Mental Health IS Just As Important As Physical Health – Guest Post
For my second guest post the lovely Charlotte who writes at https://charlotteunderwoodauthor.com/ has written a really powerful piece about why mental health is just as important as physical health.
Mental Health IS Just As Important As Physical Health
It baffles me as to how not only ourselves, our friends and family tend to sweep mental health under the rug and refuse to see it as a real problem but even doctors do it too.
We seem to still live in the same society set up 100 years ago that told us to carry on if you had a problem, yet no one would expect you to go and mine if you had a broken leg.
The truth is that these outdated society values have still washed us into a thinking that our thoughts, feelings and general mental health just isn’t as important as physical health, if you can’t see it, it’s not real right?
But this is all wrong, I’m not a doctor or a scientist but basic knowledge and even schools teach us that our brain is one of the fundamental parts of the human anatomy that allows us to use our basic human function – meaning without a functioning brain, we won’t be able to do, well, pretty much anything.
Our brain is at the foundation of who we are as humans, it’s not only the reason that we can walk and talk, it’s also the part of us that gives us our identity, our personality and everything that makes you, you.
So, why do we ignore it? Surely, we should be promoting brain health (aka mental health) just as much as heart, liver and kidney health – as any of these failing will be just as fatal of have just as serious consequences as if our brain would shut down too.
We ignore how powerful our brains are, they are miraculous and fascinating things that count for so much more than we realise.
In bad health, you brain can stop you from eating, moving, sleeping or doing anything that we need to promote a healthy lifestyle.
But did you know it can also cause you more physical issue, like literal pain and symptoms that are very real but have no actual cause other than our minds struggling?
You will not be able to do everything you love unless you do put your mental health first.
You want to lose or gain weight permanently – for it to be healthy you need the right mindset which is, part of our brain.
You want to quit drinking or smoking – again, it’s all down to our mental health.
You want to pick up a new hobby, learn a new skill or go back to school – it’ll be very hard unless you have the mental health to do so.
You see, when our brains are sick, everything else becomes incredibly hard and very quickly, it becomes a domino effect of many aspects of your life shutting down.
But this doesn’t need to be scary, we all have mental health and we all respond differently to situations, so learning about ourselves and accessing support, can really make a mile of difference.
Looking after your mental health doesn’t have mean a mindfulness course or going to spend a week in the mountains – unless you want to.
It is just about basic self-care and respect, listening to your needs and learning your limits, basically, being true to yourself and remember that you are the most important person in your life (without you, your life just won’t exist).
So, let’s all take a moment in each day to breathe, take in all that information and then relax all those muscles and tensions – some self-care a day might actually keep the doctor away.
About Charlotte
Charlotte is a 22-year-old from Norfolk. She is a growing mental health advocate and likes to use writing to inform and support.
Charlotte and Sooty by River
On her blog you can keep up to date with her written work, both self published and through other means.
She posts a lot about mental health, depression, anxiety and suicide as she wants to raise awareness as well as end the stigma.
You can find out more about Charlotte here.
Charlotte’s social media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteUnderwoodAuthor …
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlotteunderwoodauthor/ …
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/charlotte-underwood-0163b9140/ …
Blog: http://charlotteunderwoodauthor.com
Free E-Book: https://smashwords.com/books/view/732616
A huge thank you to Charlotte for writing such a powerful post and being my second guest writer.
If you’d like to write a guest post on https://rachaelstray.com please get in touch via my contact/work with me page.
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See my first guest post from Lauren introducing Hippie Within
If you’d like to stop smoking there’s some great tips in my give quitting a go with these top tips post
If you’re looking to cut down on alcohol here’s tips to help take days off the booze
See how I got back on track thanks to self-care time
Here’s some tips to help you de-stress
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Great post. We should all be doing more to end the stigma to mental health.
I have so many thoughts on this subject! For example, why is it that when we get a bad cold we spend the day in bed with tissues and lemsip, but the second we start to feel a bad mental health day coming on we feel bad at even thinking about taking some time off?! I attempted to go to a psychologist about my anxiety. I was told that it was probably just stress and after just three sessions we would have to end them because she had patients with more pressing issues…great, thanks for your help!
Thank you for bringing up this topic Charlotte and Rachael, we really need to talk about it more!
Thank you for reading and commenting. You’re so right we all need to be talking about this more and absolutely everyone should take mental health much more seriously!
I’ve lived with depression and anxiety for a long time. I grew up in a household where things like mental health is a silly concept. It’s only now that
I’m getting a grasp on the idea that what I am experiencing is valid and real. I wish there were more people who will see mental health for what it is – something that needs taking care of just like the rest of our physical health.
Myrth | clistebella.blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing this. We all need to take mental health more seriously x
A brilliant post, I have been lucky with counselling, I am doing CBT. Trying to undo years of negative thoughts x
I hope CBT helps 😊
This was so interesting to read. It is so true how you aren’t able to do the things you love unless you do put your mental health first. It is a shame it doesn’t seem as important as other areas, as I can really tell the difference between the good days and bad days. With mental health being talked about more – maybe this will change. Fingers crossed!
Amy,
https://creativenails.uk
Same! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊
There are so many misconceptions about mental health. Which baffles me because it’s 2018! Thank you for sharing and shining a light on mental health. We need more of this!
I totally agree thank you 😊
This is such an interesting and well written post. I definitely agree, looking after our mental health should be high priority. After all, if we are not feeling right mentally, everything else becomes a real struggle. Thank you for writing such an important post Charlotte and thank you to Rachael for sharing it 💖 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
This is a great post! And it really informed me on how mental health is viewed a less important than physical health which shouldn’t be the case at all! All forms of health should be equally important and viewed as such.
Thank you and yes it should 😊
I think a lot of the issues with mental health is that people don’t understand it. If you need some time off because you have flu or a bug, people get it, but people don’t really understand what having a bad mental health day/ week means. Now, that’s actually great because it means they’ve never been through it. But there are a lot of misconceptions. It’s a shame there isn’t better education on the subject x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
I think you’re right Sophie better education and awareness is absolutely needed.
Mental health issues are far more prevalent than people realize. My dad suffers with a bi-polar disorder, my uncle had suffered with depression and I have had a small breakdown due to stress. Until my doctor told me that I had to slow down and take time for myself I was burning the candle at both ends as a mom, wife and full time exec. Stress is cumulative and if you don’t watch out for the signs of overdoing it then you can hit that wall of no return and breakdown. You really have to stop and take a break to unwind at times. Great article!
Thank you for sharing this. I don’t think people talk about it enough!
An excellent reminder. We need to care for our mental health just as much as physical health. Everything in our bodies are linked and has massive impact on each other!
Love this post! Such an important subject and I’m so pleased to see people talking about it.
Charlotte has a lot of wisdom at such a young age! I completely agree, mental health is just as important as our physical well being. Sadly not only does society not recognize this, but we ourselves often fail to prioritize it.
I know I totally agree!!
How many times can I like this important post and its message? As someone who suffers from clinical depression–now in remission–I applaud you for speaking up about this critical issue!
Charlotte is a brilliant mental health advocate and I’m so happy to share her important message on my blog
We have come a long way in how we view mental illness.
Yes absolutely but still a long way to go yet!
Inspiring post! It really is shocking that plenty of doctors, particuarly GPs, refuse to acknowledge mental health as a real problem. But perhaps this is also because, outside psychologists and doctors specializing in the brain like neurologists, their learnings focused on the physical health? I’m actually looking forward to seeing med students of my generation becoming doctors because we’ve become more aware of mental health 😊
x Kate | https://allthetrinkets.wordpress.com
I hope that things are starting to shift and hopefully the next generation of
Doctors will be more aware and understanding about mental health.
Depression is pervasive in the world these days and I am not sure why. But it definitely is getting more respect even though not as much as it should.
Yes still more to do for sure.
Such a great post and so true. Mental health is every bit as vital as physical, and in some cases, even more important.
Fantastic post. Mental health is incredibly important.
Totally agree.
I totally agree. The discussion about mental health is much more open than it used to be but there’s still so many who don’t feel they can talk about it!
wise words here – my arthritis pain went into melt down when I had a traumatic bereavement . much more to be done to support people with their mental health as well as physical health
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