THERE CAN BE NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH

INTRODUCTION

At some point in life, you will encounter challenges that may impact your emotional, mental and behavioural functioning. It's important that when life throws you rotten 🍅 🍅 🍅, and you find yourself struggling to cope, you seek help.

MENTAL HEALTH & HEALTH - THE LINK

Your mental health care starts with your ability to accept when you need help, notice your strengths and weaknesses, and evaluate if your coping strategies are working or detrimental to your mental well-being.  

Often when facing challenges, many use the following as coping strategies or to escape: self-isolation, smoking tobacco, taking risks,  using substances and alcohol, over-sleeping, not eating, over-eating, aggressive behaviour and/or violence. 

If  your coping strategies have not  been bearing fruits, it maybe advisable to seek professional help, and allow yourself to be  empowered through evidence-based therapeutic interventions; develop positive coping strategies, and effective stress management skills . 

Sometimes just talking to someone who would not judge you but listen can help. Often we feel hurt because we are not heard.

It is okay to admit to ourselves that we are angry, hurt, anxious, frustrated, helpless, sad, fearful, depressed etc, it is infact, the beginning of our emotional healing process when we can notice our pain and anxieties, and do something  about it. You have to realise that sometimes; it is normal to feel the way you do considering what you may be going through.

 It is okay not to be okay, life is not without challenges, so, noticing things within our control, and accepting those that are outside our control helps to reduce stress, anxieties and prevents psychosomatic ailments.

 1. Addressing things that are within your circle of influence, and

2.  Noticing that; worrying and ruminating about certain situations such as the global political and socio-economic upheavals is not helpful as such issues are beyond you maybe beneficial towards reducing your level of stress.

3. This is to say; worrying about issues outside your control will not change the statuesque,  but rather, it may affect your immune system due to prologed anxiety, may affect your health and steal your peace and joy.

#Remember: your mental health starts with you, your peace and happiness are your responsibility. Make a conscious decision to make your mental health your priority.

You do not have control over other people's thoughts, emotions and behaviours, but you have control over your thoughts, emotions and behaviour. 

Negative, irrational, and/or distorted thinking pattern, and constant negative self-sabotaging thoughts will impact your emotions, and your emotions will influence your behaviour. The whole process will become a cycle, and eventually you'll become what you think. Watch your thoughts, they become you; they become character traits.

 We often perceive things as we are, not as they are. When you notice the rumination, address it; process the thoughts: ask yourself; 

 - Is this helpful?

  - Is it beneficial ?

 -  Is it true? 

 - Will it still be an issue 3 months to a year from now? 

 - Is it worth my energy? 

 - Has the 24/7- thinking changed the situation?

Sometimes what appears to be a problem, may just be a reality to be accepted. If you can't change it, leave it alone!

CONCLUSION

Not taking care of your mental health can lead to medical health issues such as high blood pressure, backache, chronic headaches,  sleeping disorders, stomach problems, skin problems and so on. So, taking care of your mental health, will help keep you healthier and "keep the doctor away".

 There can never be health without mental health, the two are interlinked. When having a chronic medical condition, you'll experience  emotional and mental issues such as stress, worry, sleepless nights, lathergy, depression, loss of appetite etc, and as a result of stress and worry, your immune system may get compromised, and your health condition may worsen. As your health worsens, you'll worry more; your mental health will also worsen, it becomes a cycle; hence,"there can be no health without mental health".