If you love #5SmartReads, would you be open to sharing them? You’ll get perks if you do! Set up your unique share link below and share #5SmartReads with anyone you think would enjoy them! My name is Hitha, and I’ve been managing depression since I was 13 years old. I have a number of mitigation measures that have helped me manage it for the past 25 years - therapy, being extremely strict about certain lifestyle choices, and medication when needed. While these have helped me keep my depressive episodes to a minimum, they do still surface from time to time. And last week, one crashed over me like an aggressive tidal wave.  I’m not alone in dealing with this, and I now have a list of comforting rituals to try the next time it happens (and it will happen). I share this because it is frighteningly common, and yet we don’t talk nearly enough about it. I made it through the “lie in bed for as long as possible and as often as possible” phase, and am nearly through the “nonstop crafting and movie marathoning” one. Part of me wants to rush through the rest of the process so I’m ready for a busy September, and part of me struggles to finish writing a paragraph of this newsletter without getting distracted or depleted. “But what do you have to be depressed about?” I know that I shouldn’t be depressed, given how much privilege I have and that my needs are exceeded on every front. And the people I love the most in the world have asked me this question out of concern and love and to help solve what they think is a singular problem or need. Of course I shouldn’t be depressed, or anxious, when I have everything I could possibly need and want. But my brain fails to process that message, and its sensitive neurochemistry will cause me to spiral and fall with little notice. My privilege affords me the time and resources to help heal from it, and grateful is too weak a word to sum how I feel about that. I don’t write this for head pats or sympathy, but to continue the conversation that mental health is as vital to our well being as our physical health. That it can happen to anyone and to normalize a wider conversation about it. That just because someone “looks fine”, they may not be fine (and that’s another conversation that includes disabilities and chronic disease). I have depression. It does not define me, though my brain tricks me into thinking it does on occasion. I’m feeling better than I did a week ago, but I’m not completely okay - and that’s okay. Because I will be okay. And so will you. What I Read This Week I had a bookish-themed newsletter planned for this week complete with a ton of book reviews - I’ll share them all in the next issue. What Everyone Read This Week
Top #5SmartReads Of This + Last Week
The rest of this week’s reads + last week’s (and conversations!) are below: Monday August 8, 2022 Monday August 15, 2022 Your Questions, Answered Are you watching Indian Matchmaking? Justice for babe Aparna Shewakramani and go check out Sophie Won’s app Reha - it’s scarily accurate. How do you like you Oura ring? It’s helped me listen to my body more and adjust my schedule and workouts and breaks based on my readiness and sleep scores, it predicts my period better than anything else, and it even predicted that I had COVID before my positive test by 8 hours. It’s really amazing, but if you’re the type of person who gets overly competitive with yourself and needing to achieve optimal scores every day on every metric, it might do more harm than good! Tips for when you’re overstimulated :( If i’m in a public place, I hide out in the bathroom or go outside and do a few rounds of 4-7-8 breathing to calm myself down and find my focus. Doing a brain dump journaling session can also really help - I just use the Notes App on my phone or computer most of the time. What were those Bose headphones you love for flights? What was your favorite toy as a child? That thing was awesome. If you were a dragon rider, what would your dragon be named? Ex: Drogan, Caraxes, Balerion… What’s your average daily screen time amount? Favorite snack food and why? Who’s your favorite Disney Villain? Fave sushi order? But if I’m picking it out, here’s what I go for:
First date with your husband! Love to hear about love <3 If you could take the ACOTAR men out on dates, where would you go/what would you do?
Fav comfort food your mama makes?
Hair salon recs in NYC? Have a great week. xo,
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issue #147 - the mental one
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