Summary

Mental wellbeing is not an outcome. Your perception of your mental wellbeing is affected by your idea of mental wellbeing. Your idea of mental wellbeing is affected by your life experiences, your brain development, and your philosophy of life. Your idea of mental wellbeing today may not be the same as your mental wellbeing was when you were younger or what it will be when you are older. Your social support network can contribute to your mental wellbeing. Talk to your mental health treatment team about a plan to work on your mental wellbeing.

Mental Wellbeing Across Your Lifetime

Mental wellbeing is attainable across your lifetime. Let’s explore further.

What Does It Mean to Have Mental Wellbeing

Mental wellbeing is not an outcome just a life is not an outcome. Life is a process. Working towards mental wellbeing is a process.

Mental wellbeing is not an outcome. Repeat this statement. Mental wellbeing is not an outcome.

Perhaps defining perception of mental wellbeing is better achieved by exploring the change in perception of mental wellbeing over a lifetime.

Mental Wellbeing Is Not Static

Our perception of mental wellbeing in our life today is likely different from our perception of mental wellbeing at other periods of our life. Our growth as a human being, whether cognitively due to our maturing brain or emotionally related to our experiences in life or philosophically secondary to our decision to espouse a mission statement in life, affects our perception of what constitutes mental wellbeing in our life.

Consider that the variation in our concept of mental wellbeing relates to a change in our perspective. My perspective can change over my lifetime. My perspective may be different than anyone else’s perspective.

Your idea of mental wellbeing is different from other people’s idea. Your idea of mental wellbeing today is different than what it will be at the end of your life and different than what it was when you were born.

Our Perception of Mental Wellbeing Impacts Life

What do I mean by the statement that our perception of mental wellbeing impacts life?

Our perception of mental wellbeing is how we perceive our mental wellbeing. I look at myself and I think: my mental wellbeing is not good, not where I want it to be: this is not how I want to feel. My perception is telling me: yikes, I would life to feel different than I do today.

Thus, my perception of my mental wellbeing is related to my idea of what constitutes mental wellbeing, a favourable mental wellbeing, an aspiration for my wellbeing.

So, I have a concept, an idea of mental wellbeing today leading to my perception of my current mental wellbeing. My concept of mental wellbeing today is likely different than what it was at a previous episode in my life and what it will be in the future.

There may be an underlying current, a constant which infuses my thoughts about mental wellbeing. The particulars related to mental wellbeing will change, as I mentioned above, as a result of my life experiences; my philosophical approach; and my level of cognitive development.

The perception of mental wellbeing impacts life by leading me, you, anyone, to evaluate the current mental wellbeing state and compare it to the aspired mental wellbeing state. If there is a difference between the two, the current mental wellbeing state and the aspired state, then I may be inclined to make changes to improve my mental wellbeing.

Hope and Hopelessness Affect Mental Wellbeing

Hope and hopelessness affect mental wellbeing. You may be thinking: well, of course. Just embrace hope and forget about hopelessness, right?

Not so fast.

I can choose hope. I may be challenged emotionally and be unable to choose hope. How is that even possible?

Consider depression. Major depressive disorder, severe, or bipolar depression. Seeing the positive becomes a challenge. Grasping for hope may be like looking for the needle in a haystack.

This is why I ask clients working with me to allow the team working with them to hold the hope for them. I did not coin this approach: I learnt it from mentors who were instrumental in teaching me how to practice as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

Be compassionate. Be hopeful. Be gracious. Embody the concept of being of service to others. Remind people that they have tools and skills and knowledge which they can implement when they start feeling better emotionally. These are the directions I was given by my mentors.

The Science of Hope and Helplessness

The science of hope and hopelessness exists. The research of Positive Psychology substantiates the reality that hope/hopelessness and helplessness are based in neuroscience. And, there are steps which people can take to work towards hope and transcending hopelessness.

Take a listen to the podcast by two of my favourite neuroscience guys, Andrew Cooper-Sansone and Taylor Guthrie:

Activating Your Brain’s Hope Circuit: From Helplessness to Empowerment

The Social Brain Episode 17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRIEZEEuuTI&list=PL7xIGdTUcr0rM1TXLt5yZFvvJzGVlY7RP&index=17

Did you hear what they said about the power of thinking about future engaging the frontal lobe (around minute 43), allowing you to regulate your emotions, allowing you to involve volition (want)? When people are depressed, the idea of effort, let alone any want to exert effort, seems like an insurmountable mountain. But, engaging in future thinking allows you to start exercising that brain “muscle”, the frontal lobe, which can lead you to be able to access the skill of exerting effort.

Listen to the discussion about habits and neuroplasticity. Learning how to see a positive result and learning that you can reach a positive result allows you to replicate the habit/behaviour because you have learnt: I can do something and feel good. Then, brain neuroplasticity is occurring leading to the potential for further neuroplasticity.

Accumulate Positives for Your Mental Wellbeing

Recall a time when you did something and surprised yourself. Maybe it was baking a cake or doing a cartwheel or riding a bike or walking a mile. Did you feel good? Did you want to engage in that activity again?

In contrast to when you tried something and failed. That might motivate someone of us to try again. Or, it might lead to discouragement and giving up.

Of course, I love the discussion about the neuroscience underlying the idea of accumulating positives. Left brain involvement engaging language centres with their connection to positive thoughts and broadening horizons, the rest and digest mode, being able to see context, while the right brain underlies the importance of being able to flee threat.

Accumulate some positives and start seeing the larger picture. Accumulate positives and embrace a broader perspective about future positives.

How beautiful. Neuroplasticity in practice.

Mental Wellbeing Across a Life

Contemplate what mental wellbeing means to you.

Ponder how you can change some things in life and how you must accept certain things.

Embrace the approach of being able to control your response to situations.

Recall how impactful social connectedness and social support can be on your mental wellbeing. Choose your support network to fulfill this role in your life.

Speak with your mental health treatment team about the plan for you to foster your mental wellbeing.

Take-aways

You lead your life. You define your idea of mental wellbeing. Others can help you as you work on your mental wellbeing.

Remember, as corny as it may sound, we are a brotherhood of men. We can and must support each other:

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, 1995 Tony Awards (with Lillias White)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHkaPSdB9w0

If you are feeling like hurting yourself or someone else, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Selected References:

Guthrie, T., Cooper-Sansone, A. (May 2023). Activating Your Brain’s Hope Circuit: From Helplessness to Empowerment. The Social Brain Episode 17. Accessed online on October 27, 2024, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRIEZEEuuTI&list=PL7xIGdTUcr0rM1TXLt5yZFvvJzGVlY7RP&index=17

Disclaimer: The content of this post is not meant to substitute for a consultation with your mental health treatment team.