New York City is known for a lot of things. Some things, like delicious pizzas, are good. Some, like horrible garbage smells, are bad. Living in New York City means taking the good with the bad and making the most of this metropolis.
Sometimes, though, the good stuff gets harder to notice. Sometimes, New York City feels like it’s all stress and no fun. When you’ve had a few bad days in a row, New York City can feel downright inhospitable. The crowds, the stress, the competition… How can anyone get through this?
When you start feeling like this, don’t just ignore the symptoms. A beautiful New York City moment may arrive tomorrow to bail you out of your funk, but you can’t count on that. You need to make mental healthcare a habit and find ways to manage New York City when it’s at its worst. Here are a few tips for doing just that.
Get Thee To Therapy
Sometimes, it feels like everyone in New York City is seeing a therapist. If only that were true! The reality is that many New Yorkers are still trying to get by without proper mental healthcare. Many New Yorkers lack access to proper mental health care (as do many of their peers across the United States), but others are simply failing to realize how important it is to take advantage of mental health resources. If you are able to get therapy, you should do so!
Therapy is for everyone, explains the experts at the therapy Group of NYC. It’s not just for those with anxiety or depression—though it certainly helps with those extremely common conditions, which affect many people who don’t even realize that they have a problem. In ways large and small, therapy can change your life for the better.
Get Out!
New York City is flooded with tourists. People come from far and wide to visit our fair city, and it’s not hard to see why! As for you, though, you live here year-round. And while a New York City “staycation” can be a wonderful way to get to know your home city, it’s important to remember that part of the point of taking a vacation is to get a change of scenery.
So go home for the holidays. Take a break on a beak. And don’t sleep on smaller cities, either, point out tourism experts in Lansing, Michigan. Walk the streets of a quaint town or take the LAN150 Challenge in Lansing, and you’ll see that size isn’t everything.
Focus On Work/Life Balance
What makes New York City more stressful than other cities? There are a few factors at play, including those famous crowds. But make no mistake: If one thing about New York City looms largest in terms of stress and anxiety, it’s the city’s working culture.
Lots of cities have big crowds, and lots of cities have small apartments, pricey groceries, and pollution. But few cities can rival New York City’s passion for overlong workdays bookended by taxing commutes. New York City’s notoriously long work days dwarf those of many other cities. On top of that, many of us are taking our work home with us.
Success may be important to you, but don’t let your own work ethic get in your way. Set clear boundaries and banish work from certain areas or times of the day. Know when to ignore emails and when to put your phone on silent. Work/life balance isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition, but everyone has some ability to manage their relationship with their own responsibilities.
Love Your City
This is by no means an exhaustive list of ways to get by in New York City without harming your mental health. But remember this: With a positive attitude and a focus on your own mental health, you’ll be better equipped to head into the big city every day ready to flourish and enjoy the best that New York City has to offer.
