Episode 9 - Mental Health Checkpoint

Hello! In episode 9 we're taking a break from magic, music, etc. and instead I discuss mental health and why it is important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 

Life is hard for everyone and it can be difficult to find the positive in all of the negative. Situations arise that may trigger you to think about horrible things. You may get angry when someone cuts you off in traffic, or maybe a relative recently passed away, or your significant other broke up with you. I am sorry if you are going through the wringer right now. May was mental health awareness month for those of you who don't know, so this episode is a little breather from the heaviness of the occult world. When seasons change, some people can experience mood swings as well. I hope that everyone is doing as good as they can and always remember to take care of yourselves! Enjoy!! ☆

"Do what though wilt shall be the whole of the law" - Aleister Crowley

"Discover that which makes you shine, always and forever into infinity"

-Joseph Matthew 

Transcript

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welcome one and all to the magic music podcast i'm your host joseph matthew and in this series we will be discussing various occult and esoteric practices in music art and culture so sit back relax and let's explore the unknown together enjoy hello everyone welcome to Episode number nine. We're just going to be discussing mental health. It is mental health awareness month. And yeah, this is just a little checkpoint to see how everyone's feeling out there. Hopefully everyone's feeling okay. Hopefully you are enjoying your weekend thus far. It's Memorial Day, so I don't know what you guys have planned, but at least me and my family, I think we're just hanging out. We already did a lot of stuff this weekend so far, so I think we're just going to be chilling for the most part. But yeah, it's almost summertime, and I know with the change of seasons, some people get seasonal depression, That's something that runs in my family. They usually, when it transitions from like winter to spring, I feel like I get like all this energy, but then you also feel like down some days. It's weird. It kind of just like fluctuates. There's no really rhyme or reason to it, but yeah, some seasons can be harder for others, you know, winter, especially because you're not outside you're not getting vitamin d you're not really moving around as much unless you're going to you know a gym indoors or something like that to keep you moving but movement is just so essential for being healthy it's something that keeps our body our bodies going And, you know, you also need to fuel your body with a ton of water and vitamins and minerals and nutrients from good food, from a good healthy food. So, yeah, just maybe sticking to a particular diet, staying away from sugar and carbs, you know, that can help clear your head a lot more, I think. I try to get a lot of protein in, but yeah, there are days where, you know, at least for myself, like I'll, I'll feel down for a little bit and then I'll, you know, feel more energetic within like the next couple of days or something. So at least for me, it kind of fluctuates, but I noticed that when I do things that force me to think or force me to move, then I usually end up feeling a lot better. than if I didn't move or if I took a nap or something. So yeah, I think you can really kind of change your mood if you decide to just move around and jump around. And yeah, just maybe switching up a routine or trying something different. Doing something that you've never done before. Enjoying nature. I've noticed too that nature is very healing. I've always enjoyed being outside, going for walks, going for bike rides. Things that get your blood pumping because if you are active and you're moving, it almost, it just kind of clears your mind. It clears all the junk out of your head. And at least for me, I don't really think about anything while I'm exercising. It's almost this state of mind that I try to get in. Almost like a meditation. And everyone has different ways of meditating. Whether that's taking a bath or just sitting on the floor and crossing your legs. and going, um, and kind of channeling something. Or it might be some type of physical activity, like kickboxing, or running, or biking, or jumping, hiking, wrestling, baseball, football, soccer, you know, something just to get out there. To get out there and just do something. So, I hope everyone is able to get outside this weekend. Hopefully it's nice in your area. But even if it is raining, you know, I'll just go outside and put on a raincoat. You know, everyone hates the rain, but it's funny. Sometimes I'll just go outside when it's raining for a little bit and just hang out. I think doing things like that can kind of bring you out of a funk too. You know, just going outside, feeling the rain on your head instead of just like laying indoors and feeling sorry for yourself. And you know, sometimes you just need a rest. Rest is good. You can't be doing everything all the time. You have to give yourself a much-needed break from the week, from the day, from life, because life is hard. Life is not easy. To get the things you want, you have to work pretty hard for it. At least if you want to live a good, you know, quality life. And yeah, I mean, I've been looking for some good movies to watch also. I don't watch a ton of movies. We'll watch movies as a family sometimes, but just going solo, I don't really watch anything. There are... I don't know, I kind of prefer... I like horror movies. I haven't really watched an action movie in quite a while. But yeah, you know, do something fun this weekend. Watch a movie. Hang out with your friends. Clean off your grill and... grill up some something, whatever you want. Burgers, hot dogs, if you want something healthier. There's some veggies on the grill. I might grill something this weekend. I don't know. We'll see. Just take the time to unwind and think about your life and All of the good things in it. It's easy to look down on yourself and look down on your situation and say, wow, like there's all these really horrible things that are happening in my life right now. But if I can write down, let's just say five good things that's going on in your life, just five solid good things Good things. And that's even something as simple as having a car, having a vehicle to get you from point A to point B, living in a house, an apartment, you have shelter, you have a roof over your head, food, you have food in your belly, even though things are pretty pricey right now. Things fluctuate, but people have to make adjustments, I understand. But if you're able to buy groceries every week and have some food on the table, that's more than most. So just be grateful for the things that you have. Try to stay humble and try to help other people. Try to help other people whenever you can. And, you know, this morning, actually, we went to the grocery store and there was a man, so if anyone has ever been to Alidl before, L-I-D-L, it's a grocery chain. I believe they're a A German company. Don't quote me on that. But they have very good produce. They have like a bakery section as soon as you walk in. That's how they get you. And they're so good. They have pastries. And this is not a plug for Lidl. I just really like going there. They have pastries and donuts and bagels. Apple fritters, croissants. Cookies. They have a ton of stuff. Freshly baked bread. So... I was in there and then there was a homeless man that was in the section. You know, which I've never really seen a homeless person before, like, in the store. Maybe, like, around the building or something. Or in the back. I don't know. But... So... He was trying to get my attention and he was holding a pastry or a croissant or something. And it was 50 cents. And he said, excuse me, sir, would you be able to buy this for me? And, you know, I didn't realize that he may have been homeless. I didn't really think about it too much. And It seemed like he had other groceries, but I said, oh, I'm sorry, you know, we're on a tight budget for groceries. And I realized what I said, and I'm like, oh, no, I should probably help him. So my wife, actually, she's like, well, actually, yeah, we have some change on us. You know, it was 50 cents. She didn't realize it was that cheap. I thought the pastries were more expensive, but I feel like I failed this morning. I feel like I kind of... An opportunity presented itself and I almost shooed away... A homeless person. And that's kind of, you know, against what I am, what I stand for. Maybe I was caught off guard. But I instantly felt bad and I was like, oh, I apologize, you know. But... Yeah, it's like... I see in the city people step over homeless people all the time. And I really... whether or not he was on drugs or whatever that's what i worry about is maybe homeless people using the money for drugs or something maybe lying about it but i would hope that it was go to a good cause right just helping him put some food in his belly so you know you're not going to be perfect every day you are going to have bad days and i try to see help out humanity as much as i can but today It just reminded me, okay, like, you know, Joe, let's try to stay as humble as possible. You're going to have a cart full of groceries at the end of this trip. You can spare to give some to other people. So as I'm reflecting on the day, I know deep down if I felt bad, then that means I feel like I could have said it differently or said, yes, sir, I can buy you that. But again, no one's perfect. And yeah, just a reminder to myself first and foremost and everyone else. Appreciate what you have in life because there are other people that may not have that same luxury that you do. Having everything that you need. Just go out and be adventurous and I think that you'll find... that your days will start to get better as time goes on if you're in a funk try to bring yourself out of it try to hang out with friends socialization is big too definitely socialize i'm a very i'm kind of a shy person i was when i was younger but i've gotten more social as time has gone on and that's helped me for sure yeah that's all for this episode everyone thank you for tuning in and yeah i think i'll do more of these little mental health checkpoints in the future hopefully you guys are doing well and feel free to hit me up on buzzsprout on instagram and yeah if you guys are feeling down you know we can talk about it and yeah peace and love everyone let's see you next time thank you