Seven key ingredients for good mental health
By Cate Murden
Mental health should really be thought of in the same light as physical health; as something that sits on a spectrum and that we try and keep half an eye on. However, ‘mental health’ has been used so interchangeably with ‘mentally ill’, that it practically forced discussion about it into hiding. So why do we find it so hard to talk about the mental flab; the niggling stresses and worries? Where we might pat ourselves on the back for smashing a 5km run, when have we spoken about our mental health as something that has really worked for us, as the tool that powers qualities like resilience and agility?
I wish it hadn’t taken a global pandemic to change how we talk about mental health. But, if there was any positive to take from last year, it’s that it’s made us sit up and recognise that all events, whether personal, professional or global, are going to have an effect on how we’re ALL thinking and feeling. Or, as one of my good friends’ and mental health campaigner, Geoff McDonald, more succinctly put it, ‘Covid has democratised mental health.’
At PUSH, we’ve always recognised that good mental health has to be the baseline, because it’s vital to our wellbeing, our performance, our growth and potential. 2020 amplified that conversation, and with the uncertainty and relentless nature of the pandemic impacting even the most upbeat amongst us, many employers started to realise that they needed new frameworks to help their people manage their minds.
A large part of the work we do is helping companies to create a new ‘work-life’ brilliance; helping them to adjust to the ‘new-normal’ and commit to employee wellbeing. Because let’s be honest, looking back pre-Covid, were they really the halcyon days? Or were people run ragged… continually in demand and bellied up to their desks at the behest of inflexible working?
We help companies and their people to craft different ways of working that will enable them to live and work better. I’ve shared my favourite tips and frameworks that will enhance your mental wellbeing, too.
How to support your mental wellbeing in the new world of work:
Enjoy a balanced (mental) diet:
Lots of my clients have asked me how they can help to keep their team ‘motivated’, but the thing is, we only have so much ‘motivation’ in us. With life becoming significantly more 2D at the moment, we’re lacking stimulation and variety which actually promotes exhaustion and stress. To address our human thirst for variety, it’s vital we try and include these seven ingredients in our week: physical activity, focus work, connection, playing, relaxed (real down time, no goals), reflection (being present in the moment) and sleep. These are the ingredients of the ‘Healthy Mind Platter,’ designed by renowned scientist Dan Siegel, whose research concludes that balancing this platter will reinvigorate our minds.
Learn that all things are fundamentally neutral:
At the best of times our head can be a challenging place to be, but during times of isolation (combined with uncertainty!), paranoia and self-doubt creep in, chipping away at the belief in our values and abilities.
The antidote is knowing how to interrogate these thoughts, allowing you to unravel them and see them for what they really are: groundless!
This is a great toolkit:
- When you experience a negative belief, write it down.
- Then ask yourself:Is it really true?
- How do I react when I experience that thought?
- What would life be like without that thought?
Make a list of your achievements (personally and professionally):
This is a great resilience bolstering exercise, because one of the major components of resilience is self-efficacy — where believing you can get through whatever you’re facing actually strengthens your ability to do it!
Sharing stories:
Sharing our stories is fundamentally one of the best things we can do to de-stigmatise mental health because, quite simply, it normalises it. Telling stories also gives us the space to check in on and care for our mental health. Because it isn’t enough to only pay attention when it’s starting to crumble or when you get to a crisis point.
Cate Murden is the Founder of PUSH, a business consultancy grounded in human behaviour, answering business problems with people-focused solutions. Having been signed off with stress, Cate had a choice: go back to the safe corporate world that she had known, or take the chance to make a genuine difference. She made the first step to helping people, teams and companies work better… and has never looked back. Cate’s experience and determination is what she shares and inspires her audiences with.
