Sound state of mind
The title of this blog sits better with me (personally), than the buzzy term “mental health.” It’s May and it so happens to be Mental Health Awareness month. We can think of it as the month focusing on a sound state of mind, if mental health doesn’t sit right with you.
I don’t know of a single person who hasn’t struggled with their state of mind at one point in their life, myself included. Two more major incidents, for me personally, were adolescence and postpartum. When I say major, I’m really referring to a complete loss of mental control; my thoughts would wander to a deep, dark hole and I would float through my day to day without really feeling anything at all. There were moments of complete despair, loneliness even when I was surrounded by loving people, and an absence of truly experiencing joy. The darkness would eventually lead to thoughts of ending everything and the light seemed to only peak through very sporadically.
There has been so much research coming out relating our mental health and overall function of our bodies. Our minds and bodies need to work in sync with one another. There’s also been research about our diet directly affecting our state of mind. I’m not going to go into that with this blog, but it’s another example of how important it is to feed our bodies with nutrients that directly affect the function and balance of our brains.
When our minds no longer feel linked to our bodies, that disconnect feels tumultuous and chaotic. Our minds and bodies feel unable to register and feel what we are experiencing in our everyday lives. Instead, the disconnect roots down and we go through life in a disjointed way - unable to think clearly and then feel the experiences in our body. Our emotions are disconnected and perhaps outbursts of full on laughter or episodes of sobbing occur without reason. We can all show up very differently when our minds aren’t sound.
However you’ve shown up and expressed yourself, know that it doesn’t have to be your normal. There is help. I’m a firm believer in help because I’ve lived through these periods of my life where the darkness wants to take over. The biggest thing that helped me was therapy. There’s nothing quite like an unbiased person listening to you without judgment and helping you find your way back to yourself - connecting your mind and your body.
We are quite lucky to live in a time where accessibility of help has never been easier. In the comfort of your own home, you can speak with someone and get to the root of what’s causing mental distress. I’m not going to plug any one company or one person, because there are a plethora of professionals out there. I’m also a firm believer in one professional that may have worked for me, may not work for you. There’s a bit of an art to finding the person you feel comfortable with. If you’re feeling out of balance and in need of speaking with someone to work through what’s causing your lack of balance, I strongly urge you to start by searching for a therapist and see if there’s someone you feel you could connect with.
Having a sound state of mind shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be the norm and everyone is deserving of it. Whether we talk and work with a therapist, have the assistance of medication, or both, let’s all try to treat ourselves with love and improve our states of mind.
