Being Intentional and proactive in managing your mental health

We need to be intentional, proactive and consistent in preventing mental health challenges and managing our mental health, through reflecting and reviewing the following areas, which are within our control:

Thoughts

Thoughts reflect our self-talk, perceptions and interpretations.

How have you been thinking about yourself, other people and the world lately?

Are your thoughts hopeful, encouraging and kind? Are they mostly critical and discouraging?

Emotions

Emotions communicate what is happening in our system and how we are responding to circumstances around us. Emotions are sometimes a catalyst for the needed change or in maintaining what is working.

What emotions are predominant in your system currently?

Are you sad, anxious, guilty, lonely, angry, overwhelmed and frustrated most of the time? Are you encouraged, relaxed and at peace?

Are the current emotions functional for you and those around you?

Overall functioning

How are you functioning at home, school and/or work?

Are you always tired, demotivated, indecisive with poor concentration?

Are you motivated and achieving your goals and plans?

Behaviours

Are you engaging in behaviours that promote your mental well-being currently?

How is your time management?

How is your morning routine?

Do you plan your day?

Do you create time to think kind thoughts about yourself and to encourage yourself for what lies ahead?

Do you engage in healthy activities that help you to feel relaxed, peaceful?

Do you exercise?

Do you have a mental health day/afternoon/hour/evening?

Do you create boundaries between work and your home/social life?

Are you drinking or smoking a lot lately?

Are you always sleeping/struggling to sleep?

Do you need to consult a mental health care practitioner?

If you find that your thoughts are mostly critical, discouraging; you are sad, anxious, guilty, lonely, angry, overwhelmed and frustrated most of the time; you are always tired, demotivated with poor concentration, drinking or smoking a lot lately and you are always sleeping/struggling to sleep, perhaps it is time to review and change your mental health care plan.

Be proactive, intentional and consistent in managing your mental well-being. It is very important.

You may also find these websites useful:

https://www.sadag.org/

https://www.familylife.co.za/services

Comments

Part 2 of Stress Management: Beyond Self-Awareness

When you are aware of how stress affects your thoughts, emotions and behaviors then you are better positioned to manage it. Stress management is also a journey where you learn to manage your life through self-training. In the process be patient with yourself. Below are a few points to consider as you learn to manage your stress: 1. Thought management: We are all wired to think, therefore thinking is a very normal and an important process in our brains. However a challenge happens when we overthink, over-interpret, generalize and personalize situations. This tendency can negatively affect our emotions and behaviors and it can increase our stress levels. Therefore learning to discern and manage our thoughts is important in stress management. Overthinking can be resolved by distracting yourself through engaging in healthy behaviors i.e. writing down your thoughts for a few minutes and closing the diary and engaging in something else, with plans to go back to the diary and writing at ...

Surviving in the virtual space: Tips on Mental healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic

Some of us have already caught up with the “new wave" of working, socializing, learning and attending to our health and well-being virtually. This may present different experiences and emotions for different people. These may range from excitement, anxiety, confusion and a sense of being overwhelmed for some. While this may be an opportunity to discover or build on new ways of existing and becoming, at the same time it can take a toll on your mental health. Here are a few tips on how to take care of your mental wellbeing whilst navigating the space that we find ourselves in: 1. Always remember that there is more to you than your online engagement. As much as you may be spending a lot of time online, strive to create space and time to connect with some of your activities off-line. (That exercise routine, that hobby, the face to face engagement with family). All these activities off-line remind you that there is more to you than the online engagement or persona. 2. Be delibera...

The face of Stigma in Mental health

Stigma in mental health reflects our beliefs, attitudes and thoughts about mental illness. These manifest through our behaviour towards people with mental health challenges and the language we use to describe their experiences. THOUGHTS AND LANGUAGE Negative assumptions People who stigmatise others often hold negative assumptions about those they stigmatise. Such assumptions are often baseless and are driven by a lack of understanding of the person and their situation. The person is often blamed for their condition through using statements like “depression is for weak people” or “depression indicates lack of faith” and “African people don’t get depressed”. All these assumptions leave people feeling inferior and put an extra burden on them. A belief of Immunity People who have not experienced mental health challenges may believe that they are immune from such. As a result they distance themselves from people with mental health challenges an...

Dr Sibu Qhogwana

Search This Blog