How are you?

April is counseling awareness month.

There’s never been a time when awareness about our mental health and the benefits of counseling has been more important.  

We’ve reached the fourth month of 2020, and to most it feels like we’ve lived an entire year.  Who else feels like that is a bigger deal than it usually is? We have a ways to go in the scheme of our current situation, but we’re still moving forward.  

In this time of social distancing, how are you connecting?  How are you checking in with friends and loved ones? Is someone checking in with you?

Oftentimes people break up their year in 90 day increments, or quarters.  

April signifies the beginning of the second quarter of the year.  It’s a good time to take a look at how the first quarter went, note the highs and lows, and plan for the next 90 days.  But that seems a bit overwhelming given the current state of our world.

But I’d still like to know, “How are you?”

Even in the best of times, it’s important to have someone who will check in with you.  To have someone genuinely ask, “How are you?” and not settle for “I’m fine.”

As noted above, April is Counseling Awareness Month.  I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. I completed my degree 20 years ago.  While I don’t hang out a shingle anywhere, I love being a counselor. It’s a natural part of how I help women in my online community.  Counseling is weaved into everything I do.  

How are you? We need to be asking the question and waiting for the real answer. #mentalhealthmatters #howareyou Click To Tweet

Whether you seek a professional counselor or you have a friend or family member who you check in with, it’s important to have someone regularly asking you how you’re doing.  

We all need support.  Now more than ever we need to be asking one another how it’s going.  And don’t settle for an “I’m fine” response.  

Because most of us aren’t fine right now.  

You may be okay today, but either you haven’t been fine over the last few weeks or you’re going to have a day when you’re not fine in the near future.  It’s okay to admit that.  

This is a difficult time.  Everyone is going to experience hard days.  “The struggle is real” hasn’t been more true than it is right now.  

I’m not saying this to get you down.  I’m telling you this to let you know it’s okay to acknowledge how you’re feeling…no matter how that is.  In fact, it’s important to acknowledge it, and it’s important to talk to someone about it.  

Do you have that person that will ask you how you are and who won’t settle for “fine”?  Have you asked someone lately how they’re doing and waited for a genuine response?  

Remember, I’m here for you.  How are you? I’d really like to know.  

I’ve created a checklist that will help you check in with yourself each day.  It’ll also give you some questions to ask your friends and loved ones when you check in with them.  Click here, and I’ll send it to you.