Hello lovely A&O friends, it’s May Flaum here and today we’re going to talk about my mental health struggles and how my notebooks have helped me so much. Sitting down to plan my final article as a brand ambassador, I couldn’t help but think about what a hard year it has been! I also really was blown away in my reflections of what I’ve been up to that my notebooks and notepads have had a huge impact on my wellness, and in fact were the only creative outlets I kept up with all year.

Today I will share the ways that they helped me specifically, share a video showing some of my notebooks, and also a PDF file for idea starters for you if you’d like to join my creatively eclectic style of journaling.

The Habit I Can Count On

At the darkest of times, on the very worst weeks when my brain was muddled and my energy so very low, the notepad saved me every time. I can pull out my A&O Notepad, write down items I need to remember or do, and when done it’s ‘cleared’ by recycling the page. Even random thoughts, little ideas. Nothing too small or silly to write - just whatever I would need ‘later’ to remember.

The disposable nature of these beautiful pads of paper and the immediate ability (I keep 3 - one in the car, one in my purse, one in the office) to document and keep notes helped me when I’d become confused or overwhelmed by things or simply couldn’t keep it together. Making the habit of “just write it down on the notepad” was simple enough that I could keep it every day, and it kept me from spiraling even further down by preventing my to-do lists from being forgotten and important tasks being lost. Sometimes I’d doodle or decorate the page, sometimes I might dream up notes for fun - but it was absolutely critical throughout the past year and is now simply a must as my life becomes extremely busy and hectic and I often forget what I needed to remember to do!

My Own Hype Girl

Sometimes we are the ones who have to show up, encourage, and keep ourselves going in the darkest times. We can’t always rely on someone else being there- or having the right thing to say either. It used to really exhaust me that I always had to hype myself up, but one way I found that really helps me a lot is to use those times when I’m “up” to add to my notebook that is ONLY filled with motivation, positive quotes, and good vibes. Then when I’m low, flipping through my work, my words, my own advice? Well my friends I’m hyping myself up without the work when I’m down and low. So when I would have better days/weeks I’d put energy into adding things. I am hoping to find more energy and ‘hype’ for myself in the upcoming year to add. Want more on this? I’ve got a whole article for you! 

 I've also got an article about inspiration and dreams for future journaling. 

Good times, great memories!

I used to do a lot of scrapbooking - this year I transitioned to a story focused notebook for memory keeping and I’ve loved every minute! Here's a link to my article about that. I keep things extremely simple usually words + story + a few bits of washi tape or a sticker or two. Focusing on the stories, on my recent happenings has been a good way to keep focused not only on the positive, but the journey and all that is going on.

Looking to plan out ahead about trips you might take, places you might want to go? I've got an article for that! Here's a link to my travel notebook blog post. 

Let it OUT

I think we all probably know bottling up rage, resentment, anger, frustration, and other strong and negative feelings never goes well. They’ve got to go somewhere, and sometimes breathing and meditation isn’t cutting it. What now? Well that’s where a notebook comes into play. You could have a dedicated place for this - for me it is my ideas/anything goes/be wild notebook where whatever needs to release at any given moment for better or worse can.

For part of the year I had very limited use of my dominant hand, and because of this I often used watercolor with my other hand, and basic color/mood/vibe based creating and art journaling vs some more structured vision. The release never hurts, and often really helped me get back to a balanced center.

Here’s a video for those who would like some visuals, and dig into my various notebooks from the past year.

I also have created a PDF file for you that showcases some of my idea prompts, starters, and is an in depth on many specific things that helped me along my journey.  

So how am I now? Well my lovely friends I’d love to tell you I’m atop this world on cloud 9, but the reality is I only just realized how down I was, how hard everything had become. I’m in therapy, I’m working on helping myself, and I’m starting to take steps back up/out of the rock bottom style pit I fell into. I am far from perfect - but aren’t we all? Owning how hard, how much suffering, pain (physical and mental) and trauma I’ve been through has actually proven very helpful to me in letting go just enough so I can take some steps forward.

If you’d like to continue following my journey I hope you’ll come check out my YouTube channel where I am documenting things week to week. If you need permission to simplify, let go of expectations, or just get crazy with wild ideas once in a while I am always here to support you!

Please feel free to reach out to me @craftwithmay on social media like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok! I love chatting and am always happy to root for you and cheer you on as well as help you troubleshoot. If you try any ideas from this article and post to social media I encourage you to tag @archerandolive, @archerandolive.community and use hashtags #AOShare and #archerandolive so that the community can see your work as well.