According to Mental Health America, self-reflection is essential to mental wellness. Reflecting on mental health wellness this month, we should look to ourselves and how we are doing in our lives. It is important that you check in with yourself periodically. Checking in with yourself allows you the opportunity to evaluate where you are in your life journey. You may find that you need to readjust your plans or try different coping tools.
If you have had low times in the past, you understand how hard it can be to get out of those places. Learning all that you can about your mental health will help let you know that your hard times are not your fault. Making a list of those things that make you happy and a list of things that make you sad. The goal is to do more that makes you happy and less of what makes you sad.
Another tool that may help you is to journal about your experiences. Keeping a journal is a great way to learn about yourself. Being completely honest in your journal is important; in your journal, you should feel free to write your truth and find answers through your writing. This will help you discover how you really feel, vent your feelings, and find answers through your writing.
Another method of connecting with yourself is to become an advocate and share your story. There has been a lot of research that explores the power of storytelling as a form of therapy. Sharing your own experiences through writing or talking is an important stage of your journey. Just as you are supported by reading the thoughts and experiences of others, you can also be the person that helps lift another.
Every time you write or speak about your story, you heal a little more each time. Don’t keep your pain inside; it will keep you unhappy and, ultimately, will make you sick. Seek help when you are in need. Reach out to someone or seek the help of a professional. Your life can only get better with help. Remember my friends and readers, embrace Jeremiah 31:16. This is what the LORD says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future,” declares the LORD.
Love God and all people. Amen.
