May is Mental Health Awareness Month 2023. Mental health is commonly defined as encompassing our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is essential to have good mental health to live a balanced and happy life. Mental Health Awareness Month aims to remind us to prioritise our mental health, overcome stigmas and foster a compassionate and supportive environment for all. You can find out more on the National Alliance on Mental Illness website and join their More Than Enough campaign.
The statistic that “one in four” people will experience a mental problem at some point (Ginn & Horder, 2012) is a very common one which continues to persist. It is argued that mental distress tops the list of leading causes for global burden of disease (Vigo et al., 2016). Mental distress is an important public health concern as annually, more than 700,000 individuals die from suicide (WHO, 2021). Suicide is the second leading cause of death in those aged 10-14 and 25-34 (NIH, 2022). Such statistics put into context how crucial it is for us to educate ourselves and take steps to protect our mental health and support those around us.
In addition to mental health, Guy Winch (2020) introduced the idea of emotional health. He said, “Mental health is about diagnosable conditions like depression and anxiety. Emotional health is about common experiences like loneliness, failure, and heartbreak, the non-diagnosable stuff.” Therefore, it is also important for us to be aware of the concept of emotional health and how to also keep that at its optimum to reduce the likelihood of mental health problems developing.
We at Caritas strongly believe in a good work/life balance and incorporate practices to support this. The common methods to maintain overall health include eating a healthy, balanced diet, getting a good night’s sleep, and exercising. In addition to these, Caritas would like to introduce five strategies you can adopt to nurture your own mental and emotional well-being:
Checking in with yourself
Assessing your mental health by checking in with yourself is a great first step towards better mental well-being. This can increase self-awareness, provide insights into your emotional well-being, and increase chances of identifying early signs of mental distress. Journaling is an effective method that can be used to check in with yourself as studies have shown its benefits for stress, depression, and anxiety (Sutton, 2018). The act of journaling can allow emotional catharsis and promote mental acceptance which is linked to greater psychological health. You can also check in with yourself by taking a moment during the day to pause and reflect on how you are feeling and what emotions arise for you.
Expressing gratitude
Gratitude refers to the act of focusing on the positive aspects of life. Studies have shown a positive correlation between gratitude and well-being as individuals who expressed gratitude are shown to feel better about their lives and hence be more optimistic (Harvard, 2021). Examples of methods that can be used to express gratitude include writing down what you are grateful for, mentally counting your blessings, and through prayer.
Implementing mindfulness
Mindfulness involves being present in the moment. It incorporates awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and environment. Meditation and breathing exercises are effective forms of mindfulness that have shown to alleviate feelings of depression and anxiety (Seppälä et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2019). These can be practiced independently or using one of the many podcasts and apps available that offer guided meditation and breathing which can be easily incorporated to your daily routine.
Doing something you love
Bringing joy into your life through hobbies is another way you can elevate your mood and quality of life (Li et al., 2019). Hobbies can include anything that you love and that makes you happy; it can range from painting to sports to going to the cinema. Hobbies can also mitigate the adverse effects of various stressors in your life. Doing something you love also covers self-care as taking care of both your body and mind is crucial.
Practicing yoga
Yoga is an ancient discipline that has been around for more than 5,000 years (Burgin, 2007). It harnesses the power of the mind-body connection which refers to the link between a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviours, attitudes, and their physical health. Yoga has been shown to increase consciousness and increase the ability to deal with life stressors (La Torre et al., 2020). There are many places that offer yoga classes that you can join in person, or you can do it from home by following various videos and apps.
As individuals and organisations, we want to help ourselves and each other bring awareness of mental health to the workplace and to our personal lives. These five simple strategies Caritas has introduced could be a start to improving your mental well-being, work/life balance and quality of life.
References
Burgin, T. (2007) History of Yoga. Yoga Basics. https://www.yogabasics.com/learn/history-of-yoga/
Ginn, S., & Horder, J. (2012) “One in four” with a mental health problem: the anatomy of a statistic. BMJ, 344. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e1302
Harvard (2021) Giving thanks can make you happier. Harvard Health Publishing; Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier
La Torre, G., Raffone, A., Peruzzo, M., Calabrese, L., Cocchiara, R. A., D’Egidio, V., Leggieri, P. F., Dorelli, B., Zaffina, S., & Mannocci, A. (2020). Yoga and Mindfulness as a Tool for Influencing Affectivity, Anxiety, Mental Health, and Stress among Healthcare Workers: Results of a Single-Arm Clinical Trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(4), 1037. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041037
Li, Z., Dai, J., Wu, N., Jia, Y., Gao, J., & Fu, H. (2019). Effect of Long Working Hours on Depression and Mental Well-Being among Employees in Shanghai: The Role of Having Leisure Hobbies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 4980. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16244980
NIH (2022) Suicide. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide
Sutton, J. (2018) 5 Benefits of Journaling for Mental Health. Stress & Burnout Prevention. https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/
Vigo, D., Thornicroft, G., & Atun, R. (2016) Estimating the true global burden of mental illness. Lancet Psychiatry, 3(2), 171-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00505-2
WHO (2021) Suicide. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide
Winch, G. (2020) Guy Winch: The Science of Emotional Health. https://www.guywinch.com/
Zhang, Q., Wang, Z., Wang, X., Liu, L., Zhang, J., & Zhou, R. (2019). The Effects of Different Stages of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Emotion Regulation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13:208. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00208
