In the last couple of years, a mental health crisis has affected my sons and me deeply. Historically, it’s been a very dominant factor in my extended family as well. My mother suffered from depression, as did her mother, my Nana.
On the other hand, my great-grandmother, Grammy, who lived an extremely rough life as a teenage immigrant to this country, didn’t suffer as profoundly from mental health issues as her heirs have. Why? If I look back with honest eyes, it was because she was a woman of great faith; she was always helping others yet remembered to care for herself as well and had an amazing spiritual sense about her as a person as well as in her actions.
As mentioned above, my sons and I have been in a mental health crisis state for some time now, but we are addressing it with therapy and medication. Fortunately, there are medications like Intuitive that can help my one son with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) or Cymbalta we get online with a discount that helps my other son with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and anxiety. I am on a low-dose anti-anxiety medication and am considering adding Intuitive for my ADHD as I am prone to addiction, so I choose not to utilize the typical ADHD medications that have addictive properties.
My Grammy also literally ate a farm-to-table diet, worked and walked every day – she wasn’t sitting behind a desk eight to nine hours a day. Even then, she knew how vital being active and eating right was. She kept it simple and, she was grateful. When I think of how forward-thinking she was for her time on this earth, it just amazes me and makes me want to pursue a similar path.
As a result of thinking about my Grammy, I have taken action and signed up for a spiritual mental health workshop. They will be discussing how a place of worship can become a sanctuary where individuals living with mental health challenges can feel safe, supported, and a deep sense of belonging. Apparently, the workshop was created to inspire and equip communities of faith that are asking the critical question: why is it important to address mental health?
The course was developed in consultation with mental health professionals, theologians, and people with lived experience, who guide those in the course by exploring key mental topics and examining meaningful ways to offer companionship, support recovery, and promote wellbeing.
To date, my sons and I are exploring the following means of addressing our mental health:
- Counseling
- Medication
- Support groups (we’ll talk in more depth in the following sections)
- Eating healthy, specifically for me, a gut-healthy diet
- Exercise and weight training
- Having animals like dogs and cats to receive unconditional love from
Mental health is all about our emotions, thoughts, and social interactions, influencing our feelings, actions, and how we deal with stress, connect with others, and make decisions. It is important to address our mental health from the time we are young children to aging adults – we must take special care of our mental health by any healthy means necessary.
How do dogs reduce stress, anxiety and depression?
Throughout the years of my life, dogs have enhanced my life by reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation. They have all encouraged me to exercise or go outside, which can improve my overall health. There is so much to gain from having a dog for someone who suffers from depression, ADHD, cognitive disabilities, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, or physical disabilities.
In fact, over half of all households in the United States have at least one dog; this leaves approximately 55 million dogs living in American homes. Dogs are incredibly social creatures and are considered man’s best friend for a reason; they are constantly curious, love attention, crave affection, and go out of their way to make us happy. There has been no greater teacher of unconditional love than my dogs have been. Well, besides my mom.
According to the American Heart Association, “Pets can reduce work-related stress. Two out of three employees say work stresses them out and 40% say their job gets in the way of their health. Studies show that pets in the workplace help reduce stress and improve employee satisfaction.
Pets can help increase productivity, wherever you work. When a dog joins a virtual meeting, group members rank their teammates higher on trust, team cohesion and camaraderie.
Pets help manage anxiety. Now more than ever, many people are feeling anxious or struggling with mental health. Pets provide companionship and support.
Pets can help you be more active. They give you a reason to get outside, get some fresh air and get active, which is proven to improve your mood, sleep and mental health.
Pets provide a sense of togetherness. The bond with a pet helps you not to feel alone. When owners see, touch, hear or talk to their companion animals, it brings a sense of goodwill, joy, nurturing and happiness,”.
Social connection and mental health
- Staying connected to others creates feelings of belonging and being loved, cared for, and valued.
- Social connections are important to our mental and physical health.
- Being connected to others helps protect against serious illness and disease.
- People with stronger social bonds are more likely to live longer, healthier lives,”.
I know we have understood that connection is the opposite of addiction in the way that when people feel connected socially, they are less likely to die from the disease of addiction or alcoholism and more likely to recover.
Let’s keep it simple like my wise Grammy would have; when people are socially connected and have stable and supportive relationships, they are more likely to make healthy choices and have better mental and physical health outcomes. They are also better able to cope with hard times, stress, anxiety, and depression. Mix in some spirituality in there, and you’ll have a recipe for a balanced life.
When people work at making their lives better through healthy means, the more likely they are to receive the following life-changing promises:
- Learn a new freedom and a new happiness
- No regrets for the past nor a wish to shut the door on it; instead, it is now their most valuable asset in being able to help others like them
- Comprehension of the word serenity; they know true peace
- No matter how far down the scale they go, they will be able to use their own experience to help and benefit others
- The feeling of uselessness and self-pity disappears
- Interest in themselves and selfish things is minimized as they gain interest in their fellows, with self-seeking slipping away
- Attitude and outlook upon life changes
- Fears of being around people and taking financial care of themselves will leave them
- Eventually, they intuitively know how to handle situations that used to baffle them and realize that some “outside force” is doing for them what they could never do for themselves
Why is it important to address mental health
To summarize, some people feel that these ways to a better life are extravagant promises; however, the folks who are taking these measures to heart think they are not as they are being fulfilled among them every day-sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They found that they always materialize if they work for them and apply the simple steps to take toward healthy physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.
*Note: All content within this article is meant for informational purposes only and is in no way a replacement for professional medical or psychological advice or support. Seek immediate and appropriate care from a healthcare professional should you or a trusted loved one deem it necessary.