Mental health is just as important as physical health. Still, it can sometimes feel like an unattainable mystery on how to get it. And self-care? What the f**k is it? Is it getting a weekly massage? Eating only organic whole foods? Bathing in the blood of a thousand virgins? The answer is…maybe?
*Battle Wear does not condone bathing in the blood of a thousand virgins*
The truth is mental health is as unique to you as your fingerprints, and even though there are some great general guidelines, you ultimately decide what calms your farm. So, let’s start with an elementary version of a very complex and nuanced thing…Mental health.
Think of your brain as a playground for emotions and thoughts. Like a seesaw, emotions sometimes go up, and sometimes they go down (way down). No matter what some Insta-guru says, feeling sad, angry, or anxious sometimes is NORMAL. We all get the ups and downs; life would be incredibly boring if we didn't. You can think of emotions as the weather pattern shining down on your brain playground ( we know we said emotions were seesaws too; just go with it!) And to complete this lovely picture, your thoughts are the clouds. Sometimes, they are big, dark and heavy, and sometimes they are light and wispy. But always, they move on through.
But crap, here comes stress! Stress is like the mean bully in the playground. It can make us feel overwhelmed, anxious, and secretly scared. Some stress is good, great even. If we need to run away from something worth running away from or fight something worth fighting, stress is who you want on your side. However, studies reveal that too much stress, for too long, can harm our mental health. The kicker is…MODERN LIFE IS STRESSFUL! The key is finding ways to de-escalate it before it eats you alive.
So how do we do this?
Enter Self-care.
Taking care of yourself is like tending to the garden around your playground, and this is where everyone and their dog has an opinion on how it should be done. As a general rule, you need sleep, nutrition, exercise, and relaxation to keep it thriving, but precisely what that looks like is COMPLETELY UP TO YOU. So experiment with it and work out what those things are in the context of your own damn life, not Gwenyth Paltrow's.
But seriously, if your emotions are incredibly intense and/or sticking around way too long, please see someone, and when we say someone, we mean a professional— not just venting to your hairdresser. We all struggle with our particular ‘Battles’ that doesn’t make us weak. I repeat THAT DOES NOT MAKE US WEAK, It makes us human.
Seeking help is strength... Power to you!
REFERENCES
Nestler, E. J., Barrot, M., DiLeone, R. J., Eisch, A. J., Gold, S. J., & Monteggia, L. M. (2002). Neurobiology of depression. Neuron, 34(1), 13-25.
McEwen, B. S. (2012). Brain on stress: How the social environment gets under the skin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(Supplement 2), 17180-17185.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
Mammen, G., & Faulkner, G. (2013). Physical activity and the prevention of depression: a systematic review of prospective studies. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 45(5), 649-657.
