Mental Health in a Changing World

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is:

Where to start? Mental health in a changing world.

This theme is profound, as it takes notice that the approaches of the past to address mental health may no longer meet the psychological needs for today’s society. This year’s theme creates an incredible invitation to rethink how we approach mental health on many levels.

Here are three potent ways to challenge outdated paradigms:

1. Get to the core of your stress.

According to the American Psychological Association, stress is any uncomfortable emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological, and behavioral changes. In other words, when we focus on the biochemical, physiological, or behavioral changes, we are addressing the symptom, not the root of stress. By working to make uncomfortable emotions more comfortable through an empowered understanding, you will be able to dissolve what triggers your stress rather than focusing on managing your symptoms.

2. Shift from a disempowered to an empowered understanding of your negative feelings.

Emotions cause physiological, biochemical, and behavioral changes due to the meaning we give them. Unfortunately, most of us have disempowered associations with our negative feelings. Instead, I invite you to shift your outlook by viewing negative emotions like a coin. One side of the emotional coin may be initially experienced from a disempowered stance. The other side of that same emotional coin will show you how your psychological needs are going unmet and what you need to do to support you to have your psychological needs met in a healthy and empowered manner. This empowered understanding does not turn to sugar-coating. Instead, it helps you better understand yourself and your needs, which supports you to feel better and develop greater resiliency.

3. Shift from managing to processing emotions.

There is a strong focus on managing our emotions because we don’t want to feel reactionary and out of control. Taking responsibility for your emotional reactions is an important step. However, many people believe the tools to help you manage your negative feelings will help you work through your challenging emotions. They don’t. Managing emotions helps you remain calm, which, again, is important. However, to heal, we want to work on processing our emotions, specifically on an emotional level.

You can process negative emotions when you:

A) Recognize why that specific feeling is arising.

B) Understand how that feeling provides unique guidance to help you realign with your truth.

C) Take action on the empowered guidance you receive.

If you want support in making any of these shifts, I have even more exciting news. I have a free Emotional Wellness Quiz for you to take!

This free quiz will help you understand where your emotional health may be stuck in the emotional stone ages, with out-of-date beliefs, and then provide you with the next steps to support your emotional well-being and growth. Plus, you will receive three power-filled, free resources to help you shift your relationship with your negative feelings so that they become your greatest allies!

Check out the IIEE Emotional Wellness Quiz here: https://iiee.training/emotional-wellness-quiz/

Together, I believe we can create a revolutionary change toward our relationship with our emotions that will support us individually and collectively. This is our opportunity to change the frame in which we perceive our feelings and fine tune our emotional wellness for the better!

Warm Best,

Michelle