Multitasking and Communicating

Hello,

It sounds like you really value personal growth and development in a variety of domains. I think that's very admirable, but understand your concern that all your interests, healthy habits, and quality time in relationships might not be realistic to maintain. However, I definitely think it can be done. Many people find it helpful to plan out their days and weeks and focus on creating SMART goals. You may already be familiar with this acronym, but SMART goals stands for Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-based. It is a useful tool for a guideline in goal setting and time management. When we set unrealistic, unstructured goals we can end up feeling that we have failed drastically and experience more stress. In your case, I think organization and planning with SMART goals in mind could be helpful in allowing you to figure out exactly how much time you can spend in each area of interests, while also giving yourself time to recharge, so that all your goals are sustainable. 

For example, making practicing music into a SMART goal might look like practicing for an hour a day, three days out of the week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This goal meets all the criteria for a SMART goal and allows you to schedule goals into your week/month. It's also helpful to know exactly how much time you will spend on each activity, so that you can make adjustments to your goals as needed, in order for them to be sustainable. 

In response to your question about your parents, I know that must be very difficult for you to feel you must defend you going to therapy. It might be helpful when speaking to them to relate therapy to medical assistance from a doctor. We often see the mind and body as two separate things, but the mind is also the body. Therapists have been educated in treatments that work to rewire the brain for more positive thinking patterns, that relieves symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress. I'm making an assumption here, but I imagine your parents go to the doctor when they are sick or injured and they must put their faith in the medical professionals to be able to be helped. There's certainly room for both a belief in God and therapy. It might be helpful to reframe things to the perspective that God works through everything and everyone in the world, including therapists. In this framework, mental health professionals are healers who are supported by God to deal with sickness of the mind (which is part of the body), just as medical doctors are there to deal with sickness of the body. 

There are also therapists who specialize in religious therapy. There are many Christian based therapist that can use therapy and faith to compliment each other. Obviously, the decision to talk with your parents about these things is completely up to you as you know them the best. I think if you do decide to talk further with them and they remain unsupportive, it may be helpful for you to simply accept that's how they are, due to their backgrounds, and allow yourself to get the help you need because you deserve it!