The Mental Emotional Health Blog

There are days when it’s tough to walk out the door after work without carrying some “emotional baggage” with you.

1. After you arrive at work and just before you start your day, close your eyes, picture yourself in a good frame of mind for the day, and take 2 deep, cleansing breaths.
2. Make your smiles simple and sincere.
3. Send a short, supportive or complimenting email to a co-worker you enjoy working with. 
4. Avoid listening to and spreading gossip. 
5. Right before you leave work, or just after you get outside, mentally review the day you just had in your mind (take about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Consider the emotion you felt most often that day (whether you think it was positive or negative), and then reflect on something positive outside of work. This provides a nice transition from your work life to your personal life.

I am taking an business class online right now (as if I didn’t have enough to do already). It’s a great class, and as students we are learning about clarifying your purpose, your vision, and your values. Going through these has reminded me of the phrase, which I’ll paraphrase,”If you do what you love, it isn’t work.”

I read something recently in R.J. Leider’s book, The Power of Purpose, about the idea of purpose being expressed through work . That got me thinking about work mindsets. What if you didn’t always look at work as just work? Instead, what if you looked at each workday as an opportunity to stretch your mind? It is idealistic and simple. Maybe that’s why it appeals to me.

Anyway, I tried that mindset today. I forgot for a good part of the day, but did manage a few times to remain aware of stretching my mind and my limits instead of just working. Now that the workday is over, I feel I accomplished something personal in a small but significant way.

Anyway, feel free to try it out yourself and let me know what you think. Take care!

Friendships are obviously important. It’s also easy sometimes to get caught up in life’s routines so much that it’s hard to remember the last time you just hung out with a good friend. Work, family, errands, and housework all need attention. But you should add friendship to the list too. At least add the friendships that feel good to you.

That doesn’t mean you drop all of your responsibilities all the time and meet with your friends. It does mean that you drop all of your responsibilities for an hour or two once in a while and unwind. People need healthy ways to disconnect from the frantic pace of life and stress. Friends have a way of providing an escape, an enjoyable distraction, a few laughs, or sincere advice.

Emails and phone calls are two ways to connect but there’s something about seeing and talking with a friend, or even a group of friends, that is more beneficial. Email is visual. Phone conversation is audial (you can hear it) and interactive. In-person conversation is visual, audial, interactive, and you can feel and share a type of interpersonal energy.  We  generally get more from meeting with a friend face-to-face. So don’t neglect it.

Tomorrow, October 10th, 2008, is an important day. October 10th is recognized annually as World Mental Health Awareness Day. This year in the United States, October 10th is  National Depression Screening Day. I have provided a couple links to check out if you are in the U.S.

The first link goes directly to the National Depression Screening Day site, where you can get connected to depression and suicide prevention resources, find a screening site in your area, or take an online screening survey. http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/events/ndsd/index.aspx

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a wealth of information to look through, and also provides links to resources.  http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/

For my readers in the UK and other parts of the world, please visit the mental health section of the World Health Organization’s  website. http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/

If you are concerned that you might have depression, anxiety, or that your overall mental health isn’t what it should be, talk with your doctor, health provider, counselor, or check out some of the links above. People don’t have to be alone, especially if they don’t feel like themselves.  

Every once in a while I want to get out a jumble of thoughts I have accumulated from therapy sessions. Somehow it helps me refine my therapy style and clears my mind. There are also times when conversation in session progresses to a deep enough level that I find myself considering ideas beyond the therapy room. Here are my thoughts today, and remember that this a glimpse of a few things that fly through a therapist’s mind:

• If the client feels he or she has no options, widen the perspective.
• If he or she feels overwhelmed, narrow the focus.
• Always provide hope.
• Everyone has normal in them, and some forget that.
• Laughter isn’t just the best medicine, it is like pure, cool water that prevents your soul from being dehydrated.
• Music has many great qualities (if it’s good music), and two aspects of music that stand out are its ability to calm your mind, and its ability to affect your mood.
• If you talk on the phone until your ear gets sweaty, you may be on too long.
• Therapy feels like a juggling act to me sometimes. It’s like I have different ideas flying around, and pick one at a time to toss to my client. Sometimes the client drops it, and other times we play catch for a while while I continue juggling.
• People really are interesting.
• Some people are boring, but I generally prefer that to loud and overly dramatic.
• Every person has an opportunity each day to expand his or her mind. It doesn’t need to be earth-shattering or profound. Sometimes a little growth that happens consistently allows the mind to remember its creativity, energy, and power.