Mental Health Check In & Summer Reads with The Happy Hour Ladies

On the last Friday of the month, I host the Happy Hour on the podcast where I gather great friends with me to drink cheap drinks and talk about money topics. This month on the podcast, I’ve highlighted financial and self-books from various authors that I know and respect. The happy hour ladies joined me and shared some amazing books to add to your reading list as well, but before we got into that, we addressed another important celebration that happens in May and that’s Mental Health Awareness. I asked the ladies to grade their current mental health state and we discussed what we’re feeling at the moment and how we’re working to improve or maintain our current mental health state. As always, it was a very honest and special conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.

What are we drinking?

Melanie from The Mental Health and Wealth Show - Frey Sparkling Rose Alcohol Free Wine

Kassandra from kassandradasent.com - Old Fashioned Cream Soda

Joy, Head of Trainer Academy at The Gym - Sauvignon Blanc from her Winc subscription

Shannon - Leftover San Seir from Mother’s Day

Podcast Notes

Shannon asks the Happy Hour Ladies to grade their mental health on a scale of 1 - 100 and share their feelings about where they are, and their plans for moving forward!

Joy gives herself a 75%. For her, this means she is showing up and trying her best, enjoying the joys and struggles along the way. In the past, she feels like she would have graded herself higher, but has more self-awareness now. What has been really helpful is her consistent morning routine. Each day, there’s some physical activity, breathwork, and meditation before she logs onto the computer. She’s also working with a life coach, who asks her great questions and she makes commitments to, which keeps her moving forward.
Kassandra gives herself an 85% B. She feels pretty good right now, better than she has in a long time. She has experienced many levels on the mental health scale, knows what a B feels like, and this is where she is right now. She just finished up a round of sessions with her therapist and they discussed pausing for now because they realized that was best. She’s also been exercising, reflecting on the past, thinking through pointed questions, and journaling regularly. She’s been making a lot of plans to enjoy life, put trips on the books, travel, and spend time with the people she loves. There is less of a focus on work and her business is in a great spot.
Melanie grades herself a 40% and shares that her mental health isn’t in a great spot right now. She recently received some frustrating health news and is in a transition period. Her biggest client is now gone, but it’s actually a blessing in disguise and it has given her time to think about her life and career. She’s been feeling really burnt out and wanting to quit everything. Since a lot of Melanie’s career centers around mental health, she felt pressure to do a lot for Mental Health Awareness Month but instead decided she needed a break from her podcast and social media. With all of the recent news, she has been doing a lot of doom scrolling and needed a break. Even though her mental health hasn’t been great, she has a plan. She’s not actively working for as much work as much and taking the time to get back to herself. She’s going back to Boston, and scheduling calls to catch up with her friends. Even though things aren’t great right now, she’s confident in the plan!
Shannon gives herself a 92% - an intentional low A. If they were having this conversation in October, it would have been a much different grade. Her mental health over the last two years has been directly tied to the company, specifically ‘The Great Resignation.’ She had to assume that everyone on the team was looking for work elsewhere, and many left for other opportunities. The experience felt sad and isolating. She recently had a conversation with Vinny and he reminded her that the people who are going to stay are the ones who are devoted, are there for the right reasons, and will cross the finish line with her. It has taken time, taking feedback, and trying new things, but the energy from the team is much better and gives her so much energy and joy. The Great Resignation led some employees to The Gym and everyone has gone through the exercise of deciding this job is where they want to be.
Shannon talks about how it’s important to feel gratitude during challenging times. You can truly experience the joy of a 92% grade on your mental health when you’ve lived through the 40%s and 50%s. She doesn’t know how long the 92% will last but plans to enjoy it and be grateful during this time.

Last thoughts and resources for mental health:

If social media causes doom scrolling or is negatively impacting your mental health, take a break or be very intentional with the consumption.
Shannon gets a lot of joy from seeing others experiencing joy. Her social media is intentionally curated so she can experience the joy and energy of the people she loves. It’s not all positive vibes, just people on the same wavelength.
Melanie likes to track her energy and moods before and after working out, eating food, or seeing someone. This helps her reflect on what makes her feel good and what isn’t serving her. She knows what works, and has the tools to feel confident in her plan.
Joy talks about how there is an assumption we want to live a stress-free existence, but that isn’t the goal. Stress is part of the human experience; it's all about learning to process it. While we can’t eliminate stress, we can change our mindset and create systems to manage it.
Kassandra has tried some alternative stress relief techniques, most recently a Reiki massage. If you want to try something new, keep an open mind!
Do a personal audit of where you are at this moment. Think about your level of happiness, and satisfaction in regards to your physical health, spirituality, career, relationships, and overall mental health. Reflect and decide what is important. You may have to shift your priority zones, but it’s important to take time to evaluate what is the most pressing, focus on that and move from there.

Books to add to The Summer Reading List

Shannon loves reading for joy and the fluff! She enjoys reading on a Kindle Paperwhite

If you’re ever looking for a new book, find bloggers who are interested in the same genre. They usually have great recommendations.
Her favorite author is Kristen Ashkey: KristenAhshley.net
She recommends starting out with The Dream Man Series

Melanie: Mostly Personal Development and Personal Finance Books - She’s a fan of hard copy books, but does enjoy reading on her phone using the Libby app

Joy: Listens to Audiobooks and Physical Books

Kassandra: Reads on a Kindle Paperwhite

Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is to continuously monitor and grade your mental health, learn from the times you are challenged what helped you out of it, and practice how to carry that through the rest of your days. Mental health is like physical health and financial health, you need to constantly work at it and understand that it will ebb and flow over time.

If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me at Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.

We have a lot of exciting things happening at Financial Gym in 2022, but the most exciting has to be our Certified Financial Trainer Licensing program. If you are a personal finance nerd with a passion for helping others, this is the course for you. It’s based on my 10 years plus of helping people get financially healthy and led by my amazing team at The Financial Gym. We’re about to start raising the pricing, so if you’ve ever thought about doing something like this don’t waste any more time, head over to financialgym.com and under our services, you’ll find more on the Certification Program