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The benefits of being open about your mental health

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It’s no secret that mental health is still stigmatized. In many societies, discussing your mental health struggles shows weakness. However, being open about your mental health can be beneficial in many ways. Doing so can help break the stigma, normalize conversations about mental health, and ultimately lead to better support for those struggling with their mental health. Here are a few reasons I believe being open about your mental health is essential.

Being open about your mental health can help you find understanding and support from others. We all may feel alone in our mental health journey from time to time, but something must be said to be honest and open about our struggles. By taking a moment to dive into our feelings and speak openly about them, we can help ourselves find understanding and support in those around us. It may seem intimidating initially, but even the slightest showing of openness can do wonders when alleviating tension in an otherwise uncomfortable situation. The power of connection that comes with being open about your mental health cannot be overstated – why not give it a try?

It can also help to reduce the stigma around mental illness.

Mental illness is a complex subject, and it can be tempting to shy away from the topic, but discussing it openly is one of the most helpful tools for supporting those with it. By removing the stigma surrounding conversations about mental health, we can create a more inclusive environment that promotes understanding and acceptance of different struggles while helping others feel heard and appreciated. After all, no one should face these issues alone — open acknowledgment is the first step towards creating more robust support systems for those facing mental illnesses daily.

Being open about your mental health can also help you better understand yourself.

Being open about one’s mental health is integral to a life of self-awareness and understanding. Instead of burying our troubles deep within us, we should confront them head-on and use them to learn more about ourselves. For those brave enough to take this approach, talking about your mental health helps bring clarity to our thoughts and allows us to gain perspective over our emotions. With this newfound insight, we can become the master of our destiny instead of being held hostage by our mental health issues.

Finally, being open about your mental health can lead to positive changes in your life.

With so much attention on the importance of physical health, it’s easy to forget that mental health is just as important. Unfortunately, our society still hasn’t embraced discussing mental illness with the same positivity and understanding as physical illness. Thankfully, things are beginning to change thanks to those brave enough to open up about their mental health struggles, which can often lead to significant changes for the better. Being honest about your struggle provides an essential sense of relief and allows for a more supportive environment. Of course, life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, but when we openly speak about our mental health, we give ourselves the opportunity—and permission—to improve our overall well-being.
 
Being open about your mental health is an excellent way to find support from others, reduce the stigma around mental illness, better understand yourself, and make positive changes in your life. So go ahead and be open about your mental health–you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Wishing you the best in your Wellness journey.

The Pangs of Rejection and Overcoming the Inevitable

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Applying for a new job. Swiping right on a potential match. Putting in an offer on a new home. Reaching out to a friend you haven’t heard from in a while. Proposing to your significant other.

These scenarios put you in a vulnerable position with generally one of two outcomes. You’ll either get the response you want, or you’ll be met with rejection. Many of us fear the latter outcome the most, as there is nothing about being rejected that feels good. We have a natural, emotional reaction to being rejected, which can complicate things because rejection is inevitable whether we like it or not. It’s a part of life, something we can experience when we begin to feel and understand our emotions.

Since you have to live with it and can never tell when it will hit, it may be worth understanding the concept of rejection, your body’s reaction to it, and how you can use that pain to your benefit. Chances are you can recognize when you’ve been rejected, but do you understand what happens after it sets in or why you feel how you feel after being rejected?

The Pain of Rejection

The concept of rejection sounds pretty straightforward. After you’ve been rebuffed, your body undergoes an emotional response that causes you to feel a perceived pain. That pain, mainly driven by social rejection, can lead to increased anger, depression, sadness, and anxiety. However, you may not realize that the pain associated with rejection is not dissimilar to the physical pain you may experience with a broken finger. Your brain will react similarly, releasing cortisol and adrenaline and shifting your blood flow. This physical reaction causes symptoms like body aches and decreased appetite.

The reason our body reacts this way is mainly because of how much we rely on social acceptance. But there is a bit more to it, especially when you think of how much people, in general, value the opinions of others and use them as a means of validation.

Craving Acceptance and Overcoming Rejection

Just like our bodies crave food and water and will react negatively if neither is provided, our minds crave social interaction and acceptance. Without them, we undergo physical and psychological changes.

What’s important is that you don’t allow that rejection to cause you to spiral. You don’t have to sit with the pangs of guilt, sorrow, and regret that can come with rejection. There are a few things you can do to both use rejection to better yourself and minimize its effects.

Acknowledge Your Feelings

Regardless of where the rejection came from, you’re feeling it, and it’s real. Don’t try to bury the way you think. Instead, acknowledge your feelings and validate them. Talk about them with confidence and deal with the issue head-on.

Find the Opportunity to Grow and Learn

Take this experience and learn from it. Reflect on what may have happened and determine what you may be able to change for the future. For example, if you didn’t get a job you applied for, review your resume and see how you can change it. If you were rejected by a date, take a long look at the type of partner you’ve been pursuing and determine if you should change.

Put the Rejection Into Perspective

One rejection does not guarantee another. Remember that just because one thing didn’t work out, it doesn’t mean another won’t as well. Also, consider why you were rejected. It’s possible it wasn’t an issue with you but an uncontrollable external factor.

Practice Self-Love

If we feel good about ourselves and have high self-esteem, rejection won’t hurt as bad. Even when things go awry, talk yourself up rather than assign self-blame. Rejection doesn’t define you, but how you feel about yourself can.

An Inevitable Part of Life

Knowing that rejection is a part of life doesn’t make it easier to handle, but it does allow you to prepare yourself for when rejection may be a possibility. It would be best if you didn’t let rejection set you back. Instead, learn from what’s happened, put everything into perspective, and continue showing yourself self-love. You may mitigate the effects of rejection when you do experience rejection.