Today we’re discussing a very important topic – mental health.
We’ll run through the core concepts of mental health and suggest mindfulness and Stoicism practices as potential solutions.
What is Mental Health?
What does mental health mean?
The NHS’s definition of mental health is “a positive state of mind and body, feeling safe and able to cope, with a sense of connection with people, communities and the wider environment.”
This definition touches on some of the topics we’ve already discussed in previous posts. For example, the Stoics taught that we find tranquility through cognitive distancing, which involved limiting our negative emotions. We also found that mindfulness is inherently linked to nature and our wider environment.
We’ll get into the mindful side of things after we’ve discussed mental health a bit further.
What causes mental health issues?
Mental health issues can be caused by many different factors. Common causes of these issues includes childhood abuse or trauma, homelessness, drug misuse or losing your job.
Some mental health issues, such as Schizophrenia, may even run in the family. Mind.org.uk offer more information on causes of mental health.
The first step to feeling better is to realise that you may have a mental health issue.
What are 5 signs of mental illness?
The five main warning signs of mental illness are the following:
- Excessive paranoia, worry, or anxiety.
- Long-lasting sadness or irritability.
- Extreme changes in moods.
- Social withdrawal.
- Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping pattern.
If you or someone you know is exhibiting these signs, reach out. There’s always someone to talk to. You should know you’re not alone in this.
How does a mentally ill person feel?
It’s hard to generalise here, because mental illnesses generally fall along a spectrum. But we can see that mental illness symptoms affect our emotions, thoughts and behaviours.
In addition to the five signs above, symptoms of mental health issues include:
- Feeling sad or down
- Feeling confused
- Reduced ability to concentrate
What are the most common mental illnesses?
Mental health issues are probably more common than you think. They can range from stress and anxiety to more serious mood and psychotic disorders. Dementia is another form of mental illness that typically comes with old age.
The five most common types of mental illnesses include:
- Anxiety Disorders
- Mood Disorders (Depression, Bi-polar syndrome)
- Psychotic Disorders (Schizophrenia)
- Dementia
- Eating disorders (Anorexia, Bulimia)
- Addictions (Drug abuse)
Mind.org.uk offer more information on different mental health issues, along with various treatment options.
How can you handle mental health?
Disclaimer: Mental health is a serious topic. If you find yourself with any symptoms above, especially more severe issues, it’s important to reach out and speak to a qualified therapist.
On the other hand – mindfulness, Stoicism and modern psychology are also used as remedies for mental health issues. These practices boil down to a few simple principles that anyone can adopt, even without fear of a mental illness.
Mindfulness for Mental Health
Buddhist mindfulness helps us become more aware of our thoughts and feelings so that, instead of being overwhelmed by them, we’re better able to manage them. With his teachings, the Buddha aimed to help others realise the selfless, conditioned, and impermanent nature of things.
Practice often involves meditation, which encourages a heightened state of awareness and focused attention. For the purpose of this article, meditation has been proven to have a wide number of benefits on psychological well-being.
The reason mindfulness helps is that it promotes cognitive distancing, which is also the foundation for both Stoicism and modern cognitive psychology.
Stoicism for Mental Health
Stoic mindfulness takes a similar but slightly simpler approach than Buddhism. Stoic meditation usually involves contemplating our thoughts to recognise that things outside our control cannot be good or bad.
Most things are inherently neutral. Only our conscious thoughts and actions can be good or bad. Good and bad actions are, in turn, determined by how well they align with our core values. And we can only ever perform actions in this very moment. That’s why we shouldn’t obsess over the past or future. The past is unchangeable and we already have everything we need to overcome future obstacles.
Stoics always aimed to take a rational approach to their problems. With a few lines of thinking, they seemed happy with no possessions.
Even when sentenced to death, practiced Stoics were able to keep a clear mind and accepting mindset. “After all”, they might say, “everyone will die at some point. Why should I yearn for something outside my control? It is better to have a good death than a poor life.” Such was the fate of Seneca.
In terms of mental health, well-being is achieved by examining the situations that cause our distress. We must accept things beyond our control and contemplate even deeper how most things are ultimately indifferent. It is our minds which become our own worst enemies.
Living with virtue is within our control and creates tranquility in our lives. The Stoic philosophy can be a practical tool for dealing with symptoms of mental health. I personally adopted it in the past as a mindset to deal with crushing anxiety.
Modern Psychology for Mental Health
Modern Cognitive Behavioural Therapy employs a “mindfulness and acceptance-based” approach to psychology. These techniques can help people deal with severe mental health issues such as anxiety, addiction and depression.
CBT builds on the concepts of mindfulness and cognitive distancing. In fact, the Stoic Epictetus heavily influenced early CBT. Epictetus believed that we can use logic to identify and discard false beliefs that lead to destructive emotions.
Cognitive distancing has become central to the CBT school of psychology for its ability to cure a range of mental illness. Its scope reaches from anxiety and addiction to severe depression. Time-out and postponement are two CBT strategies that rely on cognitive distancing.
“Distancing” refers to the ability to view one’s own thoughts (or beliefs) as constructions of “reality” rather than as reality itself. (Alford & Beck, 1997, p. 142)
A 2004 paper from a group of clinical psychologists proposed a two-component model of mindfulness:
- Self-regulation of attention to be maintained on one’s immediate experience, which allows for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment.
- An orientation toward one’s experiences in the present moment that’s characterised by curiosity, openness, and acceptance.
Psychology’s use of cognitive distancing strengthens the case for using mindfulness and Stoicism when managing mental health.
Additional tips to maintain mental health
If you’re looking for a quick win for your mental health, here’s where to start.
Mentalhealth.org offer a list of 10 tips for mental health. While they may seem obvious, it’s important to make time to do each of these things regularly.
- Talk about your feelings – open up to a close friend or family member about something that you have bottled up.
- Keep active – prioritise your health by exercising regularly. This was a key lesson during the pandemic for me.
- Eat well – you are what you eat, so don’t eat too much preserved and processed foods.
- Drink sensibly – when we drink, we should never try to “get wasted”.
- Keep in touch – catching up with close friends and family members regularly can help us feel more included and loved.
- Ask for help – it’s too easy to go through life thinking we should know how to do everything ourselves. It’s easier to ask for help sometimes, and more often than not, the people we ask want to help.
- Take a break – you can’t work non-stop. We need effective rejuvenation to rechargesometimes.
- Do something you’re good at – build up your confidence regularly by doing something you’re good at and enjoy.
- Accept who you are – one of the most central concepts of mindfulness, learn to accept things for what they are – including yourself.
- Care for others – other people make our life worth living. Who would care that we were successful if we didn’t have any friends or family? Other people make it all worth it.
Mental Health in a Nutshell
Mental health is a very serious topic, and I really hope we’ve done it justice with this post.
Our mental health goals should be to develop a positive state of mind and body and a sense of connection with people and larger communities. On the other hand, mental health issues can have us feeling sad or confused or even just make it more difficult to concentrate.
By taking note of how mindfulness practices, Stoicism and modern psychology approach mental health, we can develop our own mentally healthy daily routines.
Develop a positive mental health routine with Mind & Practice today.