Mental Health Issues Are On the Up as We Leave Summer Behind

Coming to the end of summer and into Autumn and Winter can be typically harsh on our mental health. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or the "Winter Blues" can have a much stronger impact on our state of mind than we realise. Whilst we're still in August (hanging onto summer by our fingernails!), it's always good to be aware of these things and have things in place to help us cope.

Now, some of you may be sat there thinking 'But I don't have SAD, I love the winter months'. That's cool, what we're about to share covers far more. The Mountain and Valley template is a tool for all of life's ups and downs. Here at MBM, we call these mountains and valleys. It’s based on the excellent book ‘Peaks and Valleys’. The premise is that when we are on the mountain we need to stay there longer and when we are in the valley we need to get out of there quicker. If we do, we spend a longer time happier and our mental health is much stronger.

Like any ‘condition’ we need a plan. So when I broke my foot many years ago I wrote a short plan of the medication I had to take each day and the exercises I needed to do. Not a very comprehensive plan. Actually, it was more of a reminder. But sometimes that is all you need – a go-to plan.

Let’s go one step further and use this template below to put some?deep work ?thought into how we manage our mental health. After all, as L’Oreal says:

"We’re worth it".

Using the Mountain and Valley Template

The template will help us manage the mountains and the valleys. Overall, it consists of three columns:

• The first column shows the In, Stay and Out.
• The second column is the Mountains.
• The third column is the Valleys.

Click the below image for a downloadable version:

Instructions

In essence, your task is to complete each box. For example, the first box is the In and Mountain box. This represents us getting onto the mountain. So, the question to answer for this box is ‘What gets you onto the mountain?’. Add 3 points. The next box, to the right, is the In and Valley box, asking ‘What gets you into the Valley?’. Again, list 3 things.

We then move on to the Out boxes – What gets us off the mountain and what gets us out of the valley? Obviously, what gets us off the mountain, by writing the 3 points, we then want to avoid these at all costs because we want to stay on the mountain. Whereas, for the valley, whatever gets us out, we should do it more.

Now complete all 6 boxes to create your Mental Health Management Plan.

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