What is Mental Health?

Hello to the Sisters! We pray that you are standing healthy and strong during this unexpected season of transition. It is fair to say that this time has resulted in mental and emotional stress for everyone-albeit, to varying degrees. This May we are happy to share with you resources to help you thrive mentally and emotionally, no matter the circumstances. Today, we paint a picture of mental wellness.

Mental health pertains to the state of our emotions, thoughts, feelings and moods. It involves how we feel about ourselves as we relate to others, i.e.  family, friends, coworkers, supervisors, and our encounters with everyday life stressors. 

Some characteristics of good mental health are a positive self-image; effective decision making;  a sense of agency or the belief that one’s decisions and actions have impact; acceptance of life’s disappointments, without losing hope; emotional and situational flexibility; and emotional regulation (the ability to acknowledge emotions, without enabling them to govern decision making). It is the ability to handle the ups and downs of life!  https://healthylife.com/mymh/SecIb.htm.

Mental health is not static: in one season your mental health may be good, whereas  you may encounter struggle in another. This is why we must be proactive about our mental health. We must make it a priority to tend to the health of our minds.  

A common misunderstanding is that mental health and mental illness are the same. However, they are not. Mental illness refers to a group of diagnosable health conditions, involving a change in thinking and or behavior, which interferes with a person’s capacity to relate healthily with others and everyday life stressors.  https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness.

Our mental health influences every aspect of our lives: relationships with God, self, others and things. Life can place demands on us that exceed our capacity to cope, e.g. losing a job,  caring for a sick relative or losing a loved one, and challenge our senses of self and safety in this world. We hope that this month, you will journey with us to learn how to thrive mentally in the midst of COVID-19 and beyond. 
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We’ve all got mental health, so let’s take care of it together:

Take care with our FREE Christ-centered self-care kit. Download and use in the comfort of your home.

Get access to the mental health awareness guide for your church here.
This guide includes the following:

• Basic definitions and facts pertaining to mental health.
• ​Ideas for raising awareness, ending stigma and pointing people to hope within your church community.​
• A Place to Start: Practical suggestions for implementing ideas in your community immediately and over time.
• Guidance to support community members in creating their own Peace of Mind Self-Care Kit, to include printables.