What is my mental health status? I ask myself to answer this question, the answer should be easy. But, as I’m sitting here, staring at a blank screen, trying to figure out where to begin, it feels like I’m searching for something lost. I’m searching for something precious that’s slipped through my fingers. Something as vital as air, yet so elusive.
This is how so many of us feel, or have felt at some time. Maybe not every day, but still, enough days that it needs our focus. I’ve worked hard over the years to get to a balanced, healthy mental state. It wasn’t easy, but it has been worth it. I’ve worked through some pretty ugly stuff in my life, and today, I see a future.
But the question I remember asking myself was “Where did my mental health go?” When I started therapy, I remember my therapist asking if I remembered a time I was truly happy? Did I know today what I wanted to do? Or even enjoyed? Unfortunately, the answers weren’t pretty. I didn’t know! So, that is when I started to focus my energy on getting mentally healthy. I owed it to myself to be the best version of me.
Where Am I At Today?
I remember thinking to myself at the time….”I used to know this person, this version of myself who felt capable, confident, and joyful. Where is that person?” Today, I am once again that person, but for many years in between, I wasn’t. I felt incapable, was self-conscious, and couldn’t see the positive. I couldn’t find a reason to get up. Often, I tell the story of sitting in my shower that had gone cold, and I couldn’t get up. I was mentally tired and spent from life’s overwhelming ugly at the time.
If you were asked today, “Where is my mental status?”, what would be the answer? It might be you don’t know. It might be I dread waking up, or seeing people. But, it might be that you feel tired, and unable to cope with the mountains in front of you. So, first we have to find out where you are today. Let’s take a quick assessment and try to get a baseline.
What Now?
Was that assessment ugly? Hard to see? Did you realize that you are where it said you are? I’m not sure where you ended up, but I’m pretty confident that we want forward motion from here. Take the assessment as a starting point. In the next couple of weeks we will be writing our goals. and a vision statement for our future. Reflect on this assessment as you think about your goals, and vision statement, and where you want to focus your energy going forward.
This is a journey we are all just beginning, and I have no idea where it will lead. But I’m taking the first step, and that’s what matters. Let’s take those steps together.
For other posts on the journey to better mental and physical health, check out our Health page!
