Season One: Episode 29
Mental Health
I hope you're enjoying the summer health series so far. For me, I feel as though these episodes have helped bring perspective and some healthy changes that were needed to my life. We've had guests on the show to share about fitness, nutrition, detoxing, vocal health, and today I'll be talking about mental health. An article in Medical News Today describes mental health as the way that we think, feel, and behave. In a podcast episode of The Life Coach School Podcast with Brooke Castillo on mental health - from September 24, 2017 - Brooke talked about an interesting thought about how mental health is often looked at in terms of what it isn't. if I'm not mentally ill, then I'm mentally health. But what does mentally healthy look like? It's being the best version of a human as you can be. Not perfection. Not constant happiness. And dealing with the hard things that come our way - facing them, overcoming them, fighting through them, learning from them - these are things that can strengthen our mental health too.
Let's break this down into the three components: Social - Emotional - Psychological.
Please know I'm not a doctor and the information in this podcast should not be misconstrued as medical advice.
SOCIAL
I'll start with the social first. This is the relational piece of our wellness. It involves how we interact with others, how we cultivate friendships, and being a part of others lives just like they are a part of ours. This is an aspect that I feel confident on in making girlfriends to chat with and I have a fairly small group of women that I enjoy doing life with. Not that I wouldn't want more friends, but we tend to focus so much on our girls that this social part can easily slip away. Jeremy and I came to the realization almost a year ago that we were missing a key part of our social health because while we hung out with couples at the girls' sports activities and have gotten to know families through school, we didn't have any couples that we would do things with regularly or that we've gotten to know in a more personal way. Recently we have gotten involved in a small group of five couples at our church and are loving getting together more regularly and learning from them, as well as growing closer to each other. Some ideas for how to build your social health:
1- Do something with a friend or family member
2- Ask someone else about themselves and really listen
3- Make a plan to meet up with a coworker during the summer. Plan an experience together to give you a topic other than work to talk about.
4- Connect with others outside of social media
5- Invited people to have dinner with you - people that you want to get to know better (for us this is our new next door neighbors over the past year)
EMOTIONAL
Your emotional health is another part of your overall mental health. Life isn't always sunny and coming up roses or perfect by any means, but being emotionally healthy means that you're able to acknowledge your emotions and deal with them in health ways. It also means that when life gives you lemons, you're able to make something out of it. You're more resilient and able to overcome challenges. This could be over a longer period of time. Some ideas for building your emotional health:
1- Soak up the joy you've already got. Gratitude journals
2- Make time for things you love. Hobbie and things outside of work
3- Find ways to cope with stress
4- Find your strengths and use them
5- Exercise - movement is great for your brain
PSYCHOLOGICAL
The last aspect is psychological health. I really like how Douglas LaBier, a business psychologist and psychotherapist, described psychological health in his article in the Huffpost. It consists of whatever builds, creates, grows, and sustains instead of that which exploits, extracts, or destroys. He characterized it by actions and outcomes within three realms of our lives: work, relationships, and our role as a future ancestor (our legacy once we're gone).
Work: Psychological health would look like collaboration, creative mindset, engagement, being a team player, making a positive contribution
Relationships: Being open and honest with your partner, mutual respect, and sharing
Future Ancestor: Looking ahead to what we will be leaving when we have passed. Having the desire to leave something - to help persevere and sustain resources
Some ideas for how to build your psychological health:
1- Laugh
2- Be curious
3- Draw a line for boundaries and follow through
4- Think well of yourself and tell yourself positive things. Patricia Harteneck said "How you think about yourself can have a powerful effect on how you feel" (Psychology Today)
5- Pay attention to the now - what you see. Be mindful in the present moment. Yoga or meditation are great ways to do this
6- Look outside yourself
7- Get a good night of sleep - perspective can be improved with a great nap or night of sleep
How you think affects everything. It's being the best version of a human as you can be. I hope that wherever you are this summer that you'll take some time to try some of these mental health tips and be encouraged. You are worth loving and caring and taking time for. We've got this friends.
Mental Health
I hope you're enjoying the summer health series so far. For me, I feel as though these episodes have helped bring perspective and some healthy changes that were needed to my life. We've had guests on the show to share about fitness, nutrition, detoxing, vocal health, and today I'll be talking about mental health. An article in Medical News Today describes mental health as the way that we think, feel, and behave. In a podcast episode of The Life Coach School Podcast with Brooke Castillo on mental health - from September 24, 2017 - Brooke talked about an interesting thought about how mental health is often looked at in terms of what it isn't. if I'm not mentally ill, then I'm mentally health. But what does mentally healthy look like? It's being the best version of a human as you can be. Not perfection. Not constant happiness. And dealing with the hard things that come our way - facing them, overcoming them, fighting through them, learning from them - these are things that can strengthen our mental health too.
Let's break this down into the three components: Social - Emotional - Psychological.
Please know I'm not a doctor and the information in this podcast should not be misconstrued as medical advice.
SOCIAL
I'll start with the social first. This is the relational piece of our wellness. It involves how we interact with others, how we cultivate friendships, and being a part of others lives just like they are a part of ours. This is an aspect that I feel confident on in making girlfriends to chat with and I have a fairly small group of women that I enjoy doing life with. Not that I wouldn't want more friends, but we tend to focus so much on our girls that this social part can easily slip away. Jeremy and I came to the realization almost a year ago that we were missing a key part of our social health because while we hung out with couples at the girls' sports activities and have gotten to know families through school, we didn't have any couples that we would do things with regularly or that we've gotten to know in a more personal way. Recently we have gotten involved in a small group of five couples at our church and are loving getting together more regularly and learning from them, as well as growing closer to each other. Some ideas for how to build your social health:
1- Do something with a friend or family member
2- Ask someone else about themselves and really listen
3- Make a plan to meet up with a coworker during the summer. Plan an experience together to give you a topic other than work to talk about.
4- Connect with others outside of social media
5- Invited people to have dinner with you - people that you want to get to know better (for us this is our new next door neighbors over the past year)
EMOTIONAL
Your emotional health is another part of your overall mental health. Life isn't always sunny and coming up roses or perfect by any means, but being emotionally healthy means that you're able to acknowledge your emotions and deal with them in health ways. It also means that when life gives you lemons, you're able to make something out of it. You're more resilient and able to overcome challenges. This could be over a longer period of time. Some ideas for building your emotional health:
1- Soak up the joy you've already got. Gratitude journals
2- Make time for things you love. Hobbie and things outside of work
3- Find ways to cope with stress
4- Find your strengths and use them
5- Exercise - movement is great for your brain
PSYCHOLOGICAL
The last aspect is psychological health. I really like how Douglas LaBier, a business psychologist and psychotherapist, described psychological health in his article in the Huffpost. It consists of whatever builds, creates, grows, and sustains instead of that which exploits, extracts, or destroys. He characterized it by actions and outcomes within three realms of our lives: work, relationships, and our role as a future ancestor (our legacy once we're gone).
Work: Psychological health would look like collaboration, creative mindset, engagement, being a team player, making a positive contribution
Relationships: Being open and honest with your partner, mutual respect, and sharing
Future Ancestor: Looking ahead to what we will be leaving when we have passed. Having the desire to leave something - to help persevere and sustain resources
Some ideas for how to build your psychological health:
1- Laugh
2- Be curious
3- Draw a line for boundaries and follow through
4- Think well of yourself and tell yourself positive things. Patricia Harteneck said "How you think about yourself can have a powerful effect on how you feel" (Psychology Today)
5- Pay attention to the now - what you see. Be mindful in the present moment. Yoga or meditation are great ways to do this
6- Look outside yourself
7- Get a good night of sleep - perspective can be improved with a great nap or night of sleep
How you think affects everything. It's being the best version of a human as you can be. I hope that wherever you are this summer that you'll take some time to try some of these mental health tips and be encouraged. You are worth loving and caring and taking time for. We've got this friends.
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