When we think of health many times our thoughts go to what we are eating, how we are exercising or are we getting enough sleep. If we have been through a serious illness, we may be concerned about finding a cure or a way of not having it recur in our life or that of others.
Today though I want to talk about our mental health. Give our children and ourselves permission to say to a trusted friend or parent:
“I am feeling very sad.
My stress is getting greater than I feel like I can deal with.
I am frustrated with my situation.
I keep exploding in anger at people I love. “
Some would say it is not my personality to talk about those feelings. We know though that bottling them up inside ourselves can be dangerous not only mentally but also on our physical body. I remember some 25 years ago feeling so stressed that I literally felt as if I was going to have a heart attack. There were pains in the heart, faster pulse rate and an anxiety that was more than I could deal with. I went to the hospital, I was so scared.
I learned to talk about what I was feeling. I learned how to lean on others when I really needed to and to take better care of myself. So please – take the mental health of ourselves and our children just as seriously as you do the physical health. Doing so will help you to be a much healthier person and happier too!