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It’s very easy when writing about mental health to hold back and keep your true values and opinions manifesting in you brain rather than letting them flow freely onto the page.
It’s an extremely sensitive subject so of course it’s more comfortable to write and talk about what people want to hear rather than what people actually need to hear. Most decent humans don’t wish to upset or offend others, so they keep what they think and feel locked up inside. We think that expressing our real feelings and emotions can leave us open to attack.
My words are my own and are formed from experiences of my own battles with mental health and all that comes with it. We all have a story, and I believe we all have the authority to share it and talk openly about how we feel.
There is a small percentage of individuals who have passed the point of no return and need medical intervention in order to save them from themselves. There are also a large number of cases where difficult circumstances are rife and poverty, the environment and economics can play a huge factor in the detriment of mental health for many individuals. This leaves a percentage of people whom I believe have full control over their outcomes. Just like you and I, these people are surrounded by opportunity.
Depression has now become such a common theme that it’s perhaps convenient for some people to jump on the depression bandwagon. I’m not judging anyone who’s done this because I’ve been one of those people at certain points in my life. During the time you feel that it’s very real, although maybe it’s not clear whether its depression, anxiety or a deep level of unhappiness. Depression could even be categorized as a severe lack of energy. However, it’s now all too easy to declare yourself depressed and become the victim who has no control over your own destiny.
If the actions we take are minimal, the results will follow the same path. In my opinion, depression is an alarm bell signaling that something in your life is not right. The difficulty comes in making the necessary decisions and acting upon them. Sitting in the depressive state can be strangely comfortable, as painful as it is. Change can prove more challenging than staying still.
Certain vices make the depressive state more bearable. Alcohol, drugs and medication, high volumes of junk food, sex, violence, excess television, over-exercising, and gossip can all offer a temporary plaster with no long term solution. However, moderate amounts of exercise, meaningful relationships, fulfilled work and careers, a balanced diet, relaxation, recovery and sufficient sleep also offer a solution to some of your battles, and these can have much more positive and long term benefits. So which do you choose?
You have a choice. Accept this. You can change the way you feel by the way you live.
Self-awareness is something we need to improve if we are to move forward, and excuses will always sound far better to the person who makes them.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself because feeling happy is a new feeling for me and I sometimes worry it’s a phase. I have come to accept I need to do things that most men don’t or won’t do such as getting up early to meditate or spending most of my time in creation mode. Life needs to be exciting and challenging, without this what is the point. This is life now.
So perhaps a BIG change is exactly what you need. A new start with new results. Scary but exciting. Once the light starts to shine through, I can promise you will not want to go back.
Perhaps it’s time we attacked life head on with No Holds Barred.
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This post was <a href=”https://www.mansplan.co.uk/blog/2019/6/9/can-we-really-discuss-how-we-feel”>previously published</a> on www.mansplan.co.uk and is republished here with permission from the author.
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