Mental Wellbeing

In this article I will outline and talk about some things which help to maintain your mental wellbeing. Mental wellbeing is a large topic with a lots of studies and research and isn’t a single set thing and so therefore I will only cover a handful of things which has helped with my own mental wellbeing.

Firstly I have experienced mental health issues in the past and so speak from some level of experience. The first thing you should know is that regardless of if you get sectioned under the mental health act, everyone in their own way experiences/have experienced their mental health problems. Its a very normal thing to experience. There is still stigma surrounding mental health which only adds to the difficulty.

Don’t be brought down by people treating you differently because you have experienced mental health issues

Don’t listen to these people that try to put you down because you’ve experienced or are experiencing mental health difficulty. You don’t need such people in your life, believe me.

A big thing you can do to help maintain good mental health is meditation. Studies have shown that it reduces stress and anxiety and helps increase your focus in the tasks that you do. It also helps you to be peaceful and who wouldn’t want peace in their lives?

Praying as well has helped me considerably with my own mental wellbeing, when praying focus and imagine the feeling of that problem being solved which you are praying for as the law of mutual attraction (like attracts like) is very real.

Another big thing is exercise. Its so easy to stay depressed thinking I don’t want to exercise, I’m depressed and lazy etc. But regular exercise has proven to be as effective for treating depression than anti-depresesants.

Also another thing to add is that its important to find activities which you find joyful and fullfilling, this could be learning a new language, learning a new sport, learning a martial arts, art classes, anything which you feel drawn to.

Furthermore, look to identify things which bring you down in some way in your life, this could be people whom you interact with, the content you consume such as the news which in my opinion only has the effect of promoting negativity on the world. Once identified remove these things from your life so that you can easily replace them with more positive things that bring you joy.

Moreover, its important to have an emotional support network during bad times and important to talk to them or someone whom you feel confortable talking to whom you feel you can trust. Don’t make the mistake of believing that they won’t understand your struggle. Exercise yoir own good judgement with what you say and who you talk to about it.

Another thing which is quite important for mental wellbeing which I never quite appreciated is that bottiling up things, emotional traumas isn’t a healthy thing to do. Which is why you should express your feelings, instead of hiding it in the closet to be addressed at a later date. I use the analogy of trash (problems you hide from yourself) and the more things you hide from yourself, the bigger the trash accumulates until it comes crashing down at the cost of yourself. Point being is don’t hide problems from yourself, they will need to be addressed at some point whether you like it or not.

Also, what you focus on grows, if you’re always focussing on the problems and the stress then you will have problems and stress. Whereas, if you focus on getting better and avoid focussing on things which bring you down, then you are much more likely to feel better and feel more joy.

In conclusion, mental health isn’t as discussed as it should be due to stigma surrounding it. Don’t be discouraged if you experience it, its completely normal and you are not ‘insane’ and don’t believe you are. Just focus on yourself and leave others to their own judgements of you. God Bless.

Below are some articles I have written of relevance to this discussion that you may find useful and a video on depression.

Self-Acceptance
Self Compassion
Self Forgiveness
Video on Depression\

Update 1: 08/03/22

Compassion
Meditation
Prayer
Lost at Sea
Found at Sea
Finding your Ideal Partner
Being Authentic and True to Yourself
Judgement
Practice Spirituality in Secret