Mental Health | What it Means | A Place to Start
Updated: Oct 8, 2020
Mental health is not just a lack of mental illness. Mental health is a balance, when we feel ourselves start to lean one way, we must pay attention, and correct the balance. What that looks like can vary for everyone, but there are many tried and true ways of supporting mental health that work for most people.
We aren't taught a single thing in school about mental health, let alone how to manage our minds or emotions. Often there are many behaviors and beliefs that we unconsciously pick up in our early development that are not conducive to being happy and creating the life you want.
For example, when we take a test and receive a bad grade, that's typically the end. You failed. Maybe sometimes you'd be allowed to take it again, but more often than not you are shamed, and given the message, "since you didn't learn this the first time and failed you are stupid."
What if it, instead it went like this:
You're allowed to take the test over again until you understand the material because the goal is education.
The teacher makes note of what you didn't understand and reviews teaching materials and methods to see if changes need to be made to help others better understand in the future as well.
Not to mention public education only values 2-4 kinds of intelligence, and doesn't teach hardly any real life skills.
Failure is the starting point; data that can be used to move us forward. We all fail when learning or starting something new, if failure was praised for what it is—an essential part of the growth and learning process—many of us would take more action because we wouldn't fear the shame of failure.
What's worse, living life too afraid of failure (shame/disappointment) to take risks?
Or taking risks, failing, learning, growing & evolving, and eventually succeeding?
There are numerous ways in which we may be unconsciously programmed, and unknowingly holding ourselves back from doing what we are capable of, and getting what we truly want.
It is important to process your emotions. Feel your feelings.
If we want to have excellent mental health, and create the life we want, it is imperative to accept, allow, and process emotions. Weight gain is often a sign of unprocessed emotion, as well as extreme indifference or lack of interest in anything, alcohol and drug abuse, and excessive media entertainment.
When we deny feeling and processing an emotion, we lock it inside us, and it can show up in a wide variety of unexpected ways.
Coaching can help if you are feeling stuck, unmotivated, stressed, overwhelmed, or simply unsatisfied with where you're at because you know there is more waiting for you.
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Resources
Here is a list of resources that I am continually updating if you're looking for a place to start. Everything I have listed here has helped me, or significantly helped others.
Podcasts are honestly my favorite because I’m always moving and it allows me to learn new stuff while I’m doing tasks that don’t require a lot of thought; working out, driving, cooking dinner, cleaning, etc. If you click on any of the podcasts that have links it will take you an episode that I particularly liked.
MindValley Podcast (MindValley is my favorite personal development education platform, I highly recommend everything they produce)
https://staceyboehman.com/processing-emotions/
Unf*ck Your Brain
EP 83 The thought ladder and thinking v. Believing
EP 82: Generating positive emotion
Optimal Living Daily (On any platform, many great 5-10 minutes episodes.)
The Life Coach School Podcast (#290 Why you drink)
Stories and education with over 600+ illnesses covered.
Nutritionfacts.org (search almost any health ailment and find great information about how your diet may be impacting it)
More added as I remember and discover them.