Mental Health is as Fragile as Physical Health

I always thought that mental health was having a specific, or diagnosable mental disorder. I never considered that I experienced challenges with my mental health and rarely felt “out of sorts”. I considered myself to be #blessed or one of the lucky ones. However, as I’ve ridden the ups and downs of being an employee, mother, wife, friend, and community member, I know that I have had experiences that affected my mental health that has nothing to do with diagnosis or disorder. According to the World Health Organization (2022):

“Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.”

I like that their definition goes beyond coping and expands to contributing to community, making decisions, and shaping our world. Those are things I value, especially being a good global citizen and autonomy. Looking back, I can see times when my mental health was shaky, when I did not cope, self-care was not prioritized, and I was not contributing and shaping the world outside me.

A clear example for me is when I had a newborn or young children that didn’t sleep at night. Repeated nights of interrupted sleep, and little of it, meant that I was sleep deprived and not mentally healthy. I felt unable to handle anything other than basic needs and that my balance was about to be unhinged. I would plead/beg/barter/pray for the babies to sleep through the night and when it didn’t happen, I would cry and push through. I exhausted myself and depleted my body. I did not prioritize rest in any other ways to make up for my lack. I accepted my depletion as part of the motherhood journey. I accepted minimal functioning and survival as the ‘new norm’. It took years for me to get back to feeling balanced and contributing again.

Now, at 56, I have had many years of pretty good, uninterrupted sleep…until recently when the effects of menopause had me waking 7-9 times every night in a sweat. A vicious cycle of overheating followed by freezing and repeating. I have not been at my best during the day and at times not fully contributing to my work team, family, or community. Luckily, my emotional maturity and support network is better now, and I can rest in other ways like walking, meditating, breathwork, art and creativity, and sleep. I prioritize rest so I can make decisions that reflect my values and contribute to the world around me in productive ways.

This simple example from my life may be seen in yours or those you know. Mental health is as fragile as physical health. Just like a cold can diminish your ability to show up for a work meeting…stress, depletion, sadness, loneliness, isolation, and may other ways of feeing ‘out of sorts’ can diminish your ability to show up in ways you care about.

Prioritize feeling balanced and asking for the support and help you need before it becomes unmanageable. What will you do today to strengthen your ability to “learn well and work well, and contribute to [your] community?”