Mental Health

Isn’t it awful even cruel that the first symptom of a mental health issue is a loss of insight, that you actually lose the clarity that something is going wrong.

Unless you are super self-aware then you have to trust, hope and/or pray, that someone from your family and friend circle has got your back and will tell you straight saying, “Marie, what's going on like you're…”
·       working like a maniac
·       drinking too much, overeating
·       aren’t sleeping enough
·       stopped going to the gym
·       haven’t washed today
·       aren’t socialising
·       don't seem happy
·       aren’t yourself
“… I’m worried about you.”

If you’ve ever had previous experiences (I can personally tick all of the above) then you might just be lucky and recognise the signs next time because you’ve been there before.

There were always evolutionary reasons for humans to be stressed, but what's really changed is that the threats now, are psychological things like your partner leaving you, losing your job, your friends not liking you anymore, worrying that you have enough of an income just for the things that you need to keep your basic life on the road. 

Check out the four self-reported reasons for stress stats. Number 1 is … money and number 2 - work.
I had an experience myself with bullying at work where I became extremely stressed, I couldn't even talk to my partner, I just couldn't handle it. I was so burnt out and I thought though that I just wasn't working hard enough. My constant (albeit crooked thinking at the time) was like, I gotta do better. I'm not doing well enough and that all just burnt me out even more. The situation was like a slow train wreck and so many people saw all the signs but few said the words, “I’m worried about you.” It literally broke me and took me a really long-time to move out and off from that. 
Number 3 on the list is health something becoming more of an issue with the passing years. Number 4 is social discrimination and isn’t your identity is at the heart of all you are? 

Here are 3 Things you can you do for you … (and others …)
   1) Connect with people … (inclusively ...)
   2) Learn your own signs of stress … (and be aware of those of the people in your circle ...)
   3) Explore and learn what destresses you, and build those activities into your life … (be there as a support for others ...)
I find for me, when I get myself into a spot, these days, it's very simple things that bring me back from the brink - talking, drinking more water, music, dancing, a nap, a walk, getting bare-foot and going to the beach, taking an Epsom salt bath, getting on a pool floatie in the sunshine and if I’m still not doing great I now know that’s my cue to take a quick break, even if I just take two days off and switch off … I’ll make myself drink mint tea, eat well, read, lounge, chill with my dog, do some self-massage, and begin slowing down and getting some rest. Two days can make a big difference in being able to reset yourself by helping the resetting of your nervous system and help with calming down stress hormones.

Start today making a note of what you think helps regulates your nervous system and work to gradually incorporate more of these de-stressors into your life, and of course, if you’re worried about yourself or someone else, always seek support.