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Key points
- Mental health disorders have become epidemic in recent decades.
- One of the factors in lack of mental health is the continuous focus on the external world.
- People must focus on and cultivate their inner world for optimal mental health.
Mental health has become a prominent topic in recent years and has come to greater light since the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that everyone struggles with some degree of mental health issues at some point in their lives, regardless of whether they have a specific diagnosis.
Let’s face it: Life is incredibly challenging in all aspects, including relationships, finances, career, and health. These difficulties can overwhelm our personal resources and result in frustration, anxiety, stress, and overwhelm, all of which challenge our mental health. Even the seemingly strongest amongst us can get caught up in the storms of life and swept ashore, struggling to stay afloat and swim back against the tide.
As technology has advanced, our lives have become increasingly complex, and there are multiple entities vying for our attention at any given time, not only the routine ones such as our partners, our children, our careers, and our daily errands but also the digital distractions such as our emails, our social media, the bombardment of marketing and advertising on our electronic devices, and the lure of online shopping.
It seems like our attention is always on something external to ourselves and not within, which is where the problem lies. Our inner world is like a garden that must be cultivated and weeded, and if our attention is always outside of ourselves, then our inner world will be overcome with intruders, so-called inner demons that will wreak havoc and chaos in our lives. This is why the mental health crisis results from a lack of attention and contemplation on oneself.
There are many resources available in society for mental health issues, including counselors, therapists, and various online self-help sites, and these are important. However, I believe that to optimize mental health, it all must start with the self.
I would like to share with you the following seven steps to optimizing your mental health.
1. Focus on your breath.
Most people tend to breathe shallowly and aberrantly, which is a problem because it does not allow maximal oxygenation of the blood, which affects oxygen delivery to the brain. This can result in headaches and brain fog and can worsen mental health conditions. We should take conscious, deep breaths and allow our abdomen to expand to fill our entire lungs, which will help facilitate the oxygenation of our blood and increase oxygen delivery to our brain.
2. Pay attention to your feelings.
Emotions are how we communicate with our higher self, and they are one of the most misunderstood aspects of our lives. We often suppress our negative emotions to avoid pain but end up prolonging suffering in the process.
We must feel all our feelings, especially the negative ones, to release them and find inner peace. We can do this through journaling about our feelings at various points throughout the day, which is an incredibly therapeutic practice.
3. Practice present moment awareness.
Time is an illusion, and the past and the future are just mind constructs. All that we have is the now, and this is where our focus and attention should lie at any given time. This can be cultivated through various practices, such as breathwork, contemplation, meditation, and spending time in nature, to name a few.
4. Be compassionate.
Compassion is sadly lacking in our world, which is dealing with division, strife, and conflict. Become the compassion that is so desperately needed in this chaotic time by expressing it to someone who needs it. This could be a friend or family member who is struggling with a challenge, someone you know who is sick in the hospital, someone who is homeless, or any number of people who could benefit from your empathy at this time.
5. Lean on someone who you trust.
This life is hard, and we cannot face it alone. We are social creatures and need to support each other through our challenges and adversity. Identify someone you trust, reach out to them, and share with them what you are going through and how you are feeling. You are not seeking advice but just someone to listen to you with compassion and empathy, which is healing in itself.
6. Hydrate your body.
It has been estimated that 75 percent of people are chronically dehydrated. Adequate hydration increases your circulating blood volume, which helps deliver vital oxygen to your organs, including your brain. You can do this by always keeping a bottle of filtered water with some sea salt and lemon with you and sipping it throughout the day.
7. Practice gratitude.
No matter how dismal you perceive your life to be, you can always find something to be grateful for. This may be your health, the love of a close friend or partner, the food you are eating, the home you live in, the job that supports you, or any number of blessings that most of us have in our lives. You can do this at the end of the day by keeping a gratitude journal.
Life is challenging and will test us every step of the way until we learn how not to struggle against it but to embrace it in all its glory. This is the beauty of life because you never know what the next day will bring. In this uncertainty, you will find inner peace if you have the courage to face each day and what it brings with unswerving resolve and resilience, and the above steps will help you do this.
