Sabah Says… Are you taking care of your mental health?

It’s dark. The world is cold. The only company you have is yourself and the thoughts that spin around tirelessly on repeat, like a cracked record. Your days and nights are one – there is no difference. You don’t notice the beautiful blue skies or the pearlescent glow of the moon as you walk through the streets. Your tears are no more; there is just a heavy gut-wrenching emptiness that has set up home inside of you. Then, before you know it, the tears begin to flow again like hungry rainfall after a famine, and you can’t really explain why. 

You don’t even know why. Yet, you continue to torturously question yourself why. It’s a never-ending cycle and you just don’t know when and if it will ever end. Sometimes you even find yourself thinking about immediate ways to make it all go away. It’s painful physically, it’s painful mentally; it’s just so painful… 

Does this sound familiar? I’m guessing it does to many of you.

Back in the UK, my homeland, it is Mental Health Awareness Week. I feel that now is a great time to share my thoughts on mental health and how we can ensure that we are taking good care of ours.

What is mental health?

Where once the words ‘mental health’ inaccurately conjured up images of people locked away in mental asylums, thankfully now, society is beginning to understand that mental health is so much more and includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. Our mental health is so important at every stage of our life - from childhood, to adolescence through to adulthood – and affects how we think, feel and act, and how we handle stress, make choices and relate to others. 

Being of Pakistani heritage, I come from a culture where there is a huge stigma surrounding mental health and even now, it is still so misunderstood. It’s a culture that quickly shifts the blame of what are quite obviously mental health issues, as being the result of someone giving you the evil eye, or evil spirits that are trying to harm or possess you. 

I am thankful that the generations are beginning to wake up and realise that mental health issues can occur for a number of reasons, including life experiences such as trauma or abuse; or can come about due to biological factors such as genes or brain chemistry, while a family history of mental health problems can also play a part. This acknowledgement means that we can do more as individuals and as a society to help each other in the long run.

What to do if you are suffering

If you are suffering from low moods, anxiety, panic or depression, the most important thing is to acknowledge that there is a problem, it is nothing to be ashamed of and it needs to be resolved in order for you to live a happier, more fulfilled life. The next step is actually wanting to feel better and being willing to take further steps to make that happen.

Our minds, our bodies and our souls are three things that are unique to each of us and that require our love, care and attention above anything else. I have found that when you begin to take care of one, the effects extend to the other two, helping them to become healthier too. 

Some steps that you can take to improve your mental wellbeing are:

• Talk to someone! A friend, a stranger – whatever works best for you. If you need professional help, seek it. E3 Counseling and the Halley Movement are organisations you can contact in Mauritius.
• Take care of your body. Try to eat well, drink well, get physically active and sleep well. This will have a ripple effect on your mind and soul too.
• Connect with others who are experiencing/have experienced similar to what you’re feeling. The Internet is a great place for this. Use only trusted sites.
• Discover things that you love to do and make time for them. For me, it was creating art and writing. These will fuel the passion that you have in your soul, again, leading to a ripple effect on your mind.
• Try to train your mind to think and be positive. Positive affirmations repeatedly spoken aloud can be really helpful. You can find plenty of these online.

These are just some things that, in my own experience, I have found to be really helpful. Of course, some or all of these steps will not work for everyone and if you are feeling extremely low or even suicidal, please seek professional help. You are not alone and there are many people and organisations out there that want to help.

Surviving, or Thriving?

Mental Health Awareness Week this year is focused on the theme of ‘Surviving or Thriving’; asking why so few of us are thriving with good mental health despite so many of us not living with a mental health condition.

I believe that to thrive with good mental health, we must reconnect to our minds, bodies and souls. The points that I have mentioned above, which allow this reconnection to occur, such as taking care of your body through food, sleep and exercise; making time to do what you love, and repeatedly training the mind to think positively are things of utmost importance that have to be done regularly in order to not only keep your mental health above water, but to allow it to soar. 

Finally…

I believe fully that our minds create our realities – whatever you think, you will create - positive or negative. Our time on earth is only short and we must make the most of it. To do that, our minds need to be healthy and happy, first and foremost. 

So today I urge you not to underestimate the importance and the power of your mental health. Take good care of it. And make that a priority.

Written by Sabah Ismail