Set a little time aside for your own mental wellbeing
“The trouble with most therapy is that it helps you to feel better, but you don’t get better. You have to back it up with action, action, action”
Albert Ellis (an American Psychologist known as the “Prince of Reason”)
Well folks, all things considered I’ve had a bad week this week! Following a bereavement, I’ve struggled to cope with a number of minor irritations and frustrations that I’d normally brush off. Such accumulative toils can erode our more positive emotions and, if left unmanaged, can have more serious consequences upon our mental well-being.
‘Practice some mindfulness’ is the advice that is readily trotted out followed by the suggestion to ‘get some head space’. Whilst these are great tools for helping to feel more positive, it would still be better not to feel so close to breaking point in the first place. I recognise now that I’ve waited till too many annoyances have built up before I’ve started to address them. Practicing some more ‘everyday’ mental health would have helped me from having to draw so heavily on my reserves of resilience.
Current research suggests that too many of us are waiting till we reach breaking point before addressing our mental health. 80% of GP visits are stress related and 60% of men and women have been on some form of prescribed medication for stress. Just like a road sweeper can prevent an unmanageable accumulation of rubbish, so mental health training can provide us with techniques that enable us to stay on an even keel without the need for expensive, time–consuming and difficult treatments.
Whilst Albert Ellis promotes ‘action, action, action’ this only needs to be little and often. We’re happy to spend a few minutes twice a day cleaning our teeth, how about just a little time set aside for our own mental wellbeing?
In order to recognise some of the early signs of stress and learn some techniques to mitigate their effects come along to our symposium for building resilience on the 10th July. We’ll help you to discover how to maintain good everyday health.
If you are interested in finding out more about how Maddison Coaching can help develop mindfulness and resilience in, you and/or your teams then please get in touch. Alternatively, book your place on our upcoming symposium – ‘Building Resilience’ on the 10th July.