No matter who you are or what you have been through in your life, mental health challenges can affect anybody. Regardless of your age, gender, background, you name it, everyone at one point will face some sort of mental health challenge at least once in their life. But with that said, poor mental health can be an overwhelming and isolating experience, but it’s important to remember that you possess the inner strength to navigate these difficult times.
Having a strong supportive network is going to be immense, but outside the reliance on others, you need to also have resilience. Everyone needs to have resilience. It’s what’s going to be the power that helps you bounce back, no matter how far you fall down. So, how can you get this power in times of poor mental health? Even if you don’t have poor mental health but slumps, how can you overcome it? How can you get this resilience? Well, here’s everything you need to know!
Start By Understanding What Resilience Is
You need to keep in mind that resilience isn’t a fixed trait. It’s a skill that’s going to be developed and strengthened over time. It’s the ability to face adversity, stress, or trauma and come through it stronger and more capable of handling future challenges.
In a way, it’s like a muscle that can be trained. Besides, to a degree, most people will slowly build up resilience, but there’s going to need to be points in your life where you’re going to need to strengthen this muscle. So, in general, by understanding and harnessing resilience, you can better cope with poor mental health.
You’ll Need to Seek Professional Help
If you’re able to seek professional help, then you should seek professional help. But of course, not everyone is going to be able to afford this. But if you’re able to afford it, then you should absolutely seek it out.
Having a mental health professional such as a therapist or counselor will be able to provide some type of guidance. Mental health professionals know that helping isn’t some cookie-cutter “one-size-fits-all” strategy.
Everyone is going to have their own specific needs. So it’s important to see a mental health professional so they can help you get to the root of the problem, provide coping strategies, and even grasp a better understanding, such as an explanation of certain mental health diagnoses, preventative measures, meditation, breathing exercises, more unique aspects such as getting a firm grasp on something like a chakra chart. Plus, this is a safe space to express these thoughts and feelings too.
Overall, getting resilience means getting more strategies, a better understanding, and a supportive figure, and a mental health professional can do that.
Do You Have the Right Support System?
Honestly, when it comes to dealing with any bad stages in your life, especially when overcoming them, it’s going to be your support system that makes a difference and helps you get the resilience you need. Sometimes, it’s next to impossible to overcome something when you’re alone, when you’re isolated, which is why the love and help from your support system is going to be so crucial.
So, you’ll need to connect with friends and family who are understanding and empathetic, so not just anyone, not just any friend or family member. Share your experiences and struggles with them, and let them be there for you. Just remember, it’s okay to lean on others for support when you’re going through a tough time. It doesn’t make you weak; it’s what’s actually going to make you stronger.
You’ll Need Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion
Do you have a solid sense of self-awareness? Understand your mental health triggers, your emotional responses, and the patterns of your thoughts. Also, you need to keep in mind that self-compassion is equally important.
Seriously, you’ll need to treat yourself with kindness and understanding, just as you would a close friend who is going through a tough time. At the end of the day, the foundation for resilience and building it up is putting yourself first.
You need to put yourself first and embrace self-care. This doesn’t mean buying yourself a doughnut, going on a shopping spree, or taking a relaxing bubble bath. Sure, these are fantastic and can temporarily help lift up your spirits.
But self-care is really about caring for yourself and showing love towards yourself. This means getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, and engaging in regular physical activity. Just keep in mind that both your mind and body are intimately connected, and taking care of your physical health can have a positive impact on your mental health.
Talk Yourself Up
This goes hand-in-hand with self-compassion and even self-care too. So, one thing that spirals low mental health to basically get lower is negative self-talk. In general, negative self-talk can be detrimental to your mental health.
You’ll need to replace self-criticism with positive self-talk; sure, it’s far easier said than done. You’ll have to challenge irrational thoughts and replace them with more rational, compassionate ones.
Seriously, everybody is their own worst critic, their own worst enemy, but you can’t grow resilience, you can’t leverage it in the slightest if you’re going to have such a low opinion of yourself; it’s like kicking yourself when you’re down, you’ll never be able to get up. So, you need to get rid of this negative self-talk and start boasting yourself.
It’s Okay to Learn from Setbacks
When it comes to resilience, don’t think of setbacks as automatic failures or something that’s going to take away your resilience and what strength you have. Needless to say, setbacks can be awful; they can really throw off progress, too.
But you need to keep in mind that resilience isn’t about avoiding setbacks; it’s about learning from them. When you face challenges, take the opportunity to reflect on what you’ve learned and how you can grow from the experience.
This can help you adapt and become more resilient in the long run. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and to a degree, it’s true, especially when it comes to building up resilience.
Try to Find Meaning and Purpose in Your Life
Whether it’s a mental health diagnosis, you’re battling, or low periods of your life, what you’re feeling is valid. When it comes to these times of poor mental health, it feels next to impossible to hold on, right?
It feels like it’s impossible to keep going sometimes, like getting out of bed, going to work, daily tasks, or even just general life itself. But with that said, You absolutely need to find meaning and purpose within your life.
You need this so it can provide motivation and resilience during tough times. There needs to be that spark that gets you going. While it might be generic advice, it’s really about engaging in things that you’re passionate about and what you love.
Those things are essentially a reminder to keep on going. This sense of purpose is going to be what helps you keep going, and it’s going to significantly help with building resilience and leveraging it.
At the end of the day, leveraging resilience isn’t always easy; dealing with poor mental health- regardless of reasoning is never easy either. It’s just a process that’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort. You need to remember that recovery is not linear, and setbacks are a natural part of the journey- and that’s okay. Life is going to hit everyone with an array of challenges, so you’ll need to embrace your inner strength and not be afraid to reach out for help when you need it. Your mental health matters, and with resilience, you can overcome adversity and thrive.