What’s something you do to prioritize your mental health?

Drugs. No, seriously I keep in mind my father. He was not only great dad for the eight of us, he was also an enlisted man assigned to Pearl Harbor during WW2. If he didn't go off his rocker from the 8 of us, I will not.

Take a Gold Star Mother to dinner.

I keep and attend all my appts and include my spouse in them as well so I can optimize all my care for mental health.

Family first, family always.

We all go though struggles, some more than others, with the experiences we've had in the past. We also need help when we're not able to deal with those struggles by ourselves.

One of the ways that my family helps me is not in the expected way. By recognizing my place in the family and that I have others that depend on me, I also realize that I must take care of myself to ensure I can be there for them.

I exercise every day at Orangetheory. I have family and a great group of friends that I can hang out with. I try to think happy thoughts, I am volunteering with veterans by helping to build and repair their homes, and participating in community events that benefit veterans, I am learning to say no, and I am laughing and having fun as often as I can!

The one thing that I have learned to do to help my loss of mental agility is that I found out that if I learn a poem that I like and can repeat it without looking at a script, it helps me defeat the degenerative aspects that I already have.

I choose a poem or famous speech (ex. "Gettysburg Address" or "Ragged Old Flag") and the repetition that is required to remember small lines at a time, makes me proud when I can repeat the finished product to others. I believe the concentration is vital to maintaining a healthy, "conversational" mind.

It may take me a few weeks to learn a total poem or speech and the remembering and concentration can be difficult but the work is for my brain and I love the product I'm learning.

Otherwise, I still look for difficult crossword puzzles such as the "Sunday" puzzles for daily entertainment. I always have one close by.....good mental stimulation.

I go to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and visit the ICU. After visiting a patient or two, I understand how lucky I am to be the way I am. It's impossible to feel sorry for yourself when you see so many people who are so much worse than you. you think, "There, but for the grace of God is ME!! Thank you LORD.

Love float therapy with True Rest and also art/painting

I shrug off guilt. That doesn't mean I deny it. Whatever I feel guilty for, is something I did or didn't do. It is an indelible part of my past. But I realize that as flawed normal humans, we do not always control our destiny, even when we have choices. I can't change the past, only move on, atone if I can. But I can't obsess, just recognize it and hey, try not to repeat it.

Of course, the same attitude applies to other things than just guilt.

Also, I drink if I feel like it, not excessively, but when it's right. (not as much as I age)

Watch television read sleep