Tuesday Check In: How's Everybody's Mental Health?

[u/MLModBot]

Good day, everyone and welcome to our weekly mental health check-in thread! Feel free to comment below with how you are doing, as well as any coping skills and self-care strategies others can try! For information on mental health resources and support, feel free to consult our resources wiki (also located in the sidebar!) (IMPORTANT NOTE RE: THE RESOURCES WIKI: As Reddit is a global community, we hope our list of resources are diverse enough to better serve our community. As such, if you live in a country and/or geographic region that is NOT listed/represented but know of a local resource you feel would be beneficial, then please don't hesitate to let us know!)

Remember, you are human, it's OK to not be OK. Life can be very difficult and there's no how-to guide for any of this. Try to be kind to yourself and remember that people need people. No one is a lone island and you need not struggle alone. Remember to practice self-care and alone time as well. You can't pour from an empty cup and your life is worth it.

Take a moment to check in with a loved one, friend, or acquaintance. Ask them how they're doing, ask them about their mental health. Keep in mind that while we may not all be mentally ill, we all have mental health.

If you find yourself in particular struggling to go on, please take a moment to read and reflect on this poem.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: This mental health check-in thread is NOT a substitute for real-world professional help/support. MensLib is NOT a mental health support sub, and we are NOT professionals! This space solely exists to hold space for the community and help keep each other accountable.

[u/fl1Xx0r]

I'm doing better than ever! Vocational rehab really worked out for me. After eight years of unemployment due to mental health issues, I finally have a job again. Since August 1, I'm working as a gardener and I love it. My employer is a housing co-op and my colleagues are all pretty nice people. Great working conditions. Very little pressure to perform, not that performance is an issue for me - I love the work! I love getting up in the morning and I smile all day, every day. I feel fulfilled and useful, needed even. I have never felt like this in my life. It's not a high-paying job by any stretch, but that doesn't matter to me. I was used to living off benefits and was getting along alright, so making more than that is nothing but bonus!

It's also really nice to have something meaningful to do during the day. Makes spare time feel so much more precious.

I'll 'kick' out my housemate come next year (with a generous seven months for her to find a new flat) and am very much looking forward to finally having a space of my own - for the first time in my thirty-five years on this planet. This house will get filled to the brim with house plants!

Happy times :)

[u/Spiritual_Message725 → u/fl1Xx0r]

How did you find a position like this? What’s it called? This sounds awesome

[u/fl1Xx0r → u/Spiritual_Message725]

I found it through the rehab facility. Internships are part of the rehab procedure and they had the direct contact info for the department I now work in on a list. Apparently someone did an internship there some years ago. I grew up with an allotment garden and always helped out there (and which I still actively tend), through which I have the needed technical skills, quite a bit of knowledge of plants and am eager to learn. I'm also just a very likeable and hardworking person. So after three months of being an intern, the housing co-op actually liked me so much, they created a new position for me, since I don't have the relevant qualification to fill the official job posting they had. So now I'm employed as what would probably translate as a gardener-aide I guess.

Pretty sure this is the best thing that ever happened to me.

[u/That_Hobo_in_The_Tub → u/fl1Xx0r]

Love this for you bro, keep doing the good work and moving onwards and upwards! Godspeed, you got this

[u/fl1Xx0r → u/That_Hobo_in_The_Tub]

Thank you so much!