Here on the Highway to Health Health Coaching newsletter, we often talk about the importance of what and how we eat, as well as how and how often we move, and how it affects our overall wellness. I hope, or have at least tried, to give equal time to the value of mental health as a critical component of the whole wellness approach.
While it’s important every month of the year, putting our mental well-being in the spotlight this May will perhaps help us acknowledge how vital it is to increase our awareness of our own—and other’s —mental state, and how to nurture it.
Mental illness is often invisible, and many people who suffer never talk about it because of the stigma and ignorance surrounding it. For example, people suffering from depression are not just "sad", people suffering from anxiety disorder are not just "nervous", people who have BPD or bipolar disorder are not just "moody".
Here’s some information about common mental health conditions. (Courtesy of the National Alliance on Mental Illness)
People with mental illnesses can be very "high functioning", but suffer tremendously. Take the time to read, learn, and ask questions.
One way to begin to eradicate the stigma of mental illness is to talk about it. When I was in my early 20’s, I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. It may have been inherited, as my parents both suffered from it as well; it may have been circumstantial, triggered by a chaotic home situation as a child, or by my attempts to self-medicate as a teen and young adult. Regardless, I had it. It’s an illness. Asking someone why they have depression or anxiety is like asking someone why they have cancer or heart disease: yes, there may be causal factors, but that doesn’t help the person who is ill. Mental illness is treatable and manageable, but often the person afflicted deals with it as a lifelong condition. Startlingly, few people realize this, including those who are suffering. Bottom line: illness is illness, not a character flaw.
Cognitive therapy and pharmaceutical treatments are one way to manage mental conditions, but they aren’t the only way. Like medical treatments for physical conditions, they have their value; and everyone’s experience is different.
The internet has turned many modalities into memes and clichés, but don’t knock them if you haven’t tried them. Yoga, meditation, exercise, journaling, equine therapy, music and art therapy, hobbies like cooking and gardening are among the many complementary treatments and practices that have helped people cope.
The trick is to find the one that works for you, so it may be hit-and-miss at first. Don’t give up. I promise, there’s something out there that will bring you joy, or at least a moment of peace: it may also reveal something about yourself (as good therapy often does).
Another potentially useful tool is to track your moods and activities: it helps deliver some insight as to what triggers may exacerbate (or alleviate) your symptoms. A favorite free app I use for this is Daylio. It’s super quick and easy.
If you are suffering, remember: you are not alone.
Wanna talk about it? Leave a comment.
About that last issue…
Okay, so clearly my comic skills need work.
Apparently, my last issue (dated April 1st, ahem) didn’t land the way I had hoped. Just to clarify: the information contained therein is not necessarily accurate.
Let’s FACT CHECK IT:
-There is no UDU (“You Do You”) diet (although eating whatever you want is perfectly ok—on occasion, and within reason)
-Watching rigorous physical activity, while enjoyable and entertaining, will NOT boost your metabolism almost as much as actually doing it (did the Rick Astley video fail to give this one away?)
-‘Psychologists’ (note the single quotes, which were meant to represent “air quotes”) do NOT recommend that we help create personal boundaries by saying whatever is on our minds, just as long as you tack on the phrase “I’m just speaking my truth!” (this one may have been the most difficult to identify as satire, probably because we all know someone who actually does this and have thus been normalized to it)
*Sigh*. Good thing I don’t write a comedy newsletter. Besides, health is no laughing matter!
Anyway, Happy (almost) Spring. Get your vaccinations, get outside, and Be Well.