Mental health is a crucial component of overall well-being. Just as physical health is essential for our bodies, mental health is equally important for our minds and overall quality of life. When our minds are healthy, we are better equipped to navigate life’s challenges, build strong relationships, and experience greater fulfilment.

Mental well-being can be confusing at times, as it is often related primarily to different forms of pathology like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Bipolar Depression, Anorexia Nervosa, Borderline Personality Disorder, or other forms of more severe psychopathology like Schizophrenia. Not enough is said about the developmental formative years prior to maladaptive coping mechanisms becoming ridged, having been employed in an individual’s best attempt at coping within their environment. An environment often not conducive to optimum skills and schema development.  Little is said about the systemic causes that directly contribute to the development of mall adaptive coping mechanisms, disordered thinking and psychopathology.

Examples of these include but are not limited to the distress that is caused by entering a new career and being faced with imposter syndrome, without adequate self reflective skills to address the experience. Changing schools to a new environment with little to no support for adjustment to occur optimally. Picking the right course to study that will dictate your daily routine for the rest of your life. Preparing for exams while faced with personal difficulties in your home life, and being stuck in your emotional mind unable to retain information to the degree you would under more stable circumstances. Purchasing your first house in a volatile economy, and struggling with an increase in anxiety that wont subside. Finding out a spouse has been unfaithful, and contemplating if divorce is the only option as a result of indifference and resentment. Being emotionally or physically abused, and finding yourself unable to focus on attaining a path to safety. Losing a partner to death, or a child as a result of a miscarriage, and struggling to adjust to a new found reality. Losing your job, or wanting to come out to family members but fearing rejection to the point that you reject yourself and neglect your own needs. Becoming a parent and struggling to adjust to your new role, a lack of sleep, being the primary person responsible for another human beings optimum development and well being. Becoming burnt out from burning the candle at both sides, in order to keep up with the demands of life. Or receiving a terminal diagnosis, that causes you to question what the point was to any of it.

The list of life events that occur and cause severe discomfort is truly endless. When left unaddressed it often has a snowballing accumulative effect, where an individual capacity to manage increasingly deteriorates, resulting in fight or flight and the employment of more mall adaptive coping mechanisms or schemas. Mental well-being involves feelings, thoughts and behaviours that have a negative effect on an individual’s life. It results in changes in an individual’s mood, their perception of reality and their ability to organise and focus their thoughts. These are all signs of mental distress, and more often than not greatly affect an individual’s ability to function optimally at work, in relationships and within their communities. All of these can be addressed in psychological counselling, in the pursuit of balance and discovering your most authentic self.

You do not have to go at this alone, so don’t.