Improving Your Mental Health

Peace of mind comes from focusing on what is good and lovely. We find a lot of strength in environments where we are loved and appreciated. But what if things are not so lovely around you? And what if you are carrying the burdens of broken people and do not have boundaries that allow you to relax and re-energise?

There are certain professions that come with a lot of stress, excessive workload, tiredness, and frequent burnout. These can happen in situations where you encounter competition when you expected collaboration and support. Other situations that compound it happen when the workload keeps increasing with little or no assistance. Lawyers are often under a lot of stress. Imagine a police officer who directs traffic in the middle of the road! Professions with high stakes and irregular working hours come with mental health difficulties. Doctors, nurses, lecturers, fire fighters, and pastors are in this category.

Pastors do not only preach the gospel and study the Bible all day. They are regularly faced with the demands of administrative work, financial responsibilities, and challenges of people in distress. The pastor is the first point of call for a congregant who has lost a spouse, a child or a loved one. Handling these situations can be draining. Then you add the pressures from building projects, marriage counseling, challenges from the Children Service department and choir problems. The expectations of a pastor are very high, while they often have little support and little time to care for themselves. As a result, many experience depression and burnout, often silently.

Several pastors identify with David when he said “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” (Psalm 42:5a). Elijah felt the burden of standing for what is right in Israel, to the point where he desired death (see 1 Kings 19:4).

But what made the apostles to keep going in the face of intense adversity and persecution? We know they stuck together and knew they had the support of the brethren. They run to their companions when they face of challenges (Acts 4:23ff). Spiritually, they spent lots of time in prayer and worshipping the Lord. Above all, they were filled with and depended on the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” When your focus is on the Lord, your mind is at ease. Your heart becomes troubled when the mind is busy worrying about difficulties that you do not have no solutions for. When the thinking becomes intense, depression and sorrow can set in, and the heart cannot be at rest.

According to the World Health Organisation, mental disorders are usually associated with distress or impairment in important areas of functioning. Based on their statistics, one in every eight people in the world live with a mental disorder. That is a high number and we all need to be concerned.

The misconception against mental health makes coping with it even more challenging. Yet, it is a reality in every sphere of life. We all desire pleasant and warm homes, schools, work places and worship environments. Mental health affects our ability to progress in life and succeed in our endeavours. Not only our own health affects us, but the health of those around us also. People are experiencing loneliness, isolation, and detachment more than ever before, which worsens mental health situations.

As a pastor and coach for over a decade, I have discovered a lot about people's behaviour patterns. Adding my years of teaching experience at the university and extensive facilitation of training activities, I have come across people of diverse characteristics and observed how their manner of life affects their mental health. I have also found that it is not the person with the most problems that is most broken. Some individuals have found inner strength that helps them handle difficult times better than others.

WHAT WE CAN DO

RELATIONSHIPS – quality relationships promote mental health. When we feel connected and supported, we feel safe and mentally stable. We are emotional beings and do get hurt through our interpersonal interactions. Develop and nurture a network of friends and people who care about you. Having a warm and healthy support system improves mental health. Talk to these people often and allow them to speak into your life. How we treat others and how others treat us are important for our mental health. Strained relationships put a lot of pressure on anyone, no matter the setting. Today, employers and graduate schools request for statements about the quality of a candidate’s interpersonal relationships.

CONTENTMENT - Learn to be content with what you have and the levels you have currently attained. Pursue your dreams, but not under pressure to prove a point. Avoid pushing to reach expectations that are beyond your reach. That can be emotionally and mentally agonizing. If your vocabulary does not include the word ‘enough’, you will struggle and become frustrated in life.