Take Time to Breathe
It’s All in Your Mind
Mental health continues to be a focal point that not everyone in today’s society is entirely concerned with. This seems counterintuitive to our overall wellbeing.
Many individuals struggle daily with emotional turmoil and we live in a culture that praises us to sweep it under the rug and forget about it.
For many years, people were chastised for having depression, anxiety, or any other “mental illnesses.”
Why though?
Humans are composed of minds, bodies, and souls. Why do we thoroughly rely on excluding the fitness and wellbeing of our mind while primarily hyper focused on our bodies and religious beliefs?
Mind, Body, and Soul
This is a three-pronged system that does not function well when out of balance. Our body cannot make up for what our mind or soul is lacking. We can try until we are at our wit's end, but it proves time and time again that it will not work in our favor.
We consistently run from building to building, place to place, high-stress environment to high-stress environment and we do not take the time to exercise our mind as often as we should.
The modern world that we live in is full of “fight or flight” scenarios that leave our sympathetic nervous system completely fried and in overdrive 24/7.
From getting up early, getting the kids dressed and ready for school, thinking about a work presentation, sitting in traffic so you’re not late to work, packing your kids lunches, packing your own lunch, hustling home in traffic to pick up the kids from school, helping them with homework, fixing dinner, trying to plan time for yourself at the gym, feeding the pets, putting gas in your car, worrying about finances, your future, your retirement, your career, your happiness, your life.
When do we take time to unwind and consciously think about our stressors, how can we positively impact our outlook and increase our mental clarity in high-stress situations?
It is not rocket science- but it is taking the time required to have moments of self-reflection. Self-isolation with your thoughts. Which, ultimately, allows self-perseverance and strength.
We heavily rely on others to tell us how loved we are, how we should act, how we need to be strong, how we need to keep pushing.
To what avail?
Put the YOU Back in Yourself
We become mindless drones that wake up each morning hating life and trying to find an excuse for our situation.
“I will start tomorrow. It’s not so bad, I can get by. I just need a few more minutes with work before family dinner.”
Those are toxic phrases that do not put the emphasis on YOU.
When was the last time you put down the phone and stopped looking at your social media accounts to feel loved?
When did you last hug someone? I mean truly embrace a loved one and let them know you care for them? Oxytocin is not a bad thing and that can certainly help us overcome a bad day.
When did you last stare into a loved one’s eyes and see into their soul? Did it make you uncomfortable? Vulnerable? Scared? Did you cry?
All those emotions are okay! We are so caught up with the day to day struggles that we forget we are human and have emotions and feelings that we need to share and experience.
I am not trying to be a tree-hugging hippie that is reinventing the wheel. I am trying to show everyone that we need to feel. We need to share our emotions instead of bottling them up. We need to love one another and accept the differences we see while embracing and building each other up.
Mental fitness is much more challenging than going to the gym and working out. We can physically see a difference, whereas, with our mental strength, we don’t often have that self-reflection tool honed in to see any impactful progress.
Witchcraft- Better Known as Meditation
Personally, I have been incorporating at least 10 minutes of guided meditation in my day in the evening, prior to sleeping. That is also followed by reading a book, instead of being on my phone.
First, guided meditation is an excellent way to help you release and recognize the emotions circling in your head. Some may feel uncomfortable during the first few tries and not think it is working. The hardest step is taking the first one- but if you downloaded the app, are open to see what will happen….see where it takes you!
I have cried during several guided meditations because I am not great at expressing myself and I tend to push my feelings aside to remain strong, like what society tells me to be.
There is nothing more gratifying and fulfilling than having a cry. Sometimes I don’t know why I cry during meditations. Other times, I can pinpoint the exact cause and it allows me to recognize my faults, what I could have done better, forgiven, and accepted my decisions which allow me to move forward.
Depressed people constantly live in the past. People with anxiety live in the future. We need to live in the now and accept what we can bring to make this life worthwhile and enjoyable.
Don’t get me wrong- I fall into both of those categories and am constantly struggling to live in the present. It is challenging, however, so is working out and building a body you want. The same fitness can be applied to our mental health. We have to work at it and build a strong foundation that allows growth and repair.
Mental Fitness=Mental Clarity
I have been using Headspace to help with my guided meditations. It can range from situation experiences, past experiences, anger, frustration, fear, loneliness, etc. You can certainly tailor it to your liking and what benefits you the most.
Other apps that are great are Calm, Aura, Mindfulness, and Mylife Meditation. Don’t be afraid to try some out and see what speaks to you. I went through the gambit before I committed to Headspace and I am glad I did.
Let’s rid ourselves of this stigma regarding mental health and mental illness. We are humans with emotions and feelings. We need to learn how to express those feelings in a productive and beneficial way for growth.
Having that self-reflection on why we are overeating when we are stressed? Why do we shut down when presented with a tough situation? Why do we fear showing love to another person? What about my insecurities do I project on others? Am I okay with who I am as a person? How can I be better? Do I want to be better?
These are questions we need to ask ourselves in our own space, in our own time, and in our own understanding.
Build yourself up so you love yourself. Then build up the people you love. You can’t love others until you learn to love yourself. Stop hiding and open your mind to your thoughts. Your scary thoughts, your deep thoughts, your silly thoughts. Open up and embrace who you are!
It’s okay to feel scared, lonely, isolated, helpless, sad, angry, etc… The important thing is that you feel. Now we move forward with how to manage those emotions in a productive way that enables you to be empowered.
Be open to new ideas. Be open to self-reflection. Be open to forgiveness. Be open to strength. Be open to bravery. Be open to yourself.
