The Basics of Mental Wellbeing
Whenever I start working with a new client, I almost always inquire about certain areas of their life that on the surface do not seem to be directly related to mental health. However, as I’ll explain below, neglecting these can indeed have a profoundly negative effect on how we feel. I understand that life happens and we can’t always stay on top of every one of these aspects. But even just being aware of them can be helpful. A related idea is that by making small changes in one of these areas we can begin creating a positive spiral that can help us feel better one small step at a time.
1) Do you have any physical conditions? When was your last physical exam? Do you take your medications as prescribed?
Reason I ask: some physical conditions can lead to symptoms of poor mental health. For example, both excess and insufficient thyroid hormones can lead to depression and anxiety (Hage & Azar, 2012). Seeing your GP and getting a blood test is a good start to beginning to take care of yourself.
2) What does your substance use look like?
Reason I ask: Mental health and substance use tend to have a bidirectional relationship, i.e. people use substances to self-medicate and substance use often makes mental health problems worse. Moderate-severe substance use definitely needs to be prioritized in treatment (by the way, that includes cannabis!). If you don’t know whether you should be concerned about your alcohol use, Canada’s Low Risk Drinking Guidelines is a good place to start.
3) What has your sleep been like lately?
Reason I ask: Ditto for sleep – the relationship between sleep and mental health is often bidirectional as well. For example, you might not be getting adequate sleep because anxiety is making it hard to fall asleep or your sleep schedule may be chaotic. Poor sleep can make it a lot harder to regulate emotions and absorb new information (such as therapy concepts!). Sleep is something that we definitely need to look at in therapy. One tool that I like to use as a simple way to assess and improve sleep patterns is a Sleep Diary with sleep hygiene suggestions.
4) Do you exercise? How often?
Reason I ask: I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that exercise is tremendously beneficial for mental health. But did you know that studies show that just 10-12 minutes of walking can improve mood (Miller & Krizan, 2016)? If 10 minutes seems like a lot, start with 5 and then gradually build on top of that. Do talk to your doctor first if you have any concerns.
5) What does your social life look life? Do you have at least one close relationship?
Reason I ask: Some of us like to think that we don’t need other people in our lives to feel good. I get it. However, humans are social animals by nature, and even the most introverted of us still need other humans to function well. Relationships can be hard to build and maintain – I understand that and I’m not saying it’s an easy task. But it is an area which deserves our attention.
6) How do you spend your time? Do most of your days have some type of structure (doesn’t need to be strict)?
Reason I ask: If you regularly wake up at 11AM, procrastinate on your laptop all day long while trying to focus on assignments, snack on sugar and coffee, nap and then attend a boring online lecture (hey, no judgment - this was me around circa 2011), I would venture a wild guess that you are not living your best life. In fact, if that is all you ever do, I would suspect that you might be dealing with depressed mood, or, at minimum, that you are not experiencing a great deal of pleasure or fulfilment in your life. Sometimes shifting how we spend our time in small ways can have a profound impact on how we feel. There is even a type of treatment for depression – called Behavioural Activation - that is based on this simple (but not necessarily easy to execute) idea.
7) What is your current stress level?
Reason I ask: On the other hand, if you are constantly on the run and your stress level is sky high, you probably don’t need me to tell you that your mental health is taking a hit. I get that life can get excruciatingly difficult at times, but whatever we can do to help you manage stress levels (for example, practicing deep and slow breathing throughout the day or perhaps staying away from the news) is worth looking into.
8) What do you eat in a typical day?
Reason: I don't ask this as often, as I am not a dietician and nutrition has become such as thorny and difficult subject these days. I would simply encourage you to reflect on your eating patterns and how what you eat might be influencing your mental health. For example, studies tend to show that eating vegetables and fruits is beneficial for mental health (Glabska et al., 2020) and this may or may not be true for you. One approach that I find helpful is focusing on healthier foods to include in your diet, rather than trying to remove foods that are less nutritious (e.g. rather than trying to eat less sugar, focusing on adding more vegetables). On a somewhat different note, if you are dealing with any kind of eating disorder, we definitely need to pay attention to that and refer you for support.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of questions by any means. But I hope it gives you an idea of things to watch out for in your life that, whist seemingly not directly related to mental health, can nevertheless exert a strong influence on how we feel.
If you feel ready to work on your mental health, feel free to contact me for a free phone consultation.
References:
Głąbska, D., Guzek, D., Groele, B., & Gutkowska, K. (2020). Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mental Health in Adults: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 12(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010115
Hage, M. P., & Azar, S. T. (2012). The Link between Thyroid Function and Depression. Journal of thyroid research, 2012, 590648. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/590648
Miller, J. C., & Krizan, Z. (2016). Walking facilitates positive affect (even when expecting the opposite). Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 16(5), 775–785. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040270
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