We are all raised to maintain our physical health. We are taught personal hygiene habits such as taking vitamins, brushing our teeth, bathing and even treating physical wounds. Yet, we aren't raised to maintain our psychological health. It gets overshadowed by our physical health.
Why do we pay more attention to our physical health than our psychological health?
It's because our psychological health isn't visible. Not everyone can see how you're feeling mentally or emotionally. Sure, on the outside, you may look poised and polished, but on the inside, you may be filled with self-doubt and fear of failure.
The unfortunate stigma with psychological health is that people tend to say things like, "brush it off" or "you'll be fine" when discussing it. We would never tell someone to shake off a broken bone, so why tell someone to shake off a psychological injury like depression or anxiety? Just because you cannot see the injury or wound doesn't mean it's not there. There is a reason why we say don't judge a book by its cover. There is always more than what meets the eye.
Our physical and psychological health go hand-in-hand.
The mind is a very powerful tool and can create a mass amount of inner turmoil that can extend harm to your physical health if left uncared for. Psychologist Guy Winch discusses in his Ted Talk how failure, rejection, and loneliness can create deep psychological wounds that distort our perception and frazzle our thinking.
We've all had our fair share of negative experiences involving failure, rejection, and loneliness. With those negative encounterings, we have a default set of emotions and reactions. Those reactions and emotions have the power to place seeds of doubt and misconstrue our own view of our capabilities. I know my mind has tricked me into believing I was inadequate a time or two.
Don't let your mind fool you.
Don't let your mind can convince you that you're incapable of success, friendship, love, or happiness.
Gain control of the situation.
I know, that's easier said than done because we are our own harshest critic. We can diminish our own self-esteem in seconds after encountering frustration or setbacks. With a low self-esteem, we are more vulnerable to stress and anxiety. Why do we do that to ourselves? When receiving a physical injury, we don't put more salt in the wound to make it worse, so why do we make psychological injuries worse? It's because we don't prioritize our psychological health.
Give self-love.
We need to prioritize our psychological health just like we would with our physical health. Check in with yourself daily. Not every day is going to be great so just be alert for unhealthy psychological habits like berating yourself or replaying a negative event over and over. Practice self-compassion, reflect but don't berate, rejuvenate your self-esteem with positive thoughts, and speak up if you feel you need help. It's okay to say I need help. Either way, prioritize the time for yourself because, at the end of the day, your physical health is only as good as your psychological health. In life, you only get one mind and one body, treat it kindly.
To learn more about the importance of practicing emotional first aid, check out Guy Winch's Ted Talk.
Why we all need to practice emotional first aidwww.ted.com
