Just a Few May Mental Health Points
Some Simple Yet Profound Adages For Mental Health
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. What ought we do to optimize our mental health? We could go on for ages with such a list. . .obviously! But sometimes, the suggested items can seem a little. . .well. . .uh. . too general or obvious. However, these very general tips can never be said too much because that’s the reality of mental health. Our minds run on so many countless gears we must keep applying those basic principles like those cartoon centipedes would have to tie each of their 100 proverbial shoes. What are some of those essential tips I just can never apply enough? I’ll be happy to share a few with you.
Don’t Fixate Too Much Over Things
One time when I was a kid at my local library, there was a new clock in the children’s section. I am not exactly sure what the design of the clock was, but it was something playful and sculptured like this.
I tended to want to touch things I wasn’t supposed to. So, right away upon seeing this clock, my ten-year-old self went up and pushed the clock hands slightly to the left, messing up the hour hand. Right away, one of the librarians said “Don’t touch that please!” But I also tended to feel guilty about things, so I kept dreading that the clock was now the wrong time. After a while, I went back over to the clock and wanted so much to adjust the clock back to the right time. Unfortunately, when I touched the clock this time It fell off the wall. Out came the batteries. I remember the librarian coming out to pick up the clock and take it back to the office without saying a word.
Countless times, repetitive or hyper-focused thinking is positive. How many times must we mull over the problem’s same aspects countless times when trying to solve a puzzle or riddle? Numerous forms of prayer or meditation are very repetitive. Such intensive focus is valuable in itself in the proper dosage.
But ruminating unhealthily about things is likely to bring more negatives than positives. Just let something be if it is weighing down on you in an unhealthy way. Things tend to balance themselves out.
Breathe In And Out
So simple, yet so profound. Deep breathing helps with so many mental health conditions including anxiety. These exercises may not work out your breathing muscles too much(though it does help you develop healthier breathing habits), but they do help you to find physical, mental, and spiritual rebalance.
If you sing or play one or more instruments, you know the importance of deep breathing. You must be able to push oxygen through a trumpet or flute, and often you must carry your voice through many measures of high notes. The same can be said about carrying yourself through stressful and difficult times. Breathing deep and standing tall make all the difference.
Count Your Blessings
Imagine you are having a bad day or even a period of profound mental and spiritual darkness. The principle resounds to the age-old hymn: “Count your blessings.” This is not just a Thanksgiving cheer or greeting card statement, but it can counter the worst of negative thoughts. As you may feel burdened and downtrodden, the song states “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” This can be the small things, like the sun shining outside or a breath of fresh air. Another key part of this is, as Marianne Williamson says, to “Take stock of your thoughts and behavior.” If you have a negative thought, try to counter it with a positive one. If you do this each time, along with other strategies, then you may come to see yourself as having a more positive outlook.
Human nature seems to so often lead us to view things through a negative lens. It isn’t enough that we got a bonus on our paycheck, the bonus was supposed to be bigger. The sports team that made it to second place in the national championships might easily cry at their loss to the championship winner rather than celebrate the rise to second place. Societies continue to punish people who have worked to rehabilitate themselves and make recompense for past offenses rather than celebrate their rise from darkness. Yet a positive outlook yields immeasurable health benefits. Counting your blessings is one essential part of that lifestyle choice to think positively.
Live In The Present
Embrace the present moment right in front of you. Why is this age-old adage so difficult to follow? As life unfolds, we often tend to feel overwhelmed when things seem to drift farther away from what they once were. And while the past is a huge monster or burden for some, for others the future is anything but promising. How can you look forward to the decades ahead if you are facing serious physical or mental health or if life has not unfolded the way you imagined?
Despite the tugging from the past or pulling from the future, the present moment truly has unlimited riches unfolding each second. Some essential parts of focusing on the present include taking note of our surroundings and slowing down to take one thing at a time. When we savor the infinite riches unfolding in the present, we can see the waters from the past still flowing and the seeds of the future already taking root. In the present, we find rebalance.
We have only scratched the surface of common mental health tips and tidbits.
Some of these adages and principles need to be more cliche. Yet sometimes the most well-known and simple premises are the most difficult to follow. Yet as May brings a whole 31 days of mental health awareness, these principles are constantly about application. Thoughts and prayers for the best of mental health to you and yours, not just this month of May but the whole year through.
