Invested in yourself lately?

Yesterday was World Mental Health Day.

My twitter feed was abuzz with articles from peers and friends singing the virtues of yoga, psychotherapy, massage, and meditation.  The Facebook business page of nearly every therapist I know made a nod to the event.

This year’s theme was timely and telling: “Investing in mental health.”

Of all the commentaries and articles I read about this year’s World Mental Health Day, the one that made the most lasting impact wasn’t actually an article.  It was a seven-panel comic.  Like most clever humor, the cartoon offers a sharp and useful commentary about the limitations of the current healthcare system in the UK.  I think the same criticisms can be said for the system in the United States.

When it comes to developing budgets or offering airtime, mental health still seems to get short shrift on the public agenda.  I don’t quite know why.  I’ve wondered aloud with my clients about why the topic of mental health is often ignored and mental illness is still treated by many as a moral failing.  A fair portion of my efforts in therapy go towards undoing these painful myths and helping people understand that mental health is deeply important and requires priority.

It’s important, so I need to restate it:  people coming to therapy have legitimate hurts and concerns that require careful tending-to.  The pain is no less impactful just because it does not bear a physical marker.  If anything, these needs require even more support because these private and solitary struggles are often invisible to others.

The stigma against mental illness runs deep, and progress is slow.  I do my best to educate my clients and their families, but so many policies and myths run counter to my efforts that I sometimes feel very discouraged indeed.

To be honest, I don’t know if I should feel grateful that the topic of mental health receives a designated day for recognition, or appalled that this is all the attention we afford the topic on a yearly calendar.  I know there are other days designated for particular mental health topics, but it doesn’t feel like enough.  It isn’t enough.  It barely scratches the surface.

But—and this may surprise you, given what I have written here—I don’t want to write a treatise on stigma or mental health policy today.  I want you to finish this article with at least one good idea in mind about how you can better take care of yourself today.

But, even this feels like a challenge.

With the squeeze of the economy, people are feeling troubled, stuck behind a small budget.  I have listened to friends share their troubles with me.

“Therapy is too expensive right now,” they say.  “Things are really rough, but I just can’t afford it.”  A time of hardship is the very time when people should be getting more support.  And yet, I see many people tightening their belts, deferring treatment, self-care, all the way down to the simple indulgences that they used to enjoy.

I’m not entirely sure what the remedy is for this problem.  But, I think it requires us to think outside the box.  I think we need to get creative about ways we can afford ourselves small kindnesses.

I don’t know if the prescription is more picnics in parks or solitary evening walks in the neighborhood.  Maybe it’s an afternoon with a favorite movie.  Perhaps it is a foot rub, or an hour with a blank page where you get to say whatever you need to without censure.  Maybe it is a big bowl of your favorite soup and a blanket.  Possibly it’s a queue of your favorite, feel-good songs and a pair of headphones.

You tell me:  if you were the doctor, what would you prescribe to cure your ailment or worry?  What remedy would help shift your life from good to great?

What small and simple gesture could put some ease back into your life?

This hearkens back to my talk about preventative wellness and apples, that is, those favored fifteen minutes a day where you get to engage in a little indulgence or kindness towards yourself.

Good mental health is a journey.  It is a daily commitment to honor the body and mind that accompany you in this life.

Good mental health is about cultivating a healthy attitude and interpersonal resources.  It is about taking permission to enjoy simple pleasures.  It is about being a good boss or custodian for yourself.  It requires compassion and patience.

I think we all deserve to enjoy good mental health.  And there are many pathways to that end.  But, regardless of your methods, safeguarding your heart and mind against the life’s pain and troubles will require persistence and commitment.

Because, if you don’t invest in yourself, who will?

Please take this invitation to consider what you need to bring yourself nearer to contentment and happiness today.