With the way the world is today, being more aware of your mental health has become more important than ever. That includes understanding common types of mental health conditions, their stressors and how to manage it.
Despite this, however, it’s not always easy to evaluate your own mental health, especially when it’s a common habit to sweep it under the rug in favour of more pressing matters until it’s too late. With this in mind, here are a few things you can keep in mind when looking into your mental health.
The sitch on mental health
While it’s true that people are now more open about mental health (thanks to increased awareness championed by younger generations), why do some still choose to turn a blind eye to it? The unfortunate reason is that while progress has been made, it’s not easy to completely get rid of long-held stigmas against talk about mental health.
Propagated by fear, misrepresentation and false claims, this stigma continues to have very real world consequences, often leading to prejudice and even discrimination against those who suffer from poor mental health. Worse, this stigma is not just social or structural, but can also be internalised by individuals, leading them to feel ashamed and unwilling to speak up.
In turn, this can not only impede their journey to recovery, but can often make things worse. The disregard for emotional well-being could also come from the fact that people in Singapore have a lot going on to distract them.
Ranked as one of the top 5 most competitive countries in the world, it's no secret that our fast-paced lifestyle makes it easy for us to shift their focus away from something that is considered “trivial” As such, many people often find themselves having to unravel issues that they have tangled themselves in unknowingly.
It’s ok not to be ok
No, I'm not talking about the popular K-drama of the same name. Rather, what I mean by this is to say that it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed during times of hardship, and we need to be more forgiving of ourselves when we experience this.
It’s human nature to feel some sort of emotion in response to a stimulus, whether it's internal or external. As a result, we experience feelings which are shaped by our outlook, and the reason behind why two people can feel differently about the same situation.
This means that it’s important to recognise that everyone is unique in their perspective, and that includes you. Just because you feel differently than everyone else doesn’t mean that you’re wrong in any way, and it's crucial to both accept and embrace these emotions as a normal part of life.
This is what it means to be ‘not ok,’ and sometimes not being ok can help regulate your feelings in a positive manner. Do note that although emotions are normal, letting them rule your life entirely can be incredibly destructive and unproductive, so remember to keep that balance in mind.
We stan self-awareness
Everything starts from self-awareness, after all, how can you solve a problem if you’re not aware of it at all? This is arguably one of the most important and difficult parts of the assessment process. As we’ve covered earlier, most people tend to ignore or bury such issues under a ton of other distractions, which is detrimental to the early detection and intervention efforts.
If you’re unsure of what self-awareness means or entails, you could start by spending more time reflecting introspectively. This means accounting for your feelings in the moment and registering the corresponding feelings so you’re more conscious of how you’ll react in similar situations.
You can also try asking for feedback from others. While you might know yourself better in some areas, third party individuals can often provide you with a new perspective on things. Insights like these are invaluable as they aren’t tainted by prior experience or feelings, are objective, and can be constructive in helping you spot things you probably didn’t even notice.
By cultivating self-awareness, you essentially set yourself up for success when it comes to detecting stressors. That way, you’re addressing the issue in its early stages, and by using the management strategies we’ve talked about, you can stop them before they start to really affect you.
Take advantage of online resources
It's no secret that most of us are chronically online, and while excessive use of things like social media have directly resulted in increased mental health issues, there’s certainly benefits to staying connected. There are a ton of online resources dedicated to helping you with your mental health at every step, and being able to rely on them can be very helpful, especially when you’re in need of help.
Our local Health Hub website, for example, is a virtual portal that houses a ton of materials that aren’t just limited to mental wellness. They have things like the Singapore Mental Wellbeing Scale, which is a self-evaluation tool, for those who are 18 years old and above to try. It comprises 16 questions that you have to answer based on how you have felt, thought and acted in the last 2 weeks, and you will receive a score that will grade the state of your mental well-being.
You can also visit the official website for the Institute of Mental Health, which offers private checks for youths aged 16 to 30 using a platform called CHAT. The best part about this is that you’re not only able to assess your mental health with a professional, but they can also educate you on your condition and link you up with the right specialists should you require more help.
Reviewing your mental health
With everything that’s going on like job insecurity and rising costs of living, it can be easy to push your mental health to the wayside, especially when you have more “pressing” issues like finances. But to do so would be a big mistake, and would potentially expose you to more problems to deal with later in life.
Think of it this way, you’re probably not gonna finish a marathon if you ignore your health and you start catching the cold. It's the same as your mental wellbeing. You need to be both physically, mentally and emotionally ready to take on challenges in life, and if you neglect any one of these elements, your overall efforts would be diminished.
This is why it's critical to know how to evaluate your own mental health, particularly when you’re going through a rough patch. Having the skills, knowledge and resources to do so puts you in good stead to address anything that might come up, which is a much easier way to resolve issues on a whole. Just remember that self-assessment is no replacement for professional help, so do reach out to the relevant people if you feel like you’re unable to handle this on your own. After all, the only mistake you can make is not asking for help.
