As we embrace the warmth and longer days of summer, it’s an ideal time to focus on maintaining and enhancing our mental health. More than just looking out for the #summerbody, summer provides ample opportunities to rejuvenate and refresh our minds, and it’s essential to recognize the importance of our emotional well-being amidst all the activities and sunshine. The Ministry of Education’s tagline, “It’s Okay to Not be Okay,” offers some reassurance, but we need actionable steps to help us thrive this summer.
Mental health is all-encompassing, comprising our physiological, emotional, and social well-being. The issues people face may vary drastically. So how do we fix this or attempt to do better?
As a happiness enthusiast and life coach, I advocate for simple techniques to live happier and more mindfully. However, I also recognize the challenge of pursuing happiness when we feel so miserable. There are moments when I feel guilty for celebrating life’s precious moments, and the next instant I struggle with motivation and sleepless nights. This constant seesaw of emotions is draining and happens to the best of us.
In the past, the subject of mental health awareness was taboo, especially in our Asian culture where much was swept under the rug. Now, we encourage people to come forward, share stories, and be better listeners to help those around us.
We need to retreat inwards to acknowledge how we feel. Sometimes it feels like a black cloud is suspended over us, other times it’s traced to a specific incident, activity, experience, or reason. We need to carve out time to sit with our thoughts and digest them. If we experience an overwhelming wave of anxiety during a meeting, we need to train our minds to focus on the present moment and revisit these feelings later. It might be on your commute home or during your evening walk when you can revisit and process these feelings with a clear head. Multitasking our emotions with daily tasks can lead to burnout.
We need to seek the right help. I’m proud of the young people I speak to who are willing to share their daily challenges, be it low self-esteem or school pressures. However, some mental health issues stem from severe depression and more complex psychological issues. Young people and adults need to acknowledge these concerns and seek the appropriate help. If we are becoming a society that accepts mental health issues, we must be inclusive of all the different kinds of help and treatment each individual needs. Here are several hotlines to different agencies that can help.
This is easier said than done. I spoke with a friend who felt stretched in every direction and fatigued. I encouraged her to start a gratitude exercise with her child to foster a positive mindset, reduce anxiety, build resilience, and boost a positive outlook. Her immediate response was that gratitude was too powerful and overwhelming to discuss with her child, almost un-Asian. Yet, science shows the immense benefits of practicing gratitude on mental health. We often fear these words and dissect mental health issues when they hit close to home. I encourage you to be open about how you feel and to seek the right help to feel better as you surf through your summer!
For those of you needing practical tips to feel better, here are three ways I pull myself out of a funk:
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