How has the year impacted your mental well-being?

It has been a truly eventful year. As it comes to a close, our minds can often wander to solutions that will encourage the future to be brighter. It can be difficult, however, to imagine the future when our minds are feeling the fatigue of reconciling with the past. 

Feelings of chronic tiredness, irritability, and general disorientation are signs that stress is overriding the senses we need to function. These are not signs of weakness or inability to cope, they are natural reactions to a confusing state of events that we are all a part of, and giving ourselves the patience and grace to be unwell during this time is a necessary part of getting better. 

The annual "Stress in America" poll published by American Psychological Association reported that, other than pandemic woes, U.S. adults are now overwhelmingly troubled by inflation and the war in Ukraine. These are tangible worries that manifest themselves in every household and wanting to know about their progress can feel both liberating and taxing. 

While staying informed is important, there is a tendency we have when focused on surviving rather than thriving to only draw our attention to the catastrophic. We want to have our finger on the pulse, that is perfectly natural, but adding some hope is important as well. There is good news for those looking for tangible solutions to mental wellness and it starts with healthy investments.

Hope at Work

Wellable Labs conducted a study this year detailing how businesses planned to assist their employees in their mental health journeys. A whopping 90% of businesses reported that they would increase their investments in mental health programs; an enormous increase since the 2018 response of 29%. Not only were businesses mental health minded, but in the interest of diversifying their offerings “76% were increasing investment in stress management and resilience programs, and 71% were increasing investment with mindfulness and mediation programs”. 

This kind of support not only shows that employers are paying attention to the needs of their employees, but that the compassion and humanization conversations of recent years have not fallen on disregarding ears. Understanding organizations are hearing the need for assistance for their employees’ mental health and they are answering the call more than ever before. This kind of progress marks the beginning of destigmatization and hope for the future. Work is the place we spend the most time actively focused, and that requires a clear head and the ability to disconnect from global worries and personal strife. Employers now know that this is made harder without ample resources for processing and releasing those triggers and those options are being made available on and off the clock.

Hope at Home

As the year comes to a close, holidays begin to pop up every few weeks, and an emphasis on staying warm and connected becomes the focus, and obtaining peace of mind becomes steadily more important. When the weather is cold and the daylight hours become shorter, it is easy and normal to slip into a place of mental unrest. This action is not shameful, nor should it be met with criticism or impatience. Many can describe the last year and its many changes as overwhelming and chaotic. That kind of universal frenzy on the outside should be met with softness and understanding within. Although it may not immediately be apparent, the way in which we can self-soothe and bring ourselves back to mental clarity is available.

Hope Within

It can take time, but knowing that we cannot change the world in a day, and reminding ourselves of the things that are in our control are two commonly needed practices for compassionate people who tend to feel the weight of the world more palpably. People who want to be able to help and do not want to feel complicit  in the world’s struggles are often at an even greater risk of feeling the effects of stress in prolongation. We can fixate on the injustices and fear the future in a way that transcends gathering information to make informed future decisions and instead turns into hoarding tidy lists of fears that go unprocessed and burden their psyche. 

Processing is the first step in letting go. Identifying why we are holding on to fears that do not serve us and, instead, waiting to see what the future truly holds. How good the world can be may surprise us, and opening ourselves up to that possibility is a sign of positive growth. A healthy mind cannot thrive in an environment of constant fear and, even if it is just to get through the day, some things must be released in order to live our lives to the fullest. We deserve that kind of peace and happiness.

Hope

Finding the good, the silver lining, the light in the dark is good for us all. It helps us position ourselves in the direction of positivity, release the weight of the world from our shoulders and continue to pursue our goals. Even if our goal is simply to be the best parent, child, or friend that we can be at this moment, encouraging our mental health helps get us there.