To mark Mental Health Awareness week, we asked blogger and Henley Business School student, James Sweeney, to cover what it is, and what we can all do to help work through any difficulties.
Mental Health – Words that are seen more and more nowadays, but have you ever taken a step back to look at what Mental Health actually is and how it impacts our lives? Your own Mental Health can range from being your biggest asset into being your biggest rival. Mental Health is an entity that if forever changing and adapting and if we don’t try and understand what it actually is then we may start to fall behind on who we actually are.
So, the question stands, what exactly is Mental Health? I found a video that I feel acts as a good insight and a good introduction to Mental Health:
As we can see from the video, Mental Health affects everybody. It is a thing that affects me, it affects you, it affects your parents, family, friends and many many more. It is crucial that we try and take some time to understand what our Mental Health really is. Our own Mental Health helps shape who we are; it makes up a part of how we think, how we feel, how we tackle work, how we build relationships and so much more. Mental Health plays a massive part in our lives and it is time that we gave it the attention that it truly deserves.
A common trend that I hear when I talk to people about Mental Health is that they believe that Mental Health is only a thing when it affects us negatively and we develop ‘Mental Health problems’ when that is only the beginning of what Mental Health really is. As the video discussed with us, Mental Health is constantly flowing and changing. Mental Health adapts based off of the situations we are put in and how we deal and process them.
When we are happy it can often be referred to as having positive or objectively ‘good’ Mental Health. When we start to think positively and are happier, we create what is called a positivity cycle. This cycle means that as we are in this positive mindset then if we are faced with a problem, we are more likely going to look at it in an optimistic light and find the solution faster. Positive mindsets can also be tied to an increase in productivity in work. If people are happier, they will more than likely work harder at their job and will produce work at a much higher level than maybe they usually do.
This of course is reversed when we are talking about negativity cycles. If you do fall into a negativity cycle the you will soon unfortunately find that they are very difficult to break out of. When we start thinking about things in a negative light then trying to be positive seems almost impossible, however in reality it is far from it. Learning when to identify when you are in a negativity cycle can be key when thinking about when to take a step back and look at what is going on in your life and how it is impacting on you.
Knowing when to take a step back can often be quite a challenging experience but can ultimately be a life saver. Learning when to try and resolve your Mental Health problems, be that through mindfulness, meditation, sport or any other technique is a crucial step on the road back to a positive Mental Mindset. One thing that I would stress is to talk though.
Talking is key when it comes to Mental Health.
Talking, even if it is only for five minutes to a friend can help you look at an issue in a whole new light and can, at least sometimes, help you work through problems that much faster. I always encourage people to talk and discuss what is going on in your lives. Find someone who you trust, be that a family member, friend or somebody else and simply have a chat about what is going on. You may find that what you thought was a problem was in reality only a small issue that could be resolved quickly, you never know unless you try.
That’s all I want to talk about in today’s blog! Thank you all for reading and I hope you have enjoyed! What do you all think? How has mental Health affected your life? Have you ever been stuck in a Mental Health cycle? If so was it positive or negative? Do you think Mental Health gets the attention that it deserves?
If you like this blog and want to see more I write blogs for my blog page, Sweeney’s Blogs. On Sweeney’s Blogs I write blogs on topics such as Stuttering, Stress, Mental Health and so much more! New readers are always welcome to the page and I hope you enjoy any blogs that you read and learn something new!
Sweeney’s Blogs: https://sweeneysblog.com/
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day,