I’ve heard this said in more than one than one place, “It’s simple, but it’s not easy.” I wanted to add that to what I wrote yesterday. When you or someone your care about is struggling depression, if feels terrible and getting started on changing daily behaviors is incredibly difficult. Ease back into healthy behaviors as best you can without speaking to yourself harshly or, if it’s a loved one, be supportive of small positive changes.
What I’d most like to see change for mental health, as a field, is that there would be a greater focus on connecting with loved ones and community. At the same time, there would be a shift away from or little focus on, “What caused me to be this way?”
For one thing, there is no one specific cause. Mental health is multi-factored. You can use this word to remember the factors: Biopsychosocial. (This is a much longer speech that I will just say briefly here). Biological factors are genetics, drinking water, nutrition, exercise, PMS, sleep, and more. Psychological factors involves the way you think about things. Social factors are the people in your life. My best understanding of mental healthcare means addressing biological, psychological, and social factors.
For the middle part, psychological factors, developing your ability to notice your thoughts is key. Example: You see a pile of papers and crayons on the floor. That part is a fact. Next, thoughts come in. You think, “I told those kids to pick up after they were done. [still a fact] They don’t respect me.”
The thought: “They don’t respect me” is not a fact at all. It’s a thought.
It can be helpful to imagine your thoughts are items on a shelf at the store. When I close my eyes, I usually see a bunch of shampoo bottles with various thoughts on them. It not my choice which thoughts are on the shelf. Those thoughts are there and it’s up to me to choose which ones I put into my shopping cart. If I pick up, “They don’t respect me” and put it in my cart how will I feel?
I could leave, “they don’t respect me” on the shelf and pick-up, “they need me to coach them on the life skill of keeping a house clean” and/or “if they aren’t able to do it, I can reduce the amount of items they take out.”
When I pick-up a thought about coaching skills and having the power to make my own life easier by reducing the items in the house, I feel more peaceful. So, that is the thought to pick-up and put in my cart and buy.
I learned that from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is in my top three favorites.
Well, I’m going to the Farmer’s Market and then, tonight, a fireworks place is showing off all the fireworks they have for sale for 4th of July. I learned about this June fireworks display a week too late last year. This year I’m in!
Wishing you..Love, Hope, and Peace,
Terra Rose
Life Without Montages 