Mid Year Motivation & Mental Health

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So, it has been just a little bit over two years since I last wrote a blog about how to stay positive during Lockdown. This will be our 3rd year of the pandemic.  A fact that we can’t ignore. Little did we know what was going to hit us, and how long it was going to last. In a world of not knowing, we all suffered some sort of loss but we can say the last couple of years brought us personal growth, understanding, and hopefully, renewed optimism. To mention a few points, we value our friends and family more, and we adapted to the new normals. There have been new developments in science, such as the COVID-19 vaccines, and we are just about over the 5th wave. Today we can watch sports again and go to church and concerts and so much more. In the work environment, people have been offered opportunities again, and we are all ready and eager to get going.  Even Expos and Trade Shows are coming back, and that gets me all excited!

It all just shows that we are a testament to humanity’s commitment to healing.  That brings me to the topic of Mental Health. It is imperative that we should learn how to take care of ourselves even more, not only physically but mentally as well.  In fact, I think Mental Health should continue to be a priority in the upcoming years, without a healthy mind, you can’t have a healthy body.

What is Mental Health? 

Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences cognitionperception, and behaviour. It also determines how an individual handles stressinterpersonal relationships, and decision-makingMental health includes subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacyautonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one’s intellectual and emotional potential, among others. 

From the perspectives of positive psychology or holism, mental health may include an individual’s ability to enjoy life and to create a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how one defines “mental health”.  Some early signs related to mental health problems are sleep irritation, lack of energy and thinking of harming yourself or others.

Mental Health Tips:

1. Value yourself
Treat yourself with kindness and respect and avoid self-criticism. Make time for your hobbies and favourite projects.

2. Take care of your body
Eat nutritious meals, Exercise, which helps decrease depression and anxiety and improve moods and Get enough sleep.

3. Surround yourself with good people
Make plans with supportive family members and friends or seek out activities where you can meet new people.

4. Give yourself
Volunteer your time and energy to help someone else. You’ll feel good about doing something tangible to help someone in.

5. Learn how to deal with stress
Practice good coping skills, exercise, take a nature walk, play with your pet or try journal writing as a stress reducer. Also, remember to smile and see the humour in life. Research shows that laughter can boost your immune system, ease pain, relax your body and reduce stress.

6. Quiet your mind
Try meditating, relaxation exercises and prayer can improve your state of mind and outlook on life.

7. Set realistic goals
Decide what you want to achieve academically, professionally, and personally, and write down the steps you need to realize your goals. Aim high but be realistic and don’t over-schedule. You’ll enjoy a tremendous sense of accomplishment and self-worth as you progress toward your goal. 

8. Break up the monotony
Although our routines make us more efficient and enhance our feelings of security and safety, a little change of pace can perk up a tedious schedule. Alter your jogging route, plan a road-trip, take a walk in a different park, hang some new pictures, or try a new restaurant.

9. Avoid alcohol and other drugs
Keep alcohol use to a minimum and avoid other drugs. Sometimes people use alcohol and other drugs to “self-medicate” but, alcohol and other drugs only aggravate problems.

10. Get help when you need it
Seeking help is a sign of strength — not a weakness. And it is important to remember that treatment is effective. People who get appropriate care can recover from mental illness and addiction and lead full, rewarding lives.

I’ll leave you with a bit of mid-year inspiration with a quote from Winston Churchill, “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the Courage to Continue that Counts”.

Sources:
Mental health – Wikipedia
Ten Things You Can Do for Your Mental Health | University Health Service (umich.edu)
Mental Health Awareness Month 2022 | South African Government (www.gov.za)


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My journey started in 2015 with Leads 2 Business, as an Account Executive, and gradually grown to take the role of being the Client Liaison Officer (CLO) since 2018. Assisting in the delivery of our services and insuring our clients expectations and requirements are exceeded.

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About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

Intellectual Health

Leads 2 Business : Intellectual health

 

 

 

Intellect…. now this is something I thought evaded me my whole school going life, or did I just do a really good job avoiding it?…..Hmmmm, I was more of a social butterfly you see, but lucky for me not all is lost because it turns out you can be both!

It’s a good thing because planning my social life from Monday to Friday and recovering from it from Sunday to Tuesday may have made me a fun friend to be around at school, but it sure wouldn’t pay the bills now that I work!

I would like to think I now have a fine but workable balance between the two 🙂

 

I’ve come to realise I was never “stupid” I was just never pushed or motivated.

This didn’t hamper me though thankfully, yes it may have taken me longer than some, but I got there!

I developed the need to be & do better and that turned into the need to be the best (Status of Mission: currently still striving for!), now sure, this unfortunately only occurred to me once I was firmly out of school and coincidently working for the company I’m currently working for….

Is that really coincidental? I think not!

 

Answer yourself this question, have you ever enjoyed learning anything whereby the person teaching you was someone you really didn’t like??? The answer is NEVER!!!

 

So would I be wrong in saying that in order to improve your intellectual health you need to find yourself in an environment whereby you are motivated, encouraged and ultimately rewarded?

So whether it be at school, college, your work place or even in your day to day life, FIND THIS!!!

Take my word for this, It will make a world of difference in your life :).

 

The wonderful thing about humans, is that we never stop learning or teaching, I mean, just last week I was at work, in our canteen and was disturbed by the smell of burning toast, turns out it wasn’t the toast burning but rather the crumbs within the toaster, so, I simply pulled out the bottom tray of the toaster and emptied out all the crumbs… needless to say this left some of my colleagues speechless!!

Seriously! Are there people out there that didn’t know about this tray????

 

Well, before I get carried away, I had my own little “learning” experience around the same time….

First let me ask, there has to, has to be other people out there that didn’t know this? Please!

I have to believe I’m not the only one!

So…. I have NEVER used the word “utmost” in my life, I always thought the phrase was “up most” (which I secretly still think makes more sense), but anyhoo, who am I to judge the Oxford Dictionary!

 

Now I suppose you are waiting for me to bestow upon you some practical ways in which you can improve your intellectual health, so here it goes!

 

  • First and for most, place yourself in a place that inspires you to learn.

 

  • Physical Exercise – Get the blood pumping, this is not only for your muscles but for your brain.
  • Minimizing Stress – take “you time”, put your phones, tablets, friends and family on silent for a bit, breath, relax and when you do sleep make sure it is uninterrupted.
  • Healthy Eating – Include in your diet Essential fatty acids, these build the insulation of the neurons in the brain – FACT!
  • Cut out foods with a high glycaemic index like sweets, most breads and a whole list of other stuff. http://www.theingredientstore.com/amescompany/GIindex.html
  • Mental Exercise: The brain is a muscle so exercise it, do a puzzle, download one of many brain games available for computers and for smart devices, do a crossword, Sudoku, discuss topics of real substance – not the latest celebrity pregnancy.

I also thought before I go, I would like to touch on another health issue that I think is equally as important and that’s emotional health, because lets face it, if your head is not in a good place, nothing else matters, your ability to see past your emotional problems mess with your ability to learn and ultimately puts a hold on your personal growth.

I recently found myself having to reassess what is important to hold on to and what I need to let go of, and which of these cloud judgement and stunt “awesomeness”!
My findings – well lets just say that anger, resentment, judgement, grudges and gossip have to go!

Its a process, but some people find it easier than others not to hold on to these things, and I’m fortunate to be one of these people. 🙂

So, go do some unpacking and reshuffling of the soul and see how revitalised you feel, this will unclutter your brain and you will think clearer, then once that has happened, CHALLENGE your brain, and CHALLENGE it some more!!

 

Albert Einstein wrote, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
So find your place and find your purpose;)

About Sherina Shawe

I am a strong believer in "What you put in , is what you will get out" and this drives me every day, whether it's at home with my gorgeous family or at work where I get to fuel my competitive spirit. I love who I am and who I'm becoming. I love where I am , but more importantly where I'm going.... #EternalOptimist #Aspire2Inspire