Mental and emotional health and why it matters.

It feels like everything l have been working towards, aspired to be, wished to do just disappeared. 

But I know that l am not alone in this by any means. 
For people who know me this might be a surprise … I’m always the one to organise everything, the person who is consistently positive, resilient, always happy to help and do what l can to help others with their problems. And people come to me when it is too much for them. But never the other way round. 

These past few months l will say that I’ve struggled, l’ve been demotivated and l’ve felt lost. 

That is hard for me to say, but when l feel no motivation to do the thing l love (teaching), what do l have?

For me it has been a combination of all of the following and more. 

Lockdowns, curfews, hormones (I’m 47), relationships (family and friends), and all the little day to day things you don’t even realise are sitting on your shoulders and weighing you down. 

So, this piece isn’t just for me (though it is an acknowledgement of where l am at), it’s for others who are feeling the same, to say it’s ok and there are things we can do to help ourselves.

Our mental health influences how we think, feel, and behave in daily life. It also affects our ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, and recover from life’s setbacks and hardships.

Having a strong mental health isn’t just the absence of mental health problems. And being mentally or emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or any other psychological issues. 
Rather than the absence of mental illness, mental health refers to the presence of positive characteristics.

People who are mentally healthy could be said to have the following:

• A sense of contentment
• A zest for living and the ability to laugh and have fun.
• The ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity.
• A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and their relationships.
• The flexibility to learn new skills and adapt to change.
• A balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc.
• The ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships.
• Self-confidence and high self-esteem.
• The relationship between resilience and mental health

And having good mental and emotional health doesn’t mean that you never go through bad times or experience emotional problems, we will all go through disappointments, loss, and change at different times in our lives. And while these are normal parts of life, they will still cause sadness, anxiety, and stress. But just as physically healthy people are better able to bounce back from illness or injury, people with strong mental and emotional health are better able to bounce back from adversity, trauma, and stress. This ability to bounce back is defined as resilience.

People who are emotionally and mentally resilient have developed the tools for coping with difficult situations and maintaining a positive outlook. They remain focused, flexible, and productive, in bad times as well as good. Their resilience also makes them less afraid of new experiences or an uncertain future. Even when they don’t immediately know how a problem will get resolved, they are hopeful that a solution will eventually be found.
Whether you’re looking to cope with a specific mental health problem, handle your emotions better, or simply to feel more positive and energetic, there are plenty of ways to take control of your mental health—starting today.

How to boost your mental health (yes, it’s possible!)
Anyone can suffer from mental or emotional health problems—and over a lifetime most of us will. This year alone, about one in five of us will suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. Yet, despite how common mental health problems are, many of us make no effort to improve our situation.

We tend to ignore the emotional messages that tell us something is wrong and try toughing it out by distracting ourselves or self-medicating with alcohol, drugs, or self-destructive behaviors. We even bottle up our problems in the hope that others won’t notice. We hope that our situation will eventually improve on its own. Or we simply give up—telling ourselves this is “just the way we are.”

The good news is that you don’t have to just cope. There are practices you can adopt to elevate your mood, become more resilient, and enjoy life more. But just as it requires effort to build and maintain physical health, so it is with mental health. We have to work harder these days to ensure strong mental and emotional health, simply because there are so many ways that life can take a toll on our emotional well-being.