Have you ever felt like things were so much easier or much more manageable when you’re in a good mood? Or how a problem that seemed unsolvable is suddenly not the “end-all-be-all” after a good night’s sleep? What about when you’re extremely anxious about a terrible situation and that one phone call to a dear friend makes you feel oh so much better? That’s all thanks to your mental wellbeing.

What is mental wellbeing, you ask? It’s a state of wellbeing in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Mental Wellbeing vs. Mental Health:

Aren’t they the same thing? Not at all! There tends to be a lot of confusion between the two, which is perfectly understandable. Your mental wellbeing is about your thoughts and feelings and how you cope with the ups and downs of everyday life. It’s not the same thing as mental health, although the two can influence each other. Long periods of low mental wellbeing can lead to the development of diagnosable mental health conditions such as anxiety or depression.

This is often caused by big life events that we have little or no control over such as bereavement, illness or redundancy. In these situations, it’s about how we respond – our behaviors and habits – that will determine the impact on our mental wellbeing. For example, do we tend to reach out for support or withdraw? Do we assume the worst or remain open to new opportunities?

Start making improvements today. Not sure where to start? We got you! Let us guide you through this process that we have customized and personalized just for you and your healing process.

1 – Resilience

What does resilience have to do with mental wellbeing? Simple! Mental wellbeing involves positive self image and esteem. Resilience, which is directly linked to your wellbeing, is all about having the ability and skills to cope with and adapt to new changes or situations.

Resilience is your ability to cope with change and adversity. But not only that, it is also your ability and capacity to bounce back from curveballs life throws your way. By strengthening your resilience, you’re better able to maintain good mental wellbeing through all of life’s ups and downs.

2 – Mindfulness

Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you. Some people call this awareness “mindfulness”. It can be so easy to rush through life without taking a moment to just stop and smell the roses, the coffee or the fresh air! Mindfulness allows us to see the present moment clearly and live in that precious moment. It can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life, the way you see yourself, and how you approach challenges.

When we are more mindful, or when we practice mindfulness, we begin to experience things in a whole new light, especially things that we’ve been taking for granted. Mindfulness also helps

you notice signs of stress or anxiety much earlier than you used to, in order to help you deal with them better.

3 – Meditation

Meditation is one of our key focus areas at Purisoul when it comes to your mental wellbeing journey. Meditation helps to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. This is often using breathing, quiet contemplation or sustained focus on something. For instance, an image, a phrase or a sound. This can help you let go of stress and feel more calm and peaceful.

Think of it as a mini-vacation from the stress in your life! Stress is your body’s natural alarm system. It releases a hormone called adrenaline that makes your breathing speed up and your heart rate and blood pressure rise. It kicks us into action, which may be a good thing when we’re faced with a real danger. But that “fight or flight” response can take a toll on your body when it goes on for too long, or is a regular occurrence.

Mindful meditation provides a method for handling stress in a healthier way. You can also opt for yoga. Yoga and tai-chi can also help with developing awareness of your breathing.

4 – Journaling

Journaling is a great and proven method that helps improve your mental wellbeing. It provides you an outlet to prioritize and materialize problems, fears and concerns. People tend to feel like problems are enormous and unsolvable when they’re just thinking about them over and over again. These fears or obstacles are currently thoughts. But once you write them down, they become real and something you can see on paper. Once it’s outside of your head, it becomes easier to understand what they really are. And most times, these problems, fears and concerns aren’t as big and scary as we made them out to be.

Journaling is also a great way to track any mental health issues that may arise or accumulate on a day-to-day basis, so that you can recognize triggers and learn ways to control them better. It also gives you a chance to express positive self-talk and identifying negative thoughts and behaviours that are the trickling droplets that lead to poor mental wellbeing.

Now I know journaling can be a bit intimidating for someone who has not practiced this mindful activity. Where do you start? How do you start? What should you be writing about? How will you fill this blank sheet of paper? I know, right? It can be a lot to take in. But don’t panic and don’t worry. At Purisoul, journaling is one of the critical aspects of your healing journey. We help you find the right type of journaling for you.

5 – Mental wellbeing at work

Many high achieving professionals like you have had their success disrupted after a life-changing event. We are taught how to acquire things in life, and not taught what to do when we lose them. And that’s very important, because we lose trust with the people we work with, we might have a loss of safety, or a loss of security.

This affects our mental state and our mind automatically tries to find solutions to the problem through logic. That leads you to the wrong tools for the job, and we’re here to give you the right tools – like breathwork, meditation and journaling – but the key is to be willing to put in the work.

6 – Good Mental Wellbeing

So, what does good mental wellbeing look like? Good mental wellbeing doesn’t mean you’re always happy or unaffected by your experiences. But poor mental wellbeing can make it more difficult to cope with daily life.

Good mental wellbeing is not the absence of negative thoughts and feelings. We all face difficult and challenging situations that cause us to feel angry, sad, overwhelmed and everything in between. Instead, it’s about being able to understand and manage those feelings, so that generally you’re able to feel confident in yourself, live and work productively, manage smoothly when big changes arise, and have a sense of purpose.

Mental wellbeing is just as equally important to your overall health and wellness as physical wellbeing. It can be hard to maintain good mental wellbeing at all times, because there are curveballs that life can throw at you that may be out of your control. But you know what you can control? Your relationships, your physical health and wellbeing, and your emotional wellbeing.

We will be diving deeper into your emotional state and wellbeing in future blogs, so be sure to check in for more posts soon!

We always encourage our Purisoul circle to do what is right for them. The program is personalized to you and you alone. The life changing or big events that altered your success are more likely than not different from the big events in someone else’s life. And you don’t have to go all in all at once, not knowing what your body, mind and soul can handle.

To improve your mental wellbeing, always remember that you should try only what feels comfortable, to give yourself time to figure out what works for you, to go at your own pace, and last but not least, take small steps. Those small steps can lead to bigger successes and greater realizations. Remember, this is your healing journey, and Purisoul is here to guide your healing.