Our individual mental health is under siege.
Stress, work, fractured relationships.
Political divisiveness, racial tensions, mass shootings.
Change forced upon us, uncertainty, the pandemic.
We are frustrated. We want the pain to go away. We don’t see a way out.
It’s true. We are living in a time with threats we could not have imagined even 50 years ago.
If you think it’s tough now, . . . try doing it for another 30 to 40 years.
Now that’s hard!!!
How are we to improve our mental health when there are so many factors that pull it down?
Change
Change is necessary.
Change is the only answer.
Change is inevitable.
Change is a process.
Change is the easiest way forward.
New behaviors
Resilience.
Believing you can do it.
Better habits.
One little step at a time followed by another, and then another.
Improved mental health will not come about by a simple decision to make it so, because we are not simply mental beings. We are not merely minds interacting with each other.
We live in imperfect and impressionable bodies and our mental health is tied directly to how they feel. Like a car without a properly working engine, our mental health will not be good if our body is not properly taken care of.
We also feel unseen forces in our spirit. Without an awareness of what is going on in there, we flounder through life bouncing off the actions and opinions of others.
Body
Doctors will tell you the effects stress is having on your body from your hair falling out to weight gain, or hives. I am here to tell you that mental health lives in your body. You have actual physical symptoms when faced with mental stress and strain. There is no dividing line between the argument you had with your spouse and your bowels.
When I was training for a marathon, it took 20 weeks to get my body ready for the race. It was a gradual process. Likewise, you can slowly improve your physical health over time. No one can get away with eating an unhealthy diet, living a sedentary life, or operating on too little sleep and feel mentally healthy. The body will simply respond to the stress it feels and effect your mood in a negative way.
If you want to have good mental health, take small steps every day to take care of your body.
Spirit
Imagine a time when you’ve been extremely happy. Maybe it was holding a newborn, watching someone you love succeed, or coming to a deep understanding. These events were more than mere intellectual assent. There was value and meaning to these experiences. Your heart leapt inside your chest, you felt joy in your gut, and your mind soared.
This was your spirit, which is a place beyond simply thinking. It is the true essence of who you are, using your previous experiences and wonder to see life in meaningful ways. Your spirit can be an active participant in life or a passive responder. Either way, it will effect your mental health.
There are many things to do to strengthen your spirit which are not time consuming. They are also free! Here are a few examples. Take a few minutes before you fall asleep to think about things you were grateful for. Chose to be realistically hopeful about your future. Identify what you have faith in.
As you use strengthen your spirit and dream about good days ahead, you will have better mental health.
Mind
You may not know this, but you have complete agency over your thoughts and emotions. Many people don’t believe this principle and have given up the control of these forces to others, to fear, or to past woundedness. Learning to manage your mind is a skill that can be learned just like playing the piano.
It takes a teacher.
It takes practice.
It takes time.
Accept that you can control your thoughts and emotions. You may not be doing a very good job at it today, but that does not mean you cannot get better at it in the future. If you have a repetitive complaint in your mind, you can work to resolve it. To form a new way of thinking, the new thought must be repeated. I recommend the Neurocycle app by Dr. Caroline Leaf which leads you through a 63 day process to form new neuro connections in your brain.
Changing your patterns of thinking and controlling your emotions will improve your mental health.
How long will it take?
No change will happen overnight. If I’m going to learn to dance the tango, I need to go to a teacher, learn the steps, and practice, practice, practice. If you are going to stop your busy mind, you need to go to a teacher (or read a book, or listen to a podcast, or watch a video, or question a calm minded friend), learn the steps, and practice, practice, practice. Do not be like the 8-year-old who gets frustrated with the piano and quits because they are defeated at their lack of progress. Many of us did that, right?
You are an adult now.
This is your life. Now that you know good mental health is within your reach, what will you do to improve it? What small steps will you take? Here are some questions to get you started.
How will you remind yourself to keep working on your mental health daily?
How will you take care of your body?
How will you keep bad influences out of your life?
How will you take care of your mind?
Who will you get inspiration from?
How will you take care of your spirit?
What do you want your life look like in the future?