meet meadow monaghan
How do you make your health a priority?
For a really long time, I would only work out in terms of aesthetics and wanting to look good. Now in quarantine, I don’t give a shit about how my body looks. My body is my body. I’m so thankful that it works. I work out because it makes me feel better. It puts me in a better mood. It gives me more motivation. So I’ve been working out a lot more because I have a better mindset around it right now.
My boyfriend Aaron and I love each other so much and it’s so fun having a partner where you’re placing emphasis on health for the right reasons. That’s new to me and that’s liberating.
Do you feel stigma around taking antidepressants?
Even being a mental health professional, it took me a minute to get on antidepressants. Even I internalize that stigma and struggled with it and didn’t know if I wanted to be on it. What helped me was reframing it. I just need this one piece to the puzzle to do the deeper healing. But I do like the holistic side too. Even though I take antidepressants, I also take chaga for energy.
“I first started taking a specific type of SNRI that I loved.”
But it’s such a science experiment on your own body, so you have to be really patient and loving with yourself when you go through that. I ended up trying a couple of different kinds and I found one for me. It’s not that I’m in rose tinted glasses, I just can see the pile of stress in front of me, and can see it as separate from myself. It’s not all-consuming. And that’s the biggest gift in the world.
What is cathartic for you?
I’ve been a journal-er since high school. It started not so much as emotion processing and more manifestation. I would write down goals and to-do lists and I saved them all too. One of my main loves is writing, that’s always been the most cathartic thing. So keeping a journal was an easy way to keep that up and keep track of my thoughts. Now I do it more for my mental health because I find that especially in quarantine, my thoughts always race.
I also wanted to share a photo with my mom because she’s one of my best friends. I tell her everything. She’s hilarious. But she also is the reason why I have tried to be as mentally healthy as I can from a young age. The biggest gift she gave me was not to care what other people think. She’s such a character and always makes people feel respected and validated and included.
next story — gaby ulloa