Rubens King works as an Enterprise Coordinator to support Careers Leaders in schools and colleges to develop their career strategies. He also writes about mental health to promote equality, diversity and inclusion. As someone with lived experience of anxiety and depression, Rubens outlines three ways to maintain good mental health. Please note: This piece may be triggering.
“The MindWaves Project supports a lot of young people with ASD who may also experience mental health. Hopefully some of the links here will be helpful to readers.” – Jenniann Davies, Kane Youth Projects Director and MindWaves Programme coordinator.
Having a healthy body, exercising, and eating well may be on people’s agenda, but is mental health?
Based on reported figures, one in four people in the general population have a mental health issue and one in six at work have a mental health issue (Mental Health Foundation, 2019).
Louise Aston, wellbeing director at Business in the Community said 77% of employees have experienced symptoms of mental ill health at some point in their lives (Jacobs, 2017). Addressing suicide is “something every responsible employer should think about”, Aston urges (Jacobs, 2017).
People who suffer with mental illness are at risk of poor physical health and reduced life expectancy, this illustrates the importance of having mental health on the agenda (Mental Health Statistics, 2019; Public Health England, 2019).
Being healthy may be a state free of illness but also includes the ability to sleep with a clear mind. A good amount of sleep helps to consolidate learning and replenish energy levels.
Help and advice can be obtained from Surrey and NE Hants Mental Health Crisis Helpline. It is open 24 hours on 0800 915 4644.
Dealing with hurdles:
It may help to be resilient when something unexpected happens, and trying not generalise or personalise the issue.
Try go at your own speed and if you’re feeling down, view a setback not as a learning opportunity. Be brave, use your support network for advice and comfort.
Self-compassion:
Be patient with yourself and explore the balance that works for you. Try exploring going outside your comfort zone for self-improvement but consider going back in to consolidate what you have learned. You wouldn’t push a friend beyond their limits, so why do it to yourself?
One solution is to adopt a more positive outlook. This can be done by celebrating small wins to enhance your self-motivation, thus encouraging yourself to achieve larger goals.
Relinquishing control:
Society may instil the idea in you that control helps you to be happy. However, control may come with responsibility, pressure, stress, and anxiety.
For example, it can be satisfying to have your say and express emotions but when you aren’t happy until something is done every time, then this mindset can become unhealthy.
Being adaptable is a life-long skill that needs to be honed and is potentially complimented by meditation and self-talk.
Conclusion:
Resilience is a lifelong skill that improves through practice. Be brave in challenging any unrealistic and unhelpful thought patterns. Loving yourself and having a balance is a priority.
Control can be an unhelpful goal in practice as it would be foolish to want 100% control of life as no one is truly in the driver’s seat. For example, take weather forecasts, you can plan as much as you want, but change is constant. Having access to the right environment specific support is key to unlocking your potential.
If you are a young person between 14-25 you can self-refer to Kane’s MindWaves Project, where radio and music skills are the medium to help build confidence and be a fulfilling activity which can bring about positive changes.
Rubens also has a blog.
