Words: ~774 / Estimated read time: ~3 minutes

Intro

Mental health is taboo. You can’t deny it. It is a shame. Honestly.
Every aspect of mental health is taboo - it’s not a little subset. The taboo is present in all our lives. Right from the very beginning, when you’re talking, or want to talk about thoughts and feelings, going all the way to when you admit you are struggling and need help. No one wants to talk about it, and it takes a certain amount of courage to step out at any point and discuss it.

I’m guilty of it too sometimes. The way we’re brought up to bottle emotions, “be a man”, go at things alone, naturally causes this. But there is some semblence of a way out. If not a way out, then a helping hand.

Background

A bit of background. Like I said, I’m not perfect. But like everyone else, I’ve struggled, and talking to people has helped. Encouraging people to talk and encouraging people to seek some form of assistance, has helped them. The biggest help for me has been Headspace. It has allowed me to deal with problems without feeling like a burden - which I guess, in an ideal world, shouldn’t be the case. Alas.

What is Headspace

In a nutshell, Headspace is a mindfulness app. It is guided meditation in its simplest form. It is one tap away from helping you when and wherever you need it.

Headspace guides you through the meditation, so you’re not left feeling alone and lost, unsure what to do. They have packs, which are basically just sections that focus on one area - things like stress, anxiety, happiness.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There are packs that focus on the brighter side of things - productivity, focus.

The biggest critique I’ve had people mention about Headspace is that it’s ‘repetitive’ and this I agree with. But it’s repetitive because it works through reptition. Like everything else in life to get better at something you need consistency. You don’t get better at cooking by jumping around the place cooking anything and everything badly, you don’t get stronger in the gym by looking at the bar and willing to be strong. You need repetition and consistency to get better at something.

In my case, I currently have a streak of 115 days or so, with over 1,000 minutes clocked on the app. It was only after about day 80 or 90 where I was actually happy to sit in silence and do nothing. Before then I was fairly restless, anticipating the end. I treated it more like a task to be done, rather than a life aid of sorts.

Who is Headspace for?

Headspace is for EVERYONE.

I mean that. Headspace is for everyone - happy or sad, stressed or relieved. Headspace can help. There is mounting evidence on the benefits on mindfulness, with no negatives. There genuinely isn’t a reason not to do it. It’s just getting started.

Sessions are 10 minutes long on the low end, and go up to 20/30 minutes. 10 minutes is nothing. 10 minutes is the time you take deciding whether to get out of bed or not. 10 minutes can be done anywhere at anytime. Everyone has 10 minutes.

Headspace has helped me put things into perspective. It has insiduously made me a much calmer, more “zen” person. This happened without me realising and I have a lot to thank the app for. There is more to it than just 10 minutes a day - it’s the habit formation, the ability to sit in silence and just let thoughts float by.

Is there anything else?

I’ve mentioned Headspace because it’s the service I use, but there are many other mindfulness services that promote the same idea - which theoretically should work just as well. I’ve listed the services I know of in the links section below - knock yourself out.

My advice would be this: pick a service and stick with it. The benefits won’t be immediate, but my god, stick with it and there are vast benefits to be reaped. Consistency trumps all.

https://www.headspace.com/ - if you sign up to https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/anxiety-uk-memberships/ you get Headspace included - making headspace about 50% off.
https://www.calm.com/ - similar to headspace
https://insighttimer.com/ -
http://www.thetadprinciple.com/free-meditation-guide-0101adj.html - free mindfulness guide that teaches you the principles

I have one or two headspace codes available for use if anyone wants to try headspace for a month. Just drop me a message/email!

End

We live in a fast paced society that is constantly getting faster, and we dedicate less time to ourselves. It is worth taking 10 minutes out of your day to sit peacefully and recuperate. Love yourself.

Moose out,
xoxo

–PS
I’ve been meaning to write this one for absolutely ages. I mean ages. This has been on my todo list for the past 2-3 months, I look at it and go ‘hmmm maybe later’. But it’s now finally being done. Or started at least. Who knows if I’ll finish it.