Mental Health Awareness is about so much more than just raising awareness. It is about so much more than ticking boxes and wearing ribbons - although this is all incredibly important - of course.
It is about helping those that find themselves in the thick of it right now, lost and scared. ‘Lost’ is a term I have heard a lot over the years when discussing Mental Health. A feeling of being completely and fully ‘Lost’ in life. In any circumstance. Despite maybe a decent paying salary, cars, a nice lifestyle, holidays? Feeling ‘Lost’ is not means tested - it gets you at any level.
I wrote a poem at 14 years old for homework called ‘Lost’. I could have written a poem about anything at all but being ‘Lost’ even then, was what came through for me - I felt lost and insecure. My teacher when returning the HW, the top of the class, was shocked. She said Nicola ‘either you made that poem up to sound good or that is some writing?’ ‘No Miss. It’s how I feel’.
My feeling completely lost came from having a very poorly sister who was born with Congenital Heart Disease and who was a lifelong cause of stress and worry to my parents and myself. Plus, I was biologically pre-disposed to severe anxiety and depression from my dad’s side of the family.
My feelings of being lost and insecure would literally define the paths I would take in life until very recently, as I have overcome all of that old thinking and emotion that kept me back for so long. To anyone out there who is triggered by this - who is feeling lost, confused, stuck: There is nothing wrong with you - you are human. Being human is exactly why you feel the way you do. Because we are all having a crazy human experience - an experience where we are starting to find our way back to being our true selves. It is not unusual to feel ‘Lost’ so we eventually make the choices we need to, to find our way home. To ourselves again.
So how do you start to find your way back from being so lost?
You start thinking on what you really want in life. This is about thinking and creating new ideas, revisiting old ideas, desires, dreams that you had. It’s remembering what you are naturally good at and what you enjoy.
When you intentionally think these thoughts, nicer thoughts, more elevated thoughts, you start triggering new neural pathways in the brain. You stop re-enforcing the pathways from constant overthinking about being lost and you open up to new ideas.
New ideas that could bring new goals, old goals remembered perhaps. You start feeling these new thoughts as emotions. More positive emotions. Feeling better. Thoughts like ‘wouldn’t that be amazing to do that?‘ ‘wouldn’t it be so cool to do that?’ are where you bottom out your downward negative spiral of thinking and feeling and start to go back into the upward spiral - because those thoughts are opportunity, they are positively charged creative thoughts, not destructive thoughts.
At the bottom of every deep, deep mental hole I was ever in over the 5 severe breakdowns I had, was a new idea, a new spark, a new hope, a lightbulb moment that turned the tides. That bottomed out the downward spiral and got me back into creating not destroying myself.
AND
You may never realise the power in one day - just one day - until you no longer have one day (credit Ed Mylett). This has been on my heart a lot as my dear old dad’s life is fading fast. He does not have many more days left. But you have or at least may have.
Spending some time with yourself and allowing yourself to think on ‘what could happen’, ‘what could I do’, ‘what could I help others with?’ could be your way to use your next day to start finding your new way back, your new path.
Every day - keep thinking those thoughts that feel good to you.
It can be hard to do this, I know. BUT you can do it because you are human. In addition to being good at being lost. We are amazing at finding ourselves too. Every day, in every day, you are getting better and better and better.
Every day you stick with it, focusing on prioritising yourself, loving yourself, nurturing and nourishing yourself, embracing who you are and not feeling guilty about any of it, you are on your way.
Working on being 1% better than yesterday, every day, is a very powerful technique. Just 1% better than yesterday equates to 365% better in 1 year.
Can you even imagine how much you can feel better in a year? Working on baby steps every day.
- Reading one more paragraph in your book. Then reading more and more.
- Writing one more affirmation that speaks to your heart. Then adding more.
- Drinking 1 more litre of water a day to get you to the 2 litres you need.
- Drinking 1 less alcoholic drink each day.
- Eating a little bit more healthy.
- Make small steps in your physical fitness, more steps, more time outside in the fresh air, getting sun on your face.
- More time as Mind, Body and Soul and not just a physical body.
Thinking 1 more positive thought every day about what you are good at, what you excel at, what a new hobby could be. What opportunities you have. Is all the power of ‘Just One More’.
Just One More....So Powerful.
It creates a momentum. A new momentum in you, a new fire inside.
This Mental Health Awareness Day could be the day you bottom out the downward spiral and start creating what you want in your life - on purpose. Where your momentum starts accelerating. From just 1 thought.
We are with you all the way - Nicola Adkin