Are you Mentally healthy?

Mental Health has become the buzz word and rightly so, as more awareness is being raised to ensure people understand that we all have a mental health which should be looked after just like we look after other areas of our lives.




Positive thoughts Positive Life

Some years ago, not many people understood the need to be mentally healthy. Not many people spoke publicly about their mental health challenges. 
Thankfully, the reverse is the case now. 

Prince William, recently opened up about mental health pressures in a BBC TV documentary. He talked about the pain of losing his mother at an early age, and he alongside his brother Prince Harry launched a mental health campaign called Heads Together.I also watched a documentary on BBC called ''Nadiya: Anxiety and Me", where Nadiya Hussain openly addressed her issues with Anxiety.

I lost my mother almost 4 years ago, and I can relate with Prince William and Prince Harry on the emotional effect of losing a loved one. I still grief for my mum, and just recently recognised that I need help with dealing with those emotions.

More and more people, celebrities and regular people alike are talking about their mental health.  Some days ago, while speaking to a colleague of mine who happens to be the mental health champion for my team, she mentioned that sometimes you feel poorly, like having a headache or a cold, and you don't need to see a doctor, all you need is over the counter medication and rest. While sometimes, a person may have health issues like a bacterial infection that requires seeing a doctor, while some people have serious health issues that may require surgery.
She likened it to our mental health, some days, you may feel down with emotions such as sadness, anxiety, low self esteem and you can easily shake it off and get back to your normal healthy mental state. However, if a person is having difficulty getting back to their normal healthy state of mind, and these emotions are taking over their lives, making them unable to function then they need to seek help.

I believe no one is immune to having bad days. I am not happy everyday, am not excited or motivated everyday.Some days I get overwhelmed trying to balance my responsibilities as a wife, mother with my personal needs.

It doesn't help that we live in a 'modern' world of loneliness ( with internet and social media reducing actual human interaction with others), a world of 'pressure' to impress and create a perception of success or wealth. The pressure to achieve all your life goals before the golden age of '30' or '40'. The pressure to be the ideal weight '65kg' wearing size '8' or '10'. The pressure to look certain way. The pressure to always buy expensive birthday gifts or Christmas gifts for friends and family. The pressure to have your kids dressed in the best clothes and shoes. Or the pressure to enrol your kids for every  after school activity there is, just to show that you are a good parent. The list of modern pressures is endless...

Not surprisingly, all these affect our mental health. Especially when a person begins to feel he/she is not meeting up with societal expectations. Recent statistics shows that more people are using one anti-depressant drugs than ever before in the UK

Being mentally healthy requires making conscious effort to determine what takes priority in your life. Recognising that most battles start from the mind. Learning how to strike a balance and be fully grounded. Learning to identify situations or people that cause us distress, and being able to distance ourselves from it./them. Knowing what makes you happy, and actively making yourself happy. Maintaining an atmosphere of positivity, being willing to talk to someone and not being ashamed to seek professional help if the need arises.

For me, I have learnt over the last few years to recognise when my emotions are running haywire. I know when negative thoughts start dropping into my mind, and I know what to do to address it. I know when am feeling down and discouraged, I recognise when am tired both physically and mentally. Am learning to recognise a distressing situation, and most importantly I take BREAKS.

I take a break from social media occasionally, I take physical breaks for rest. I know how to withdraw into my personal shell and recharge area. I have recently recognised that  I need to speak to a professional about the grief and guilt I feel due to the death of my mum. I am guarding my mental health jealously

Your mental health is very important, you need to be mentally healthy in order to function at optimal levels and achieve your goals. Protect your mental health and guard it.


One Love
xx

#mentalhealthawarenessmonth


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The Power of Positive Thinking and Desires.

I remember reading the book "The Secret" some years ago, based on the recommendation of my former boss, who ensured all his employees read it. He was of the opinion that reading that book will positively affect our productivity at work. I am not sure if it affected my productivity, but I am sure that it had a profound effect on me.

Controlling our thoughts is one of the most difficult skills to master. I for example, found it extremely difficult to ponder on a thought for long. I often got distracted by things around me, my mind wanders off to so many places, and routine activities. I find myself thinking about what to make for diner, if I have booked after school for my son? so many things go through my mind per second. I often joke that my mind is like a laptop with so many tabs open.

My post today is not just about being focused on a thought, but rather just like "The Secret", its about thinking positive and uplifting thoughts. It is about creating positive energy though our thoughts, and sending it into the atmosphere, which in turn will bring positive things into our lives.

Some months ago, I wrote a post on "In Favour of Flexibility".  You can read it here . At the time of writing that post, I was a jobless , stay-at-home mum, who occasionally volunteered at a non-profit organisation. I had relocated to a new country, gotten pregnant, and subsequently been off work for over 3 years raising a family. I was keen on getting back into the workforce. I was told by some people, how it would be hard for me to get a professional role, even with my previous experience, because I had no UK work experience. But, I had a strong desire of what kind of job I wanted. I wanted a job that will enable me to grow, I wanted an industry that will force me to learn new things, most importantly, I wanted to have time for my family. I consciously thought about how I would want my work-life to be balanced. I was serious about wanting a career as a woman as well as wanting to be actively involved in my children's life. Those were my thoughts and my desires. I even went as far as putting it to paper by writing about it.

Well, it shouldn't come as a surprise that, within 3 months of that post, I got a good job in a reputable organization. A job that provides the work-life balance I so earnestly desired and put into the universe through my thoughts. I attribute this to the energy I sent into the atmosphere and the work done to prepare myself for the job.

As a person, I do not follow the full guidelines stated in "The Secret", but one thing I do, is think positive thoughts, I day dream about the kind of life I want. I have a mental picture of where I would like to be, what I would like to achieve, and things I would like to do. I think about it, wish for it, work towards it and pray about it.

Like Earl Nightingale said "We become what we think about".

Action Point: Dream Big. Think about the best you can achieve, and start working towards it.

One Love