Fight 4 Happiness

Something I have been pondering of late is what the path to improve our mental health looks like.

Occasionally in our therapy sessions Chris will ask to complete a questionnaire to gauge where any levels of anxiety or depression are at. I can see the value in these processes as they allow you to set a baseline and measure improvement. When I entered these sessions my mental health was not amazing but it was stable. Not getting significantly worse or better. Just what it was.

More recently it has felt like it is fluctuating a lot. And I think that is ok. I am on a journey and most journeys are not a straight line from A to B. It does mean that I feel like the value of these questionnaires is at this point in time less worthwhile. Fortnight to fortnight the response could vary rather drastically.

It got me wondering when we do try to improve our mental health or physical health for that matter. We often assume the journey looks like this…

When actually it often looks more like this…

The wrong expectation can set us up to fail. If we find we take a step backwards or things are getting rocky we can abandon our course of action or frankly just feel more depressed. So what should we remember on any journey to recovery…

1. Everyone’s Journey is different…

Don’t measure yourself against other people. Everyone’s journey is different. The rate and path of your recovery will be unique to you.

2.Set backs are not the end…

It’s ok to go backwards sometimes, some times it is necessary, sometimes it just happens. Set backs are not the end and when you are ready you can move forward.

3.Measure progress from where you started…

Don’t measure yourself against where you want to get too. Measure yourself from where you started. This will more often give you sense of achievement.