What is wellness? It is different for everyone. For some wellness may be living symptom-free. For me, wellness is having survived my dark days and lost years and learning to be happy. That begs the question, what makes me happy?
The first thing on my to-do list every day is to be happy. Every morning I ask myself what is going to make me happy today. Then I close my eyes and the things that need to be done and that I want to do bubble to the surface.
Happiness is being outside of my head and doing something nice for someone. Happiness is doing the things that need to be done even though they are difficult. Happiness is being present for my wife and kids. And most of all happiness is peace of mind. That for me is wellness.
Dave Mowry is an author and stand-up comedian who has performed 40 Stand Up for Mental Health shows sharing his story and shattering the stigma surrounding mental health conditions, one joke at a time. And in his book, No Really, We Want You to Laugh.