Imagine you are making a journey from one destination to another. You set out on the road with the destination in mind. The way our minds work is you hold a mental picture of the place you are going to. And for me, I mostly map out the routes I will be following, even before I set out. Having a mental picture of the destination and route does not mean I am already there. But when I set out, I now actually heading to the desired destinations.
My first point is mental health is a continuum. This means that rather than just being in a destination, it is a progression in that direction. It is not a place per se, rather it is the process in the journey towards finding balance in our mental state of being.
It is a matter of how we function day to day and how we cope with the ups and downs of life. It is not about having no mental health problems, it is about feeling good about ourselves and being able to do the things that matter to us and having the resilience to deal with the difficult situations we all experience in life.
Secondly, good mental health is about maintaining the picture of our desired destination and mapping out the routes we have to follow to get there and actually taking a step to embark on the journey in that direction. You can also think of it as a scale that can tilt towards good or poor mental health which mostly depends on what is going on in our lives and the available social support around us. There are things that can challenge our mental health and cause it to tilt to the poor side and on the other hand things that can help us tilt towards the positive side of the scale.
In addition, sometimes we have what it takes to embark on the journey to our desired destination, other times we are unable to do so. Sometimes we feel equipped and other times we just lack what it takes to be able to get there.
The beauty of all of this is that we are able to find the right (physical, psychological and social) resources we need to be able to make our journey better. We can actually journey well when we are able to identify what we need and how to get there.
We have all of these resources both inside of and around us.
Do you want to talk about how you can maintain good mental health? Or do you even want to talk about a particular mental health issue and how to cope with it? Do you even just want to talk about resources available to you to build a resilient mental health?
Do not hold back. Reach out to me and let us talk about it. I am able to help you navigate your mental models so as to obtain the best out of your mental space.
Have a great week following your dreams!
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