Mental Health (How to manage your symptoms)
Introduction
Mental health problems around stress, anxiety and loneliness are becoming more of a concern.
“...Psychological suffering can signal a time for reflection and change, but it does not always require therapy. Therapy is a science-back treatment addressing mental health symptoms that cause significant problems in daily functioning……Therapy involves developing trust and rapport because the therapist-patient relationship is proven as the most essential predictor of positive change. But building this trust and rapport in therapy is not the same as chatting about a symptom such as stress for an hour…”
Emily Edlynn, 2024
Therapy is more than just about venting; people need therapy when their mental health symptoms are causing serious impairments in their daily functioning, eg if somebody's work stress overwhelms them to the point that their performance is negatively impacted. You need to feel more than just uncomfortable.
However, you do not need therapy when they are able to manage their symptoms, ie
“...If you feel stressed but continue to perform well, have a supportive network, engage in meaningful activities outside work and do not have significant levels of depression and anxiety…”
Emily Edlynn, 2024
We need to feel the emotions and learn how to handle them.
“...Most of the time, anxiety is a healthy human emotion……and the only way to learn to cope is to build skills and experiencing and working through anxiety… “
Tracy Dennis-Thwary as quoted by Emily Edlynn, 2024
In many ways we have become more ‘fragile’, ie meta- anxious (we feel anxious about a feeling of anxiety and this becomes more problematic than the anxiety itself.
Some ways to build coping skills
- Check out background information on your mental health concerns (
"…There are many science- based interventions (the most popular being cognitive behavioural therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy) that experts have packaged into workbook format for people to do independently…”
Emily Edlynn, 2024)
- Read stories of people who have experienced similar challenges (understanding others’ experience can reduce feelings of separateness and provide a framework for how to cope)
- View apps on mental health and meditation (gain access to basic coping tools that therapists teach, such as meditation - calm, inside timer - and labelling emotions - how we feel)
- Listen to psychology-focused podcast (find topics or experts in your area of interest, such as anxiety over relationship or stress about work)
- Explore the possibility of using a coach (who specializes in the area you want to make the change, such as your career or parenting)
NB
“...Therapists can coach, but coaches don't need to be therapists. There are important differences between coaching and therapy…”
Emily Edlynn, 2024
- Identify supporting community groups (learning from others who have had similar experiences can be more powerful than therapy; some examples include groups that focus on addiction, grief, meditation, etc)
- Improve your lifestyle (gardening can be very therapeutic and a powerful metaphor, ie
“...You have to dig into the soil, plant seeds for change, tend to the fragile new plants and flowers to make sure they survive, give them water and nutrients, and remove weeds. A therapist can help when mental health symptoms make it hard to grab the shovel to start, but most people can be their own gardeners…”
Emily Edlynn, 2024
NB If you have tried all the above coping methods and are still having health problems as shown by your behaviours, such as being more withdrawn, irritable, suicidal, contemplating self-harm, etc, it is best to seek professional help.