How are all my readers doing this beautiful morning? How are
you all feeling today? I can say though my physical health is not good right
now, I’m in a very relaxed mood. ,I live in Massachusetts and we’ve had so much
snow this month that I can speak for most people, im ready for Spring now We’ve
had enough snow to last the next few winters and then some, but im not going to
complain, there is blue sky outside and the sun is shining through my bedroom
picture window.
I want you to close
your eyes. I want you to sit down in a comfortable chair and keep your eyes
closed and picture this in your mind .Its early morning and the sun is just
coming up over the horizon. The sky is lit up with breathtaking colors of pink,
orange and purple and you are overlooking the ocean as you sit in your chair on
the rock in front of your little house next to the lighthouse. No one is awake
except you, all you hear is the waves crashing against the rocks below, and the
ocean seems to stretch for miles with no end in sight. Then you hear the
seagull overhead and the sunlight and you feel the rays of sunlight on your face.
All is well with the world. You are relaxed and ready to take on your day.
Now I want you to picture this, with your
eyes still closed, you wake up for work, you forgot to set the alarm, so now you’re
getting a late start, the kids are giving you a tough time. , you burn the
toast, since your running late; you realize you forgot to leave out the kids clothes
the night before, so now you’re scrambling to find them something to wear. They
barely make it on the bus on time. In addition, you finally make it out the
door, only for your car to give your problems starting. There is a huge traffic
jam, you arrive at work late, and your boss is not happy. You are trying to concentrate
on your job, but you know all your responsibilities are waiting at home. The day
has just begun and you are already stressed to the max.
Two different environments. That’s today’s
topic how does environment affect our mental health? A person’s environment can
influence how a person acts or reacts to a given situation. Many dynamics can
stress a person out, just by what kind of environment is going on around them,
but what happens when you are dealing with mental health; it takes on a bigger
picture of stress, since stress is a huge factor in triggering a bipolar
episode.
So how does the environment affect our minds
and emotions, since they go hand in hand with one another? Stressful life events,
disruptions in our routines and schedules, these changes no matter how subtle
they are at times can negatively affect our brain chemistry. In addition, how
we handle ourselves, by expressing our feelings in healthy or unhealthy manner.
Stress, interaction sith people, noises these all are contributing factors that
play a big role.
So how can we react
or act differently when were under pressure, and we feel like were overwhelmed.
Well here are a few ideas. Connect to nature, go for a walk outside, let the
sunlight be nourishment for your body and soul. Have options of what you do to
calm down. Surround yourself with social support like family, friends and a good
therapist no shame in that. we all need to talk out those stressful thoughts,
reduce the noise in our lives and clutter and business, they can over take the
room in our minds and we feel like were being pulled in so many different directions.
Relaxing distractions, a good book, a exiting movie, a bubble bath, or a phone
chat with a good friend, there are many healthy options!
So both physical environment
and social environment can affect you. What difference can a physical environment
make? For example, a brightly lit room with bright colors will affect people differently
than a dark room that is dreary feeling. One will bring relaxation and a calm
over us, while the other brings out
isolation and depression, and our minds play into what surrounds us, when were
surrounded by certain dynamics then we start to gravitate to feeling that way!
We need to be active in our own environment , some factors can’t be changed,
if were in situations that are beyond our control, but we need to find the
quiet calm, and bring that daily into our environment even if we have to be
alone for awhile to gather our thoughts and relax our bodies. This is our way of being proactive in your
treatment! I know it has worked for me! I take time every day before I dig into
my responsibilities to have a cut of tea, read my bible or a good book and look
out at my beautiful view out my picture window. Knowing boundaries will help you
figure out what are healthy and unhealthy boundaries too! You are not alone,
through this learning process!
