Coach Potter

Making the decision to take care of mental health and really doing it requires self discipline. This is confusing because a big part of depression is a lack of self discipline. Leaving the house and taking a long walk is the best cure for me. I have solved many problems, my own and the worlds, while walking, especially on a crispy cool sunny day. In order to be my best self, I need to become my own life coach and even therapist. Dealing with anxiety and depression is exhausting, Being me is exhausting!

Waking up in the morning and making myself choose to have a positive attitude is necessary. Saying prayers is a way for me to express my fears and sadness and my gratitude for the great things in my life. I try to pray and just talk to God in my head. This offers me both peace and hope. I connect with my God in nature so my walking is imperative to my life. We can all rely on Gods power, wisdom, and love. Not everybody refers to their higher power as God. I do. The importance of this is to use belief in your God in a positive and healing way.

My hope is that I can wake each day with a sense of gratefulness and have motivation to do great things. Wether it be to take a walk in Jones Point Park or take my Grandog Lou on a walk in his neighborhood and appreciate the beauty and surroundings, Writing my thoughts and even my grievances is much more productive than airing them out on Facebook or Twitter. I challenged myself to stay off of social media for a week and I was successful. I am dedicating my IG posts to scenic fashion posts and trying to inspire “women of a certain age” to find their personal style. That was my original intention when I created my account several years ago. When I began trying to reason with people regarding their crazy theories and backwards political stances, it increased my anxiety and depression. I have recently caught myself looking at a certain IG account just to see what this troublemaker is posting and felt like crying and my heart began racing. LESSON LEARNED! I am in charge of me and I know what I need and don’t need. I choose Joy!

Why the title Coach Potter? My 89 yr old father is a well known and much loved retired Phys Ed teacher and basketball coach. I have spent almost my entire life fielding the question “How’s Coach Potter?” Even at high school reunions that is usually the first question I get! It makes me proud to say Coach Potter is great.