Mental Health- The Wellness Model
Mental health tends to carry an unfair stigma within our society. Not many people want to talk about it, and even less know how to appropriately treat it.
There are certainly some tips and tricks we can try to utilize before having to start a medication regimen (which would be ideal), but if that doesn’t work, medication may be a necessity.
Let’s break down some extremely helpful ways we can help build our mental wellbeing and improve the outlook we have with life!
Remember, mental wellbeing takes practice. Just like working out at the gym takes time to build muscle….we want to build brain muscle by reinforcing certain techniques to help us cope with our day-to-day stressors.
Least Invasive And The Most Effective
People don’t seem to understand that they do not have to rush right into a medication to resolve their issues.
Certainly, there are extenuating circumstances in anything we do, but for 99% of the population, cognitive-behavioral techniques have been proven time and time again to be the most effective treatment.
Cognitive-behavioral techniques are interventions that can drastically improve mental health and wellbeing.
They focus on improving emotional regulation, developing individualized coping strategies that help you get through challenging times, and improving unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors.
Unfortunately, because mental health has a big stigma with society, we have not been taught effective coping mechanisms growing up and that leads to a slew of unhealthy defensive mechanisms that can alter relationships and affect personal growth.
Cognitive-behavioral techniques can help us learn how to cope with anxious feelings/thoughts, work through depressive symptoms, avoid panic attacks, help us steer clear of painful addictions to substances, minimize the recurrence of eating disorders, avoid irritability/anger and overcome phobias!
There are literally so many tools and techniques out there that are very underutilized and many individuals haven’t even heard of them.
The most important aspect of this intervention is to teach you that you cannot control everything around you, however, you can control how you react to specific situations.
I would recommend searching for a valued behavioral help therapist in your area to learn how they can individualize these techniques to your needs.
You can even look on YouTube or Google some ideas to get you going in the right direction!
Even if you don’t feel that this would be impactful, I guarantee it will help you learn a different perspective that might make all the difference!
Guided Meditation
Before you go scoffing at this, just hear me out.
This is much more impactful than anyone gives it credit. From helping you fall asleep at night to building up your confidence, helping you manage your anger, reduce anxiety…this tool literally does it all.
There are several platforms out there that offer this service for varying prices and some that are free.
You don’t need to be a practicing monk and reach your pinnacle of spirituality. All you need to do is shut up and listen.
Pretty darn simple.
I most certainly wouldn’t start off at listening to something that is 20 minutes long because you will lose interest and zone out.
Start slow and ease into it. Start around 2 minutes and see if that is palatable.
I personally listen to it prior to sleep so it can help me get out of my own thoughts and allow me to ease into a restful sleep without high levels of anxiety.
This has always helped me in the past- be it for my board exams to dealing with a stressful relationship.
Guided meditation has been there to help guide me through and allow me to work through my thoughts in a positive and meaningful way.
Again, I know it is not for everyone, but it certainly won’t hurt to give it a try.
A Quick Fix, There Isn’t
Our society has cultivated this perception that we need to have a pill to fix our problems. That could not be further from the truth.
There is no quick fix for our mental health, just like there are no quick fixes or shortcuts to getting the physique we desire.
It takes work, dedication, and patience to achieve things in life.
Unfortunately, we live in a society that rewards instant gratification and knee-jerk reactions. Please don’t fall under a statistic and ensure you live the best life you can, as best you can.
Welcome and encourage other people’s opinions. We aren’t born with a wealth of knowledge. We learn and are taught by various individuals from various and diverse backgrounds.
Why does that have to stop once we leave the educational system?
I didn’t know much about mental health- granted I thought it was a very taboo topic myself.
I put in the effort and took time out of my schedule to learn more. This has allowed me to impact many other individual’s lives for the better, myself included.
These techniques were learned in various formats from various people. There is no black and white in health care.
There are different modalities that can be used to reach a specific goal. It doesn’t really matter how you get there as long as it’s safe and effective.
Mental Health Supplements
There are some supplements that can help ease a nervous mind and settle some anxious thoughts.
Again, it is not a one size fits all approach- so play with them, do your research and see what appeals to you for YOUR needs and beliefs.
L theanine is a great GABA booster that leaves a nice calming effect because of its neurotransmitter capabilities that are almost immediate.
There is no daily recommended limit on this supplement, but you can see prior dosages from previous articles.
I typically mix mine in my coffee to reduce the jitteriness of the caffeine that also helps me keep my heart rate and blood pressure low.
Often, people that are anxious or stressed, have a higher heart rate and blood pressure- so it is important to attack it from all angles.
Another AMAZING supplement that acts on the GABA receptor to induce relaxation is magnesium.
Not only does magnesium have over 300 different functions in the body, but magnesium L threonate specifically crosses the blood-brain barrier and directly attacks the levels of high anxiety and racing thoughts. The smallest dose is 2,000mg and can range up to 8,000mg depending on the need.
Again, I take this nightly because I tend to overthink when I am laying in bed trying to fall asleep. Since magnesium is a smooth muscle relaxer, it helps induce sleep and lower blood pressure too!
Vitamin D is another underutilized nutrient that we are very low in because we live under fluorescent lights and avoid natural sunlight.
Typical doses of Vitamin D can range from 2,000 to 5,000iu depending on your baseline labs. Much research suggests that vitamin D insufficiency can relate to higher levels of anxiety and depression.
If you don’t want to take a vitamin D supplement, get out and get some natural sunlight on your hamstrings, back and chest just long enough where you get slightly red, but do not burn.
A solid B complex can have lasting effects on cognitive functionality and performance which may also reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Of course, you get what you pay for with supplements so make sure you do your research and find some that have independent quality testing and minimize the use of fillers and unnecessary additives.
Lastly, a good Omega 3 will help reduce inflammation, helps with our cholesterol profile, lowers blood pressure, and helps ease anxiety-related symptoms. I would recommend one that doesn’t give you fish burps and to get any cardiovascular and neurovascular benefit- you would need to consume roughly 2 grams of Omega 3’s with DHA and EPA.
In my humble opinion, you can certainly bypass A LOT if not all of the supplements if you eat real food, go outside every day, and get active.
There is no substitution for good old-fashioned sun and exercise with 3 square meals a day.
You can always do that AND supplement to ensure you are covering all the bases.
This should really give you a great head start to feeling better and making the best out of your experience in this world.
You are the driver in your destiny. If you want something bad enough, you find a way to make it happen. Otherwise, it is just excuse after excuse.
Bring back some happiness in your life and invest in yourself.
Be strong. Be brave.
