What’s Inside Your Mental Health First Aid Kit?

There’s this idea floating around, about a mental health First Aid kit.

It is, so far as I can tell, pretty much as you would guess: The contents of this First Aid kit are the tools and ingredients you’d want to have immediately at hand, in case of an urgent or timely intervention on behalf of our mental well-being.

I like this idea very much, and so I’ve been playing with it. It’s become part of my journaling practice. I linger on the idea for a few minutes as I wake in the mornings. I recognize that sometimes there are moments during the day when I wish my First Aid kit was better equipped.

Which brings us to the question, of what exactly are the things — the tools and ingredients — of a mental health First Aid kit?

It seems to vary from day to day. We can expect some days to be more challenging than others, so the tools for stabilizing our mental health are accordingly stronger. Other days could be easier or more relaxed, so the ingredients are a little more gentle. Sometimes the tone of the day, and the demands from the First Aid kit, change from hour to hour. Some ingredients are tangible while others are psychological.

Could you imagine what might be included in your own mental health First Aid kit?

Here’s a look inside mine, tangible and intangible. The contents vary from day to day.

Tangibles

• Paper (lined) and a favorite pen to write. Paper is both bound journal (for when I have a few minutes to sit and process) and index cards (to jot down moments when there are no minutes). Pen is a fine-point Sharpie, various colors.

• Journal (no lines) and pens to draw. I’ve picked up sketching as a hobby and my friend Michelle advised my sketches to be quick, no more than three minutes each. It’s a practice of noting what’s essential in the moment, then moving on. You can imagine the benefits, these days in particular, of practicing non-attachment.

• Oregano oil capsules. My friend Leslie turned me on to these, as a go-to reaction when we start to feel twinges of a runny nose or similar. Two capsules every four hours plus lots of water. It works a charm.

• Inspirational book, to pick up as needed and open to a random page. Current favorite: Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver. Thank you, Jennifer, for putting this resource in my hands!

Intangibles

• Mindfulness: Metta meditation, with hand on heart. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May we all be happy. May we all be healthy. May we all be safe.

• Community: Texts and phone calls to check in with friends and family, at least five each day.

• Community: Invitations, one or two a day, proactively extended for coffee or a glass of wine or dinner or a walk. 

• Listening: A playlist that raises the vibe, and an audiobook (usually fiction, currently The Grey Wolf from Louise Penny) that gets me out of my head. 

I’m starting to see that these tools and ingredients, gathered intentionally at the beginning of a day, boost a healthier mindset.

We are all in the thick of a challenging season, friends, and we’ve probably got some full-on days and weeks ahead of us before the New Year. Pack your own First Aid kit, and remember that others have their own wounds and needs too, that may or may not be getting met. 

Let’s let compassion be our default, and pull it out of our First Aid kit frequently and abundantly.
That is my wish for our ABG community, as we move through this holiday season.

Namaste, and love,
Cathy