For a house to survive the wind, rain, passing of time, and perhaps even the occasional earth tremor (depending on where you live!), there needs to be a solid foundation. Otherwise, no matter how lovely or fancy the house might appear to be, cracks will be begin to form and the structure will start to be compromised, risking the house sitting on shaky ground.
Our mental health is the same.
We each need a solid foundation upon which to build our mental wellbeing.
But unlike the foundations of a house, the factors that solidify our mental health are unique. Our foundations all look slightly different. Of course there are some common ingredients that are reflected in research, such as moving our body and having social connection. What supports good mental health varies across each of us though.
So our invitation to you is to start being curious about factors that have a positive impact on your mental wellbeing.
What habits or actions are at play when you notice your mood at its best?
When you’re feeling more sure of yourself, what are some of things you might have done that have contributed to this state of mind?
When you reflect on people in your life who seem to have good mental health, what do you notice them doing (or not doing)?
Start tuning into what makes your mental health feel more solid, maybe even keeping some notes about what you find.
And if you’re not sure or would like to strengthen your foundation, we’ve got lots of resources on our website for you to explore what works for you:
- Maybe harnessing your inner critic is key?
- Perhaps finding ways to thread a little bit of mindfulness into your day might help
- Or could it be useful to build up your toolkit for managing stress?
- You might even wonder if regular journalling could help to support your mental health. Spoiler alert: we think it’s one of the most effective ways of getting to know yourself better!
If you’re not sure where to start with building on good foundations for your mental health, have a click around the free resources section of our website for inspiration and some practical ideas you can try.
Or book an appointment with one of our experienced therapists. They can help you to figure out what the building blocks of good mental health are for you.