AASRA-Help Talk

Johnson Thomas

How to secure your Mental Health

How To Secure your Mental

HealthAASRA-Help TalksJohnson Thomas

Why Build your Resilience?

Developing a greater level of resiliencedoesn’t stop difficult or stressful things fromhappening, but it can reduce the impactthese events have on our lives and the timetaken to recover from themTed Tierney,

Life = Stressl

Being resilient does not mean…ignoring youremotions or feelings, but rather experiencinggrief, sadness, disappointment or angerwhilst maintaining perspective and continuingon with life with a sense of hope.

Life = Stress (cntd)

lWe all experience challenges anddisappointments at some point in our lives.Most of us will encounter l relationshipproblems, health issues, financial stresses,work worries, or bereavement.

Life = Stress (cntd)

lEven wealth can’t protect us from trauma andtragedy — but resilience does. Moreimportantly, resilience is not a trait thatpeople either have or do not have. It involvesbehaviours, thoughts and actions that can belearned and developed in anyone.Ted Tierney,

Building Resilience

Building Resilience is developing individual strengthsand abilities to “bounce back” from challenges andsetbacks that life presents us with.It involves being able to adapt to changes, drawingon both our own strengths and the available socialresources to assist us during times of stress.Ted Tierney,

If you physically over-tax your body, say by overexerting yourself on a hot

day or staying up for 24 hours with no sleep, you probably wouldn’t be

surprised if it suddenly “breaks down.”

We avoid such pitfalls by tending to our physical health, resting and drinking water when doing taxing work in the outdoor heat or making sure we get adequate sleep on most nights.

Your mind can only take so much stress

before it breaks down

9 Strategies to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Avoid a Breakdown

1. Be an Optimist Looking on the bright side increases your ability to experience happiness in your day-to-day life while helping you cope more effectively with stress.

2. Have Hope . 

Having hope allows you to see the light at the end of the tunnel, helping you push through even dark, challenging times. Accomplishing goals, even small ones, can help you to build your level of hope.

3. Accept Yourself

Self-deprecating remarks and thoughts will shroud your mind with negativity and foster increased levels of stress. Seek out and embrace the positive traits of yourself and your life, and avoid measuring your own worth by comparing yourself to those around you.

4. Stay Connected

Having loving and supportive relationships helps you feel connected and accepted, and promote a more positive mood. Intimate relationships help meet your emotional needs, so make it a point to reach out to others to develop and nurture these relationships in your life.

5. Express GratitudePeople who are thankful for what they have are better able to cope with stress, have more positive emotions, and are better able to reach their goals. The best way to harness the positive power of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal or list, where you actively write down exactly what you’re grateful for each day. Doing so has been linked to happier moods, greater optimism and even better physical health.

6. Find Your Purpose and Meaning

When you have a purpose or goal that you’re striving for, your life will take on a new meaning that supports your mental well-being. If you’re not sure what your purpose is, explore your natural talents and interests to help find it, and also consider your role in intimate relationships and ability to grow spiritually.

7. Master Your Environment

When you have mastery over your environment, you’ve learned how to best modify your unique circumstances for the most emotional balance, which leads to feelings of pride and success. Mastery entails using skills such as time management and prioritization along with believing in your ability to handle whatever life throws your way.

8. Exercise Regularly

Exercise boosts levels of health-promoting neurochemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which may help buffer some of the effects of stress and also relieve some symptoms of depression. Rather than viewing exercise as a medical tool to lose weight, prevent disease, and live longer – all benefits that occur in the future – try viewing exercise as a daily tool to immediately enhance your frame of mind, reduce stress and feel happier. 

9. Practice Mindfulness

Practicing “mindfulness” means that you’re actively paying attention to the moment you’re in right now. Rather than letting your mind wander, when you’re mindful you’re living in the moment and letting distracting or negative thoughts pass through your mind without getting caught up in their emotional implications. Mindfulness can help you reduce stress for increased well-being as well as achieve undistracted focus.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

EFT is a powerful self-help method based on research showing that emotional trauma contributes greatly to disease. Clinical trials have shown that EFT is able to rapidly reduce the emotional impact of memories and incidents that trigger emotional distress. Once the distress is reduced or removed, your body can often rebalance itself and accelerate healing.

simple tapping with your fingertips is used to input

kinetic energy onto specific meridians on your head and chest while you think about

your specific problem -- whether it is a traumatic event, an

addiction, pain, etc. - and voice

positive affirmations.This combination of tapping the energy meridians and voicing positive affirmation works to clear the "short-circuit" — the emotional block — from your body's bioenergy system, thus restoring your mind and body's balance, which is essential for optimal emotional health and the healing of physical disease.

Healthy Habits are Happy HabitsEat well: What you eat directly impacts your mood and energy levels in both the short and long term

Proper sleep: Sleep deprivation is linked to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and bipolar depression, while getting the right amount of sleep has been linked to positive personality

Animal-based omega-3 fats: Low concentrations of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA are known to increase your risk for mood swings and mood disorders.

Regular sun exposure: This is

essential for vitamin D

production, low levels of which are

linked to depression. But

even beyond vitamin D, regular safe sun exposure

is known to enhance mood and energy through the

release of endorphins.

Minding Your Mental Health

Accept yourself

Get involved

Keep active

Eat healthily

Keep in contact

Relax

Do something creative

Don't binge drink

Talk about it. Seek Help

Learning to cope is a constructive way to deal

with stressful symptoms.

Coping techniques include:• Trying to keep things in perspective – recognizing the positive aspects in life can help retain hope for the future.

• Strengthening connections with family members and friends who can provide support.

• Engaging in activities that relieve stress and anxiety – such as physical exercise, hobbies and sports.

• Developing new skills for employment that can

provide a means of coping and directly addressing

financial difficulties.• Taking charge of your environment – if you’re

bothered by media coverage or conversations

about the current economy, change

channels, turn the page or excuse yourself from the

conversation.

We can’t change what comes at

us, but we CAN change the way we react to it. If

you can find good ways to respond

to stress you will be able to deal

with challenges better.