Balancing Mental Health

By Kristen Sohlman, HBA, RP

Balance is not…perfect.  Our mental health and life cannot be 100% in balance all of the time.  We may fluctuate and change our focus throughout life and throughout the day as our needs change. 
 
As such, we do not need to focus our energies in everything equally.  Balance is knowing ourselves, knowing our strengths and weaknesses, and having self-awareness of what we need within our lives in order to maintain adequate or optimal mental health.  

Balance is…unique, and everyone’s needs in order to achieve balance are different.  Having good mental health balance means that we are spending time and energy focusing on different aspects of life that we value, including emotional, mental, physical, social, and spiritual health.  Reaching balance is a process of learning and learning about the self.
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Our focus shifts and changes throughout life, and we may find at times that the balance may tip towards one direction versus another.  For example, when starting a new business more time spent focused at work may be required in order for the business to become successful.  However, without adequate self-care one may not be able to devote their time and energy towards the business if they become overworked, overwhelmed, or burnt out emotionally.  When we spend too much energy in one aspect or area of our lives we may be neglecting other areas.  For example, when starting a new business, areas such as exercise, hobbies or relationships with others may be focused on less as more time is needed on developing the business and may even become strained with time.  Instead of teeter tottering back and forth, practice doing little bits at a time by scheduling in self-care.  If we are not focusing on a particular part of our life, we may need to focus on increasing our abilities in that area in order to gain footing again and become more balanced.
 
Balanced is achieved when we become aware of ourselves, what we need, as well as where we can focus our time and energy.
 
Tips for Building Healthy Balance

• Build healthy self-esteem.
• Practice giving and receiving.
• Create positive and meaningful relationships.
• Develop a relationship with yourself.
• Learn about your strengths and weaknesses.
• Understand your priorities.
• Learn to manage stress effectively.
• Develop skills in learning to cope with change.
• Understand and learn how to deal with your emotions.

 

References:
Canadian Mental Health Association. (2018). Mental Health. [Web page] Retrieved from https://toronto.cmha.ca/document-category/mental-health/