Check in with yourself – regularly

As someone who’s worked in mental health for several decades now, I’m very pleased to note that we’ve come a long way in terms of how most people think about mental health, as well as their willingness to talk about their mental health or lack thereof.??

Thanks to the fantastic work of numerous organisations, including (but not limited to) Beyond Blue, he Black Dog Institute, batyr, Movember, RUOK?Day and many others, much of the stigma associated with mental ill-health has been smashed. As such, more people are recognising that “it’s OK not to be OK all the time” and just as importantly, more people are recognising that it’s OK to reach out and ask for help.?

As great as all this is, however, I can’t help but think that it would be even better if more people did something BEFORE their mental health was compromised, if more people took more positive action before they were experiencing high levels of stress or anxiety or depression.?

The good news is there’s a relatively simple model for doing this, something I’m pretty confident you all do already, and from which we can all learn.?

To what am I referring??

Well, let me ask you a question… do you attend an annual (or regular) dental check-up? And/or maybe an annual or regular medical review for something like melanoma, cervical or breast or prostate cancer, or some other health-related problem??

If not, you almost certainly should. But if you do, and I hope you do, then why don’t we also do this for our mental health??

We have these scans and reviews because we know that prevention is better than cure; that getting in early can save pain and discomfort and can make treatment less invasive and more likely to be successful.?

The same is true (or could be true) for our mental health. Getting in early would make so many things so much easier; it would more than likely make treatment easier and more effective, but it might also mean that treatment, formal treatment anyway, is not even necessary and that you can, instead, manage things yourself.?

How, then, can you do this??

Well, quite simply, set aside some time on a regular basis to review how you’re feeling; how you’re coping; how you’re faring in different parts of your life or in life overall.?

This could be weekly, monthly,annually or whatever you deem to be necessary for you and your circumstances. There’s no “right” or “perfect” time frame; but please just note, more often is probably better than less often because it will give you more opportunities to catch things before they develop.?

Make an appointment with yourself and put this appointment in your calendar. Don’t just leave it to chance or just say to yourself something vague like, “I’ll do this next week”.?

When you turn up to your appointment, ask yourself a few simple questions like:?

- ? ? ? How have I been feeling lately??

- ? ? ? How have I been sleeping??

- ? ? ? Do I have the energy and motivation I’d like to have??

- ? ? ? To what extent have I been feeling hopeful and optimistic (or not)??

- ? ? ? Have I been achieving my goals??

There are many other questions I could suggest; but I’d prefer to keep things simple here. And to be honest, the most important thing is just that you set aside time to pause and reflect on how you are. Doing so, regularly, could well be the best thing you ever do for yourself.?

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