DEFINING MENTAL HEALTH

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH + ASKING & OFFERING HELP.

Firstly, thank-you for the likes & comments last week. Especially those who shared their struggles.

If we approach mental health like, say a fitness programme, what does that mean in terms of making sure we get results?

• Something you can work on and improve.

• Something that needs constant action to maintain. 

• Something that fluctuates all the time... YES YOU'RE NORMAL. We all have ups and downs!!

  
  

But what are we looking to work on? In fitness and health it’s things like eating, movement, sleep. And you can break it down into smaller areas like strength, flexibility etc.

I believe there are equivalent daily actions we can do to grow and improve our mental well-being. And evidence is growing that backs this belief up. For example, having something meaningful in your life is known to contribute to longevity and as feeling of belonging. You might call this purpose.

The World Health Organisation has a lot of information around mental health. It talks about 5 elements that contribute to good mental well-being.

• How you feel generally about yourself and your life. 

• How you deal with everyday stress.

• How you function in the/a community.

• Do you feel you have the option to move towards your potential and/or dreams?

• The quality of your relationships.

If you imagine these five areas all going pretty well it would be harder for your mental health to decline.

So I hope that gives people a guide in what the markers are for ‘good’ mental health. If you’ve got all those elements firing you’re doing very well. I know mine all fluctuate because, like my physical health, I have ups and downs.

That’s normal.

OK we can talk about those in more detail down the track.

But from the comments last week it occurred to me that asking for help (& asking ‘Are you ok?’) is really hard. It’s uncomfortable, we know that. We don’t want to be a burden, we’re embarrassed etc.  Which is why by talking publicly like this we can chip away at the discomfort. 

Is it embarrassing to have a physical injury? Then a mind “injury” shouldn’t be either!

I have a lot more about this for next week but I’ll finish with something to try when asking or offering.

Play with words like-

“At the moment my mind is saying or telling me that life is too hard/I’m a loser” or whatever it’s saying.

“I’m really struggling with my mind at the moment”

Or when offering something like-

“How are you with your thinking at the moment”

I feel that words like THINKING, MIND AND HEART take the label (ie you seem depressed) or intensity out of it. Perhaps creates space, an inlet, for a chat?

Suggestions welcome in the comments.

Wishing all your minds calm and kindness for the week.