The importance of Mental Health

Mental health is a state of your mental wellness, involving your emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Much like how physical health is important to our daily functioning, your state of mental health can have a direct impact on how we think, feel, and act.

For example, imagine waking up after a long night of argument with a loved one and little sleep. You haven’t had your coffee as you have overslept, and traffic this morning was bad. As you navigate traffic, you get a phone call from your manager who says he/she would like to have a conversation with you once you get to work today. What might come up for you in that moment about this upcoming “conversation”?

If you are in a state of heightened stress or low mood like in context, you might perceive things from a more negative lens than you typically would without these added stressors. Your mind might start racing for some not-so-great reasons as to why your manager might want to speak to you urgently. You might find yourself more prone or vulnerable to behavioural patterns that you rather not engage in or that may take you further from what you value. For example, tailgating/honking at slow drivers, snapping at our loved ones, or withdrawing from others when you desire deeper social connection.

When we have good mental well-being, however, we are in a better position to cope with stressors and navigate different challenges in life. Consider your mental welling as petrol in your tank. Despite your best intention to arrive at your destination, you will likely struggle to get there unless you have sufficient petrol in your tank to drive your vehicle.

Stressors are inevitable and may not always be within our control. However, as we navigate stressors and the different challenges in life, here are some tips to reduce our vulnerability and position us for mental wellness:

Giving your body what it needs.

Your body requires the essential to run smoothly and keep the body in a state of homeostatic well-being. Your body’s needs can impact on your vulnerability to mood swings. This means it needs food for energy, water for hydration, adequate sleep for recovery, and some exercise/physical activity for optimal well-being.

Investing in yourself.

Choose to prioritise yourself despite busy schedules and commitments. Allocate time to yourself and accumulating positive emotions by doing things that are pleasant. If you are unable to find time for yourself, do your schedules and commitments need to be reconsidered?

Remembering and building on your strengths.

We all have strengths, and sometimes we need to be reminded of that. Actively build mastery by doing things that you enjoy. For example, working on your next car project, fixing things around the house, playing on a musical instrument, or hosting an event for your interest group.

As you persist in practising and doing these things, you also build a sense of mastery and achievement.

Cope ahead.

If you are anticipating challenges ahead for the week that you feel uncomfortable with, have a think about why they feel challenging. For example, is it because you do not have adequate skills to navigate an uncomfortable conversation, or is this because you anticipate negative self-talk about yourself?

This allows you the opportunity to decide ahead of time (and practice as needed) on how you might cope with the upcoming stressors effectively without negatively impacting on what you value.

If you would like to have a conversation further on how to navigate this, or to improve your mental health and would like to engage with one of our clinicians to support your journey in flourishing, please contact us at Prosper Health Collective for further information on 6381 0071.