I love that Gabe and his guest tackled this topic on the Inside Mental Health podcast a few weeks ago.
Wonder what “memento mori” really means?
I used to think it was morbid and dangerous to think about death. When I was dealing with severe depression, I think there were a lot of people who did not want to talk about death with me for fear of what that might do to me in that mental state. Maybe they were correct at the time; perhaps they weren’t.
One thing I do know is that when I was honest with myself about death, it changed the way I felt about my current mental health status. Thinking openly about the fact that we will all die helped me realize that whatever pain I was in had an ending eventually. It could get better, or it would end when I died. I didn’t need to take any action. I would still die. In the meantime, who knew what could happen? Maybe I could heal. Maybe I could find some small things I enjoyed and participate in those activities. Shoot, who knows what else I could learn, see, and experience before that day.
I decided to stay because I knew that, eventually, that final day was coming for me anyway. All of this was temporary.
I remind myself of that when I feel anxious or make a mistake in front of people. All of this is temporary. Whatever embarrassment I might feel at this moment, eventually, everyone involved will not be here to talk about it, and I won’t be here to be embarrassed by it.
I find that freeing. It is freeing to remember that I’m only here temporarily and to remind myself that I only have so much time to do the things I want to do and make the impact on people’s lives that I want to make.
I’m not focused on escaping my temporary pain; I’m focused on what I’m doing now. It’s my version of mindfulness, I guess. 😉
This might not be what works for you. Even if reading this didn’t help you look at trauma and mental health struggles differently, I hope it at least gives you a reason to feel a bit freer and ready to move in your life.
As discussed during the episode with Jodi Wellman, the average lifespan includes about 4,000 Mondays, and there are only so many left. (Assuming we even live to the average life expectancy, which is not a given.)
What could happen, and what can you do with them?
https://psychcentral.com/blog/podcast-countdown-to-death-how-embracing-time-helps-us-live-fully