It's fair to say that the pandemic has affected most of us in one way or another. The past 16 months has seen cases of mental health soar and mental health could linger long after the pandemic has subsided. While modern medicine has come a long way and has undoubtedly saved many lives, it can also come with undesirable side affects, and rarely gets to the root cause of the issue that's causing the symptom in the first place.
If your mental health is suffering, there are things you can do to give yourself the best chance of reaching homeostasis. We all crave that state of physical, emotional and mental balance.
1- Look after your gut health. This is far more important than you may realise. We have around 500 million neurons in our gut which 'talk' directly with our brain. Furthermore, 90 percent of serotonin (the happy hormone) is made in our gut. So it's not hard to see that our diet directly affects our mental health. Leaky gut syndrome is a digestive condition where bacteria and toxins leak into the bloodstream. Leaky gut syndrome can cause brain fog and may be the root cause for some mental health conditions. Not all healthcare professionals recognise the direct link between gut health and mental health.
2- Get adequate sleep. People over 45 who sleep less than 6 hours a night, are 200 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. Sleep plays a major role in the state of our physical and mental health. If you are having problems sleeping, you might be more likely to feel anxious, depressed or suicidal. On top of this, poor sleep can make it much more difficult to cope with minor stress in our day to day lives. Good sleep starts long before we go to bed and what we do during the day and how we spend our evenings can have a significant effect on whether we get a good nights sleep.
3- Start to look into your core beliefs. More often than not, our metal health suffers not for the reason that we may think, but because of our core beliefs. Core beliefs are the basic beliefs we have about ourselves, other people and the world we live in. We use our core beliefs to make sense of the world and they become a 'blueprint' of who we think we are and what we think the world should be like. Nearly all our core beliefs are shaped through trauma before the age of 7. Our core beliefs can become habit and we become programmed to behave a certain way towards certain situations. The more we think something, the more we are likely to believe it. We create strong subconscious beliefs and automatically behave and think a certain way before we are even aware of our behaviour. It's important to start to identify and challenge our core beliefs. After all, they are the root cause of many of our problems including our automatic negative thoughts. Once we learn that they are only beliefs and often untrue, we can finally move forwards with our lives. Feeling FREE!
4- Look into complimentary therapies such as hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy works on a subconscious level which is where our core beliefs are stored. Hypnotherapy can help us recognise and change our core beliefs and teach us how to practise mindfulness and meditation. Complementary therapies can also work well alongside medication, to help us manage certain aspects of our lives. So if we have tried a more traditional type of therapy that wasn't right for us, we shouldn't give up! There's so many alternative types of therapy out there. Keep.........on.............going. Hypnotherapy is not usually funded by the NHS, so therefore not something that most healthcare professions would suggest.
5- Homeopathy in its current form has been widely used for more than 200 years and is the second largest system of medicine in the world. It is a natural form of medicine that can be used to treat acute and chronic conditions based on the principle that the body can heal itself. Homeopaths are interested in us as individuals and the unique ways that our symptoms affect us. Homeopathic medicine is gentle and rarely causes side affects. *It can therefore be a great alternative to modern medicine. I have had first hand experience of homeopathic medicine and can honestly say that I was blown away.
6- Get enough natural light. Sunlight helps the brain make the hormones that the body needs to function. The best time to go outside to boost your mental health is between 8am and 12 noon. The earlier the better! The reason for this is because the cells in your eyes need a certain amount of morning light for your internal clock to work as it should. This in turn has many benefits.
-Vitamin D boosts your immune system.
-Sunlight keeps your serotonin levels up which is particularly beneficial to anxiety sufferers.
-Keeps fat off as early morning sunlight balances your sleep and energy use.
-Improves our focus.
So there are many ways that we can boost our mental health that our doctor may not tell us about. Not all disabilities are visible and it's okay to not be okay. We don't have to suffer alone. It's perfectly normal for our mental health to suffer from time to time.
Samaritans - Tel: 116 123
SANEline - Tel: 0300 304 7000
The Mix (under 25) - Tel: 0808 808 4994
Karen Wells Cht DHP
Kent Clinical Hypnotherapy
www.kentclinicalhypnotherapy.co.uk
* Please consult your healthcare professional before stopping, starting or changing any current medication.
