When Was the Last Time You Checked on Your Mind?

 In this episode, Otanthia Williams-Brady explores mental health awareness from a personal and practical perspective — becoming aware of your own mental well-being and the health of your mind. 

Many women continue functioning, showing up, caregiving, working, and handling responsibilities while quietly feeling mentally overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, disconnected, or unclear beneath the surface. This episode is a gentle reminder that functioning and being well are not always the same. 

You’ll be invited to pause and reflect on how you are really doing mentally, why mental health check-ins matter, and how self-priority can support emotional wellness, burnout recovery, clarity, and peace. 

Because awareness is not judgment — it is information. And you cannot care for what you do not recognize. 

Need space to sort through what’s weighing on your mind?
If this episode resonated with you and you realize you need support processing what feels heavy or unclear, I invite you to book a Clarity Reset Session.

This private one-on-one session gives you space to pause, process what you’re carrying, gain clarity around a situation, season, or decision, and identify realistic next steps forward.

Book your session here: https://www.otanthiawb.com/clarity-reset

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

So this month is Mental Health Awareness Month. And when we hear that, I think many of us immediately think about bringing awareness to mental health conditions, which is the foundation of the concept. So it makes sense, and it’s very important, because people need language for what they’re experiencing. People need support. People need access to care and the help that’s necessary. And people need to know that they are understood and not alone. But I want to look at mental health awareness from a slightly different perspective. I want to take the phrase almost literally: mental health awareness as awareness of the health of your mind. Not just awareness of mental health conditions, but awareness of your own mental state. Not just when there’s a diagnosis or crisis or something feels obviously wrong, but in the everyday moments of life when you’re still functioning, still showing up, still doing what needs to be done, but maybe not realizing how much it’s all affecting you mentally. You’re listening to Making Space for Me, a podcast for women who carry a lot, give a lot, and are learning how to care for themselves, prioritize their needs, and create a way of living that truly supports their well-being, even in the midst of everyday demands. I’m your host, Otanthia Williams-Brady, and welcome. So today, my question is: when was the last time you checked in on the health of your mind? Because as women, many of us are so used to checking in on everyone and everything else. We notice when someone we love seems off. We can sense when another person is tired, overwhelmed, or just not quite themselves. We ask people how they’re doing. But in the midst of all of that noticing and checking in, we don’t always pause long enough to notice where we are mentally. So here’s what I want to ask you: How are you doing? Like, how are you actually doing? Do you even know? Because you can be productive and be mentally overwhelmed. You can be physically present and feel disconnected. You can be making decisions and feel unclear. And you can be smiling and still feel sad. Being aware of your mental health means being honest about your inner state. It means noticing how you’re thinking, how you’re coping, how you’re making decisions, and how life is feeling from the inside. Sometimes we assume we’re okay because we’re still functioning, but functioning is not always the same as being well. You may be going to work, taking care of people, handling responsibilities, doing all the things that make life look like it’s moving forward. But inside, your thoughts may be racing. Your patience may be thin. Your joy may feel distant. Your decisions may feel heavier. Your self-talk may be harsh. Your mind may be feeling cluttered, crowded, or constantly on alert. And if you never pause to notice any of that, you may start accepting it as normal. But just because something has become familiar doesn’t mean it’s healthy. I think a lot of women do not check in on their mental health until a problem becomes almost impossible to ignore. Like the anxiety is too loud, the sadness is too heavy, the exhaustion turns into burnout, the irritability starts affecting relationships, or the body starts responding to what the mind has been carrying. But what if awareness came earlier? In the same way we check in on other parts of our lives before things completely fall apart. We don’t wait until the car breaks down to think about an oil change. We don’t wait until the cancer diagnosis to get the mammogram. We don’t wait until our teeth fall out to go to the dentist. We understand that maintenance matters. Check-ins matter. Paying attention early matters. But when it comes to our minds, many of us wait until we’re already overwhelmed before we start giving ourselves that permission to care. And I believe that is something worth rethinking. Because your mind is the foundation and filter for your life. It affects how you interpret what’s happening around you. It affects how you respond to people. It affects how present you can be. It affects whether life feels manageable or heavy. And this is why mental health awareness has to become personal. Because you cannot care for what you do not recognize. You cannot tend to what you keep ignoring. And you cannot support a mind you never check in with. And this is not about judging yourself for where you are mentally. Awareness isn’t judgment. Awareness is information. It gives you a chance to notice where you are before life kind of forces you to pay attention. It gives you a chance to say, “Something in me needs care.” And that care may look different depending on what you notice. For someone, it may be rest. Maybe it’s additional support. Maybe it’s needing to talk to someone like a friend, a therapist, or a counselor. Maybe it’s taking something off of your plate. Maybe it’s not pretending everything is fine. Or maybe it’s making space to simply be without rushing to fix everything immediately. But you cannot know what you need if you never pause long enough to ask. I think we need to be reminded that our mental health is not separate from our well-being. It’s a part of our well-being. It’s part of how we experience life. And I think that’s the piece we sometimes miss. That we’re not just trying to get through life. We’re trying to actually live it. To be present for it. To have enough mental space to notice and feel joy. To feel peace when it’s available. To make decisions from clarity instead of constant pressure. To show up for others without completely abandoning ourselves. That all requires awareness. So maybe this month, the invitation is not to only become more aware of mental health in general. Maybe the invitation is to become more honest about your own inner state. To pause and ask: Where am I mentally right now? And to listen long enough for the answer. The real answer. Not the automatic “I’m fine.” Not the answer that keeps everyone else comfortable. The honest, true answer. Because that answer may be the beginning of a whole new level of care. So check in with it. Make space for it. Listen to what it’s been trying to tell you. And if you realize you need support sorting through what feels heavy, unclear, or mentally overwhelming, I offer a Clarity Reset Session that was created for just that. It’s a private one-on-one space to pause, process what you’re carrying, and gain clarity around a specific situation, season, or decision, helping you identify realistic next steps so that you can move forward with greater peace and direction. You can learn more and book your session using the link in the show notes. So thank you for listening to Making Space for Me. I hope this resonated with you. Until next time, be gentle with yourself and keep making space for you.

Speaker 2:12