May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We asked our attorneys to provide tips to help with their mental health. We hope that you make time to take a mental health moment.

From Logan McEwen:

Disconnect- turn off work notifications, emails, etc. when at home with family, or even when not at the office.

Consume positive content. Doing legal work all day and consuming news typically skews towards the negative. If you read, watch, listen to, or view other negative content in your free time, it can be taxing to your outlook. Try to consume positive content.

Do something poorly. Trying to make everything perfect will cause you to lose your mind on a long enough time scale. Find something you can do where you have the freedom to do it badly. Make bad art, play music terribly, be the absolute last pick in a pickup sport.

Banish your phone. It is only a recent development that everyone is expected to be reachable at all times. Get in the habit of leaving your phone somewhere at home and not keeping it on you at all times.

From Susan Erdelyi:

Prayer & Faith – preferably daily readings
Physical fitness (Body pump class, running – actually trotting at my age ha! – walking, swimming)
Being outside
Being away from computers and devices
Spending times with loved ones and family

From Kendall Manini:

Taking walks on the beach and playing with my dogs.

From Mary Bland Love:

Exercise regularly.

Drink plenty of free water daily.

Drink alcohol sparingly & not daily.

Eat balanced meals daily.

Keep a regular sleep schedule.

Follow the Serenity Prayer.

From Jerry Weedon:

Regular exercise does wonders for mental health. Exercise releases endorphins which literally makes you feel better.

It also helps to take 10 deep breaths when you feel anxious. There is a physical mechanism in the body by which anxiety and deep breathing cannot co-exist.

From Ed Birk:

Yoga classes always help reduce work related  stress and help support an optimistic outlook. To me optimism is a competitive advantage in the competitive work of practicing law.

From Crystal Broughan:

I use exercise and meditation for balancing my life.  Also, spending time out doors in the mountains or at the beach is good therapy.