Michelle Ranavat

Mental health for me is constantly checking in. It’s making sure I’m saying no to things that I know aren’t good for me and saying yes to things that I know will make me feel better, like working out or prioritizing eating healthy, making sure I’m taking the time to really unwind, relax, and listen to what my body needs.

I do get vulnerable and share with my family because I find that’s my therapy session. For South Asians or immigrant families in general, you can’t share very much. My upbringing, I would say, was non-traditional in a way because we are so open and honest. My mom went through stage three breast cancer and there are so many things that we’re still dealing with after going through something so traumatic. When you go through those big moments, everything’s on the table. Going through those big moments in our lives where we’ve struggled, we’ve also really come together. I’ve always felt like I could go to my mom with anything and everything. And I feel like that’s very lucky because so many South Asians that I know, you really can’t talk about the struggle. You’ve got to suck it up. I feel very blessed to have that kind of community with my family.

One small, but important one for me is coffee or morning tea. I actually get joy from it. Even if it’s a beverage that I’m sipping in the morning, I get a lot of intention just in that ritual.

I do the same thing at night. I make a nice chai or use my mom’s recipes. It’s a nice little end cap to relax. They’re markers throughout the day that always bring me joy.