Enhancing Our Mental Health: Part 2

This month I discuss ways to enhance mental health by controlling our thoughts and attitudes, being optimistic, challenging ourselves with new experiences, and learning to meditate.

Controlling Thoughts and Attitudes

Most of us have difficulty letting go of troublesome thoughts and attitudes at one time or another. The more difficult the experience, the more likely we will mull it over it in our minds. This is our psyche’s natural way of processing the experience and letting it go. Some people, however, are unable to let go of worrisome thoughts. Their rumination affects their quality of life. Research has documented that worrisome, unpleasant, and frightening thoughts generate stressful emotions. In other words, our thinking affects our emotions and thus our moods. Treatment methods which help individuals exercise control over their thoughts and attitudes include: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), an energy psychology.

CBT interventions include stopping thoughts and refuting irrational thoughts. Thought stopping interrupts a troublesome thought by saying the word “stop” while making a loud noise or snapping a rubber band around the wrist. Then the troublesome thought is replaced with a positive statement. Refuting irrational thoughts is a learned technique to challenge irrational ideas and replace them with realistic statements.

EFT, developed by Gary Craig, is the technique of tapping on some of the body’s acupressure points while simultaneously thinking about limiting beliefs, fears, and difficult emotions. This technique restores balance to your mind and body.

The Worry Focus Exercise is an effective way to deal with everyday worries. Set aside half an hour, as needed, and concentrate on an issue that is bothering you. Use this time to solve problems, talk about your thoughts and feelings to a trusted friend, or write in a journal. During this time, completely focus on your worrisome thought. When these thoughts come up during the day, quietly tell yourself that you will deal with them during the next Worry Focus Exercise. Be consistent. You are disciplining your mind to wait because it has an appointment with you. As a result, your worry will lessen.

Dr. Victor Frankel, Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, is a renowned teacher in helping us reframe thinking patterns. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, one of the 10 most influential books in the United States, Dr. Frankel describes his internment in the Auschwitz and Dachau death camps. He escaped his horrendous day-to-day experiences by using his imagination to visualize his pre-war life with his wife. In other words, he retrieved happy memories which helped him to cope with his present difficult circumstances. He made a cognitive choice that made his life tolerable during extreme conditions.

Self awareness is the first step in taking control of your negative thoughts and attitudes. Are your troublesome thoughts extreme, obsessive, and/or anxiety producing? Are you a catastrophizer, or awfulizer, in interpreting your day to day experiences? Begin by acknowledging that you have a problem. Then take some form of action. Read up on your condition. There are self-help books available. Search the Internet. Find a therapist. Do something to change your present reality. Don’t expect immediate results; changing long-standing negative thought patterns takes time. Have patience for your process.

Learning to Be Optimistic

Having a sense of optimism is another way to enhance mental health. Research shows that optimistic people have a healthier immune system and are better able to fight disease. When you see a glass filled midway with water, do you consider the glass half empty or half full? Think about it. This is a good test to determine if you are an optimist or a pessimist.

Psychologist Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman is one of the leaders in the field of Positive Psychology. In his book Learned Optimism, he teaches cognitive techniques to move from lifelong habits of pessimism to optimism. These include disputing negative beliefs by changing our internal dialogue and distraction techniques.

Taking a more realistic look at your situation and your reaction to it is one way to change your perception from pessimism to optimism. Ask yourself, or someone close to you, if you are overreacting to your situation. Catching yourself when you are being negative and being less so is another way to become more optimistic.

Challenging Ourselves with New Experiences

We also take care of our mental health by changing what is not working in our lives. We all have the ability to make changes. Change, however, can be difficult and is often scary. We become comfortable with that which is familiar. The unknown seems frightening. However, the choice to live a quality life is up to each individual. We can choose between “same old, same old” and taking a risk to try something new. If we are unhappy with our life right now, we can choose what to do about it, even if it means consciously making no choice. Take control because we always pay a price for unhappiness. Ask yourself how happy you are right now. Examine what is working in your life, and what is not. Then decide to begin changing your future by taking some action, no matter how small.

Learning to Meditate

Meditation is an excellent technique for quieting and caring for the mind. We can reach a meditative state when we focus our attention on one thing and become fully absorbed in it, while avoiding ruminative thought. We focus our attention on the present moment in a meditative state. When thoughts arise, we note them, and then turn our awareness back to the present. It is this concentration on the now that allows our body to relax.

People meditate in different ways. Some people prefer to meditate by using a mantra which they repeat in their minds. It can be a secular or religious phrase, or just a word. When their minds stray, they acknowledge the thought, then bring their attention back to their mantra. Other people prefer to meditate by counting their breath. As they breathe in they say "one," as they breathe out they say "one." They continue to do this until a count of four, and then start over again. Still other people prefer to use a gazing meditative technique where they focus attention on an object such as a candle, natural object, nature, etc. Beginning with several breaths, focus your eyes on an object that captures your attention. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them, and return to focus on the object. You can do this anywhere when you need a break from ruminative thoughts. While in a meditative state our creativity flourishes, we can tap into our intuition, and activate our body's natural healing ability.

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