How to put your mental health first? Know what questions to be asked
Although the arrival of new month may not quite feel as refreshing after dealing with burnout and stress in the last few months. But it’s still the perfect time to sit back and reflect everything that’s happened so far this year.
It may seem a little ‘blurred’, but reflection can be extremely valuable because not only it is a great way to remain aware and stay up to date about everything that’s going in your life, it’s also an effective way to learn from your behaviours and forge new ones. This is especially true when it comes to your mental health because your overall well- being tends to be affected by whatever is going in your life (including the changes in season)
So, you should sit back and take out some time to be alone with yourself and think about few things such as:
- Think about how well you are taking care of yourself or in simple words how much time are you investing in your self-care.
- Introspect and reflect on what is and what isn’t working for you
- Also, then prepare and make plans for what you’re going to do, going forward on a daily basis that can help you respond to any unexpected change.
Celine Erorh, assistant psychologist, mental health advocate and founder of Celutions UK (a website dedicated to teaching people how to take care of their mental health) shares her insight: “Reflection is great for increasing self-awareness. It allows you look at what is currently working and what you can improve”.
On top of that it helps you to be more self-aware of your actions and decisions. In fact, reflection can also promote growth and creativity too. Because you can analyse and learn from your past experiences or what had happened previously. Thus, when you are reflecting you are given an opportunity to think about other paths or choices you could have made. So, primarily these could be the options you didn’t even realise were available or accessible to you before.
Of course, there’s no ‘right’ way to reflect. It’s all about finding a particular system that works best for you. But if you aren’t sure where to start, we will give you some tips and it’s recommended that you should use the following reflective prompts.
To get started grab a pen and notebook and write down a couple of responses
to the following points.
Here, are the 5 reflective questions for the month ahead that you need ask yourself:
- When are you at your happiest? Think back to a time when you were truly full of genuine joy and happiness? What sparked that? How can you create more of it?
- What feels unresolved in your life? Write a letter to that person or situation that feels unresolved and let everything out.
- What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about yourself this month? How did you learn it? What happened?
- So, as you enter a new month, think about what you’ve learnt. What will you be doing more of in this new month? What you will be doing less of?
- What things can you start doing to improve your mental health? Be as detailed as possible, make a plan, prepare for it and then start doing them.
So, once you’ve taken the time to work through the questions,it is suggested that you should have a set of learnings or potential action to take into the month ahead. Perhaps, here are few questions you need reflect, ask yourself and try answering them.
- Working out in the mornings has a positive impact on your mood?
- Or, that you need to start taking more regular breaks from work throughout the day?
Even after that if you struggled with the questions and found it difficult to come up with any lessons you’ve learnt or changes you want to make, it is recommended that you should try journaling instead.
Journaling is a great outlet, and it can be a transformational and useful way to reflect on our thoughts. But many people cringe at the thought of what they think is ‘writing a diary’ but it can be really helpful in terms of processing how you feel.
So, if you want to try, all you need to do is grab a piece of paper and pen and write at the top. “How am I feeling right now? “. You will automatically start answering it and you’ll find out writing down a lot more than you anticipated.
So, make your mental health and well-being a priority this month with the help of these reflective prompts.
In conclusion, if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the idea of looking after yourself which includes your mental health and well-being then trust me, reflection is a great place to start. It may not feel that transformative in the start but being conscious and aware of your emotions and behaviours will help you make positive changes in the long run. What’s not to love about that?
SOURCE:
https://www.stylist.co.uk/health/mental-health/monthly-reflection-how-to-reflect/539862