RELAX A LITTLE –
May 4, 2025 – By Ryan Hampton – May is here again. For many, it signals spring finally taking hold, warmer days, maybe the end of a school year. For me, and countless others in the recovery and mental health advocacy communities, it means something incredibly important: Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a time we dedicate to raising our voices, sharing our stories, and chipping away at the stigma that still surrounds mental health conditions. But this year, I want to talk about something more than just awareness. I want to talk about fitness. Not just physical fitness, but mental health fitness.
I know firsthand the devastating intersection of addiction and mental health struggles. For years, my life was consumed by a cycle fueled by unresolved trauma, anxiety, and depression, masked and exacerbated by substance use. Getting into recovery wasn’t just about putting down the substances; that was the critical first step, the clearing of the debris. The real, ongoing work? That was—and is—rebuilding from the ground up, and the foundation of that rebuilding is tending to my mental and emotional well-being. That’s where the idea of “fitness” comes in for me. Think about physical fitness. You don’t just go to the gym once and declare yourself fit for life, right? It requires consistent effort, dedication, showing up even on days you don’t feel like it. You train different muscle groups, you focus on cardio, flexibility, endurance. You build strength over time.
