How important is it to have a week highlighting our Mental Health? This week, all week we will witness social media, T.V., newspapers and magazine articles all talking about Mental Health. Celebrities, sports personalities and Royals will all share their experiences with their own M.H. in a bid to help others to do the same.
But what does this Mental Week awareness week actually achieve? Does any benefit come from it afterwards? Or does it all get forgotten about? What actually is Mental Health? OUR Mental health?
Our Mental Health is a reflection of our thinking process – our thoughts, moment to moment throughout our day. Positive thoughts bring us happiness, a sense of contentment and peace of mind. Negative thoughts bring us angst, worry and stress. It is natural to swing from positive to negative thoughts throughout our day as well as negative to positive as well.
However, to keep our mind healthy, we need to be able to develop the ability to think more positively than negatively – (even in the most challenging circumstances) by letting go the negative emotions that go hand in hand with negative thinking.
So the best way to look after our Mental Health is to learn how to manage our emotions so that we are not mental victims of the troubles around us and become more of an observer. This doesn’t mean we avoid our challenging experiences – it means we can learn to manage our emotions and feelings and in turn our thought process. This allows us to look after our Mental Health more effectively. Or to put it another way, keep our mind healthy!
2022 is bringing us more and more challenges to manage mentally. The cost of living crisis, economic pressure on our businesses, threat to global peace and security, disappointment in our politicians and then there is climate change and how to best reverse it. PHEW! What has life become for ourselves, our families and our children in the 21st century? Is it any wonder that our Mental Health is under pressure right now? Which means that M.H. week can only be a positive thing… right?
If talking helps, which of course it does, we all need to get the message out there that this week, of all weeks, is the perfect time to talk about our thoughts. Especially if we feel afraid, isolated or even just confused about where our life is going right now? It is ok to question; it is ok to share; it is ok to talk about it! This is looking after our mental health. It is not a weakness to talk about our thoughts…are you listening guys?! It is strength. Talking helps, talking heals; talking is healthy; mentally healthy.
Take time this week and ask yourself how healthy your mental thought process is? How might you make it better? Perhaps you know someone who could use some help too? Don’t be hard on yourself if you are concerned about anything? That is not the unhealthy. Doing nothing about it, is! Troubled thoughts fester, positive minds prosper. We just need to recognise the difference and do something by learning how. Then all can be well – regardless of the challenge. We aren’t meant to suffer; we are all capable of coping…honestly!