

Jody Yarborough
Health & Wellness

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Too early? I don't care. Well, maybe I care a little. I don't want to totally annoy Andrew with my pre-Thanksgiving Festivus. It's just poor Alton who has been subjected to holiday playlists during our daily walks. But hey, he can't talk AND I get the honor of picking up his dog poop. So I think he at least owes me that.

At any rate, why am I writing about this? Well, it wasn't what I had planned on writing about today, and since I think all three people are reading these blogs these days, I'm taking the opportunity to use this writing time as a minor therapeutic release.

I am feeling a little blue today. And unlike the song, Blue Christmas, it's not because I'm missing someone from afar. Instead, I'm feeling some pre-holiday overwhelm, some frustrating life stuff, Alton's tummy has been upset, blah blah blah.

Rather than surrender to that blah bah-humbug, after I finish this post (and take Alton on his second walk of the day), I will put on some Christmas music, organize my kitchen pantry, and start decorating the kitchen. Why? Because it will make me happy.

Why I Have Limitations on How Much I Use Social Media

Why I Have Limitations on How Much I Use Social Media

Jody Yarborough
Health & Wellness

Explaining what happened with me and social media might be easiest put into relationship terms: initially, I dumped it; then we went on a break, and now we are talking again. And when I say social media, I am talking about Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I cut some slack to LinkedIn, Twitch, TikTok, and YouTube because they have somewhat a niche purpose. Of the latter, the only one I use is YouTube-- even when I was on my social media break, mostly because I enjoy consuming vlogging content and I have my own channel.

Truth be told, I've attempted to write this blog post several times. In every attempt, I have struggled to know how to best articulate what I was thinking and feeling as I slowly realized that social media was becoming a detrimental part of my life. Or more simply, when I recognized that it took a lot more from me than it was giving me in return.

Of all the social media platforms I listed above, Facebook was the one on which I was most active. I have Twitter and Instagram accounts, but I wasn't very active on them even before the break-up. For many years I feel like Facebook had an appropriate priority in my life. I could have the app on my phone and still have the self-discipline to not have my phone glued to my hand. I liked Facebook, especially in its earlier years. Back when you had control over your newsfeed, conversations weren't polarizing, and manipulation by malicious third-party entities wasn't a problem. You know, back in the good 'ole days when all you had to worry about was being poked.

Email Detox: Can It Really Be A Thing?

Email Detox: Can It Really Be A Thing?

Jody Yarborough
My Organizing Journey

If dealing with email is as stressful and creatively draining for you as it is for me, then you have been temped to just say "f*ck it" and turn off the whole damn thing. While my most recent post was all about how to manage an overwhelming email box, in this post I want to explore the idea of going on an email detox. An email detox as I am defining it, is not using email at all for an extended period of time.

Now I know what you are thinking. No way in today's email-dependent must-have-an-answer-now world could you possibly think of turning off your email. If social media MOFO is a habit of guilty pleasure, email isn't quite so optional. We rely on it for everything from work correspondence, to communicating with our health care teams, to confirming e-commerce transactions. Just try moving through the day not being asked once for your email. I dare you.

And then there is the simple fact of the increased productivity and efficiency that email has brought to our lives. For example, instead of having to call six different members of my board of directors, I can email all of them at once with all the same exact information. If phone beepers and fax machines of years ago accelerated our methods of communication, email ramped it up to light speed. That's hard to imagine living without.

The Challenges of Being an Introverted Extrovert

The Challenges of Being an Introverted Extrovert

Jody Yarborough
Health & Wellness

It was no surprise to me that when I did the personality INJT test that the results showed I'm an extrovert. After all, I like to meet new people and I think I am pretty outgoing. And moreover, I'm certainly not the wall flower in the corner of the room.

But lately I'm coming to realize that I might actually be more introverted than I once thought. I'm not afraid to do things by myself that others would find unthinkable-- dining out alone, going to a movie alone, once I even went to the club without my wing-sister! Additionally, it's because of how much effort it takes for me to be extroverted. Typically I have to psyche myself up for a meeting, or do a mental pep-rally to plow through a list of phone calls. Large gatherings, social mixers or crowded malls are all places I'd rather avoid (and I love to shop!)

But life happens right? And I've made a conscious decision that I'm not going to avoid my roles in leadership, experiencing new places, or meeting new people, just because it stresses me out. So to cope pad my schedule so as to not be rushed.

Getting Help for My Fears About Flying With the Fear of Flying Clinic

Getting Help for My Fears About Flying With the Fear of Flying Clinic

Jody Yarborough
Health & Wellness

I started the process of facing my fear of flying weeks ago with small steps by simply Googling "fear of flying." Online I found resources that answered some of my questions about the mechanics and safety of flight. I even looked at some YouTube videos of passengers experiencing moderate to heavy turbulence during flight. One of the best realizations I made in my cursory online search for help is that I am not alone in my fear. This was a great comfort and relief and indeed, this helped me feel less afraid over the course of the next few weeks. But when I went to actually book our plane tickets, that familiar paralyzing feeling-- tightness in my chest and a sinking in my stomach-- returned with as strong intensity as ever before.