“I generally recommend that patients who feel isolated, especially adolescents, choose an activity they can do with a family member as an ongoing ritual,” says Neha Chaudhary, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and at Harvard Medical School. “It could be eating together, something artistic, moving your body, or something as simple as reading together,” says Chaudhary. “Whatever it is, it should be a shared experience and something done as regularly as possible.”
Below, meet five mother-daughter couples across the country who say spending time together has improved their mental health. Each pair has a unique way of relaxing.
Meagan Warren, 16, and her mother, Shannon Warren (Bexley, Ohio)
For Shannon and Meagan, singing together has a calming effect. Not only do they almost always sing in the car, but also when they are worried or stressed.
“Whenever I’m busy studying, music is our go-to way to relax and take a little break. » said Meagan.
“It’s nice to sit together, listen to calming music and just reflect on the day,” Shannon says. The couple uses the website calme.com to listen to meditative melodies.
The two men especially look forward to singing “Sweet Caroline” at football and hockey games. “We don’t know the song particularly well, but we’re having fun with it,” Shannon says.
Santoshni Birlangi, 18, and her mother, Uma Tamminayana (Houston)
In Houston, you can almost always hear the sizzling of the pan and a delicious aroma in the home of Santoshni Birlangi and Uma Tamminayana.
Mother and daughter use cooking as a creative outlet.
“I never follow a fixed recipe. I improvise a lot because I have been cooking for many years,” says Tamminayana.
“I get really excited when we try a new recipe. Once we find a recipe that we really like, we improvise it to suit our personal tastes,” adds Birlangi.
The two often host dinner parties with family and friends and serve homemade meals.
Ryan Pascal, 17, and his mother, Jacques Williams Pascal (Los Angeles)
Ryan and his mother, Jacques, love expressing their artistic side together to create new jewelry and decorations. In the digital age, this activity brings them together and takes them away from their phones. “(It) allows me to connect and engage with my mother. It’s one of the few times in my busy life where I can focus on one thing without any distractions or worries about school and activism,” says Ryan.
Jacques enjoys how making jewelry with his daughter sparks long conversations. “We talk about the various influences that inspire his creativity, which is again a gateway to ideas that otherwise might not be expressed,” she says.
Emily Weinberg, 18, and her mother, Victoria Fraser (Boston)
For years, writing has been an integral part of this couple’s self-care routine. It’s exciting for the two of them to write stories together, expressing their most vulnerable feelings and emotions.
“I do my best to write when I feel upset. Writing it down in a journal helps me keep track of how I’m feeling so I can have discussions with my mom later,” says Weinberg.
“When we’re together, our house is usually buzzing with ongoing conversations about movies, books, or original story ideas,” says Fraser.
Hannah Wiser, 18, and her mother, Corin Wiser (West Palm Beach, Florida)
A few miles outside of West Palm Beach, you can find this mother and daughter pair walking together in the late afternoon. Not only is it a fun way to exercise, but it is also a source of many therapeutic benefits. According to Hannah, “The beach has such a calming and nourishing quality and we always leave feeling better than when we arrived. »
Taking long walks on the beach helps Hannah and her mother feel disconnected from the world. This evokes a feeling of relaxation and self-care that they both enjoy together. “It’s the place where I feel most connected to myself,” Corin explains.
