The key to good mental health
Let’s talk about mental health. It’s a hard one, because I feel it still can be largely stigmatised and not “normalised.”
There has definitely been large strides forward in bringing it into the mainstream conversation, but I know that for me personally, I battle with my own subconscious self limiting beliefs around what is acceptable to share.
For fear of being judged and labeled.
The old “if they really knew what went on In my head, they’d reject me” playlist.
As someone who has worked really hard on developing self awareness and cultivating practices for self regulation, I still find myself caught in the struggles of anxiety.
I’ve noticed that pregnancy has exacerbated some weird and wonderful intrusive or irrational anxious thoughts for me. In context, it actually makes a lot to sense given that our nervous system is informed by previous experiences.
The stats are pretty compelling too – with 50% of people experiencing some sort of mental health issue in their life. I personally think that’s probably a lot higher, but even if half the people in the country have gone through something like anxiety or depression, that should normalise it.
I’ve found that being able to feel safe to openly talk about thoughts or feelings has helped me. Not necessarily in a professional setting either, but with friends or family who listen and sometimes laugh, without judgement. When someone validates you with simply saying “oh yer, that’s happened to me so many times…” that can be a huge relief.
I’ve also learned that I have to create time and space to sit still in. With a toddler, life can feel intense. A mentor once told me that the only way to reconnect with a sense of calm is stillness. Not what you want to do when you’re feeling overstimulated and in fight or flight mode, but it has validity.
Learning how to develop a relationship with the breath is the free solution to resetting an overworked nervous system.
I don’t think we know how to truly listen and hear someone else. We’re so busy with what’s going on in our own heads, it’s difficult to take on anything more. Either mentally or emotionally.
All I can say is, if we can normalise conversations and help people feel less afraid of judgement, then we all start healing in someway.
