Hello my friends,

It’s Mental Health Awareness Day today and this week we’re going to take a break from the usual program.

I started this newsletter to stimulate my own mind and share the best of what I find with the hope that it does the same for you. From the reading and research, I’ve noticed that there is a growing general awareness of how mental health affects creativity, performance, and health as a whole.

Still, last year, 200 million workdays were lost due to mental health conditions ($16.8 billion in employee productivity) and in the same time frame, Americans left 768 million days of paid time off unused.

Add the additional stress and uncertainty of the Covid Pandemic.

People are simply tired and burned out.

The question is: is enough being done?

According to a Harvard Business Review study:

• Less than 50% of respondents felt that mental health was prioritized at their company, and even fewer viewed their company leaders as advocates.

• Half of Millennials and 75% of Gen Zers had left roles in the past for mental health reasons, both voluntarily and involuntarily.

Both of these findings point to a generational shift in awareness and action.

Personally, I believe mental health is health, and mental fitness is fitness.

And, like physical health and fitness, should be discussed (without unease), monitored, and developed.

Below I’ve shared a selection of articles and tools that have helped me recently.

I hope you find them useful and please seek out further help when you need it.

I appreciate every minute of your time and attention,

— Andy

References

https://hbr.org/2019/10/research-people-want-their-employers-to-talk-about-mental-health

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2019/08/28/what-does-america-have-against-vacation/

Understanding

• Are you a dopamine-a-holic? If Andrew Wilkinson’s diagnosis sounds familiar you could be.

• What Covid-19 has done to our well-being, in 12 charts.

• There's no shame in taking care of your mental health.

• Being alone with your thoughts is a skill you can practice.

• Not everything is out to get you. A few words on Hanlon’s Razor.

• Controlling your dopamine for motivation, focus & satisfaction

• Depression, the immune-brain interface & whole-body hyperthermia. Long and short version.

Tools

• Meditation app Headspace. Start with a 7-day free trial.

• HRV is an accurate way to track wellbeing.

• The benefits of forest bathing: a retreat to nature can boost immunity and mood.

• Beyond Jogging: The Innerspaces of Running by Mike Spino is a mental and physical fitness book ahead of its time.

• One of the best books I’ve read this year: Mental Fitness by Shawn Talbott.

• Remedy Place is the Soho House for health and wellness. A preventative approach.

• Music to rest, relax and flow to.

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