I believe any mental health issues, depression, anxieties, post-traumatic stress disorders are real. More than real, and we have to admit it, lately became part of many people’s lives. The events that affected our lives in the last year and a half are not easy to comprehend and overcome; they have no precedent in human history. Fear, social distancing, being in a lockdown, closed schools and businesses, to name a few, are events many of us could not imagine, even in the worse nightmares. Admittedly, they could have affected our mental health and the mental health of our parents and our kids.
If you feel that you have any minor changes in your mental health, feeling more sad, depressed or anxious than usual, or feel any deviation of your typical perceiving of the world around you, try to understand that this is nothing to be ashamed of. It is crucial that you don’t try to hide the change in your mental state but openly talk about it. Talk about your feelings and thoughts. Admit to yourself that you have to deal with something, and don’t bury it deep into your unconsciousness. Try to react immediately, and don’t wait for the problem to become bigger and completely overgrow your positive mental health. After realizing it, it is time to start coping with it. Same as if you have a physical disease. If we get a fever, we don’t hide, we don’t feel ashamed, but we immediately react accordingly to heal ourselves as soon as possible. Timing is crucial as well when balancing our mental health. I believe the struggle for mental health is real, but I don’t think that we wake up one Monday morning depressed. I believe we are slowly drowning in a state where we are losing the connection with ourselves, our mind, and we drown daily more profoundly until we reach a state of a complete shift away from positive mental health.
The next thing you need to internalize is that YOU didn’t change; you are just in a darker phase in your life, and that will pass. You have to decide not to accept this negative shift in your mental state to become a part of you and start working on it. Many books are written about the topic; it is much literature out there with different breathing and relaxation techniques, meditation and body&mind workouts. Find what resonates with you and go for it.
However, there is something you need to do every single day to help yourself. As American Psychiatric Association mandates, everyone who copes with any mental health issues must exercise every day. It would be best if you went out of the house in nature every single day. You don’t need to run; you can go for a walk but go out, connect with nature, breathe fresh air and bathe every cell of your brain with the healing frequencies of trees and sun. Suppose you can walk barefoot for a while. Don’t wait for the perfect weather, and don’t search for an excuse. Try for this physical push like your life depends on it because it does. Because when you physically move, your physiology changes. And when your physiology changes, you change your brain and hormones. Your state of energy changes. Compare the energetic state of waters; a standstill pond versus mountain river rapids. The difference in the form of energy is enormous.
Move your body, change your mind, change the physiology of the brain and don’t “think yourself into the depression.” Be aware; your mind listens to every thought of yours. Good or bad. Treat yourself with love and loving thoughts, and never give up. Life is beautiful, and every one of us has the right to experience and live it like that.
Never forget that “THE BEST SIX DOCTORS” are sunshine, water, air, exercise, rest and diet. And you can visit them anytime and how often you decide to.
With love,
Spela
