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With it being #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek this post is even more important that usual. With over 9 years working within the employment sector and 7 of those being within the mental health spectrum, I have seen first hand how easy it is to move from feeling low to becoming depressed. When I share my tips and advice, they come from a raw and honest place and one that not only comes as a direct result of working with the people that I do, but also from my own personal battles. When it comes to becoming depressed, many of us come from a state of feeling continually low and not knowing how to overcome it. Too often, a day of feeling low and become a week and then a month and then a number of months. There are many women (and men) out there who suffer in silence and feel overcome by pressure for fear of appearing weak and not in control. But, I am here to tell you that with 1 in 4 people being diagnosed with having mental health issues, it is something that can happen and may be happening to you.
From the detailed conversations and case studies I have written based on conversations with my clients, I have established key actions they implement to help lift them when they feel lower than usual. I too have tried them in my moments of need and they have proved both useful and thereafter vital in my motivating and picking myself back up when life gets tough. Yet, you know how the saying goes.. when the going gets tough, the tough gets go and although you may be struggling today, that doesn't mean you don't have the means or possess the capacity to rise again and keep going. I hope this post helps someone and at the end you will find a list of numbers to contact if you or anyone you know are going through crisis.
Keep going, you can and will overcome. :) x
1. Be Your Own Cheerleader, Toot Your Own Horn
I've found that individuals who battle with mental health issues tend to not be comfortable to sing their own praises. They don't believe they are worthy of self praise and instead view it as a selfish act. The truth is, if you can't celebrate your greatness, who else will? Too many of us have been seeking gratification, encouragement and approval from individuals outside of ourselves when everything that makes us great and talented and worthy and important is embedded within us. We just need to be brave enough to seek it. At those moments when you lose sight of how you talk to yourself and begin to take on the negative habit of speaking down to yourself. Stop and focus on turning the negative dialogue to a positive. Instead of referring to yourself in ways such as: I'm ugly, I'm stupid and I'm not important, turn this on its head. Instead say, I AM BEAUTIFUL, I AM CLEVER, I AM IMPORTANT. Remember how vital the words I AM are as what comes after them, shapes your reality. Celebrate who you are and focus on speaking positively to yourself daily. In fact, head on over to our resources page to download our free Falling In Love With Me resource so you can write down all the reasons why you are important!.
2. Write It Down Then Throw It Away!
It would be too easy to think that just by thinking positive thoughts once in a while that your life and your circumstances would be improved. Though, we are more than aware that this process in one that needs to be a continuous and repeated action or it will not be able to form a habit. To help the process along, writing down your inner most feelings, the things, people, circumstances that are upsetting or holding us back. Many would argue that by doing this, it gives power to the negative, but I would argue that it instead gives it time and acknowledgement which is necessary for clarity. Once you are aware of what it is that is hurting or affecting you, write it down, read it out loud, screw it up and toss it a way. It has no place within your life permanently and cannot serve you.
3. Reintroduce Your Passions, One At A time....
Most people recognise that they are feeling low when they no longer feel motivated to do the things they enjoy doing. At my lowest, I stopped writing. (this was a massive blow as writing and creating written content is my biggest passion) What I began to realise was that no one was going to help me open up my laptop and begin typing, I had to force myself to take small steps daily. Overtime, I was able to get back in front of my laptop and allow the words to flow through me (just like they are now ;) ) Try to work towards doing the things you love the most, the act of attempting is a BIG DEAL so go back to number one on the list and give yourself a pat on the back, even if you don't feel like you can.
4. Music Is Life...
I have always said, what would life be if not for the beauty of music. Music has away of conveying all human emotion. If you are happy, there is a track for that, if you are sad, there is a track for that, if you are in love there is a track for that and if you are nursing a break up, of course with a shadow of a doubt, there is a track for that! Focus on playing positive and uplifting songs that will motivate and empower you. Play them while you are on the move and focus on the feeling they give you. Music is powerful and the more uplifting the song, the more powerful the impact.
Do you want a positive playlist? comment or tweet/message us on our socials and we compile our list for you. x
If you are in need of support and advice about your mental health, these organisations can help...
We are Spark.
We want to ignite the conversation about mental health, no matter where we are, and what it takes.
We have our fantastic Peer Support Group, with over 950 members, where every single person helps everyone else, no matter what. We celebrate the good times together, and we help each other through the bad.
We provide expert, accredited advice and information to everyone affected by mental health problems. When mental illness first hits you or your family, it can be hard to know who or what to trust. We give people clear, relevant information on everything from treatment and care to benefits and employment rights. We were the first mental health charity to gain the Information Standard for our trusted and relevant information.Â
MENTAL HEALTH HELPLINES
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