Just like it takes regular exercise to maintain physical health, it requires a little bit of work every day to maintain your mental health.
Maintaining mental health
Mental health requires maintenance. You should think about taking care of your mental health in the same way that you would take care of your physical health. We don’t just mean this in the sense that exercise promotes a better mood.
Culturally, it is understood that good physical health requires some amount of work and exercise to maintain. We’re told that if you sit on the couch or lay in bed all day, you won’t be able to have strong bones, strong muscles, or maintain a healthy heart and body.
At the same time, there is an idea that you don’t have to put in any work to maintain a positive mood and good thoughts — which simply isn’t true.
Removing the stigma
Many of our patients understand that they need to block out some time every day and every week to focus on physical health.
They’ll know that they need to put in some amount of time every day doing resistance training to increase their bone strength or aerobic training to increase their cardiovascular strength. They’ll follow the amount of weight that they can lift, and the amount of reps they can do, or the amount of time it takes to run a mile and how breathless they feel after climbing a set of stairs.
They put aside this time to focus on their physical health without guilt or shame for needing to.
However, when we ask them to put aside half an hour or even as little as 5-10 minutes every day for mental health, there is a stigma. There is a feeling that they shouldn’t have to do that, and that everyone else is able to get away without putting aside that time and still have a good mood.
It takes some amount of work and effort every day to have a good mood and good thoughts. Believing otherwise can make us feel as if we are somehow broken because we do have to do that work. However, even if you look around and see that there are people who appear to naturally be very healthy, they are likely putting in work in ways that you can’t see.
no such thing as “naturally” healthy
Just as there appear to be people who are naturally physically healthy, it can be easy to assume that someone naturally has good mental health.
When you take a closer look, you can begin to see the hidden ways these people are working to maintain their health. Maybe they take the stairs instead of the elevator as a function of their everyday life because that was what their family did. They may take a walk every day during lunch or every morning with the dogs, without even considering it as exercise or a healthy activity.
They are doing these activities because it’s a part of their culture, or the way they grew up, or because it’s something they’ve always done — without consciously setting aside that time as “exercise” in the same way that someone else might.
The same is true for mental health. Those who appear to “naturally” have a positive mood and upbeat attitude are doing the work in a way that isn’t obvious. Maybe they were brought up in a family where they practiced gratitude, or prayer as part of their religious culture. They may practice affirmations or read positive psychology books disguised as other things.
The work is always being done somewhere, even if it is a little buried.
Find the right exercise
Maintaining your mental health takes a little bit of work every day — which means finding the exercises that work for you.
If swimming was the only way to achieve physical fitness, some of us would never be able to do it. There are many ways to exercise both our bodies and our minds.
Try different things. If you’ve only tried ACT, try CBT, or IFS, or talk therapy. There are many different forms of therapy, thought exercises, and books or podcasts you can try. Find something that fits well with you so you’re doing something comfortably and happily every day that improves your mental health.
About Us
Wells Medicine is a Houston-based practice designed to provide meaningful care for mental health. Providing targeted interventional treatments for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, PTSD and other conditions, with Ketamine Treatments, Stellate Ganglion Blocks, TMS, and Nitrous-Oxide Treatments. Focused on comprehensive care and integration with Psychiatry, Psychology, and Support Services. We are evidence-based, patient-focused and mission-driven.
The content here is for informational purposes and should not be relied upon for medical decisions. For the details of your specific medical conditions and treatments consult your doctors or other qualified healthcare professionals.
