MENTAL ILLNESS AND WELLNESS; THE THIN LINE BETWEEN KEEPING UP AND GIVING UP
One word that can be used as an umbrella to this topic is "Struggle"; something unavoidable to every individual on earth; from the cry of babies as they try to draw in their first breath to the struggle to balance on their feet at old age. This write-up seeks to touch aspects of mental illness and wellness with the various words associated with it; " struggle" in particular.
A thin line between mental illness and wellness can be said to be struggle; a determinant of mental illness and wellness, which can be perceived in a positive or negative perspective based on individual differences. Negatively, struggle is seen as a phenomenon or circumstances that can lead to strangulation, in other words the end product of struggle is strangle. It strangles one and makes one do the things he ought not to. Struggle has a power, it has a voice, it is a force. It means to strive, to contend, to labour in difficulty. Struggle in its negative form is determined by the individual; when one faces a situation that seems beyond ones power, one feels overcoming is impossible which leads to giving up, self condemnation which may further lead to acts such as suicide, theft, armed robbery, murder, etc. Struggle in this form is an hinderance to mental wellness as it destabilizes an individual, pulls and pushes one to dance to its rhythm.
Life cuts across different dimensions and socialization at one point or the other is inevitable. The implication of this is that, struggle in one form or the other, exists in these aspects. Mental illness could come through different forms such as; emotions, academics, finances, etc. An individual who feels imbalanced in any of the aforementioned cannot be said to be mentally stabilized. This, in one way or the other affects his inputs to the SOCIETY and the country at large. Exemplifications of the Various forms of struggles would be briefly discussed.
Mental illness could suffice emotionally; for instance, a case where two individuals who have built their lives together for years and suddenly one of them leaves the picture. In such situation, mental illness sets in emotionally. Such a person may take a very long time to recover or may even never recover. Also academically one may be struggling, let's paint a scenario in which a student in his final year suddenly finds out he would not be graduating with his peers with whom they have all worked together from year one in the higher institution. Such an individual would have flood of thoughts such as; why me? Where have I gone wrong? How can I bear to see my mates graduate without me? What do I tell my family? What can I do to run away from all of these? Furthermore financially, another form of mental illness could come in many ways. Let's picture a graduate who has not been able to lay hold of a befitting job after many years of graduation; such an individual will begin to think of so many underlying responsibilities; he being the first born of his family, his father is retired, his mom who is a petty trader, his younger ones in school, and even plans for his life. This individual is perpetually confronted with how his peers have made it financially and he begins to feel like a "failure" who is unable to fend for himself and his family.
The different categories of individuals depicted in the instances given will in a way embrace the negative form of struggle and it's associates. A great deal of pressure, emotional imbalances, sorrow, depression would be mounted on the individual leading to mental illness. Some circumstances and aspects of life which portray mental illness has been made known, now let's move on.
A striking difference between those who are defeated mental illness and those who are still struggling today is keeping up. Let's redefine struggle; it means to strive, to labour, to fight, to contend. Struggle in a positive sense, is striving to keep up; striving to labour, striving to contend against every difficulty which comes your way in every circumstance in life. Striving to be mentally well, keeping up!
As people develop and find themselves in the different phases of life, struggle waits right there on the door to these phases. It then depends on the individual to embrace the positivity in "struggle". Some fight to find their way out of every situation that poses threats to their mentally health. You contend to come out of that dark enclosed room of sorrow and depression, you dare to take a stand of hope and a courageous leap, you overcome your fears, you trample on anxieties and pressures, you never get tired of lacing your shoes again and running till you emerge a conqueror, you wipe off those tears over and over, keep your head high and show yourself to the world, you focus on positivity and banish negativity forever, You keep up!
As basking as this sounds and feels, bringing it into a reality is paramount. It is actually not easy to come to a point of resurrection in these times. An adage goes thus " there's nothing new under the sun". This can be said to imply that for every situation one may go through in life, people have gone through it and have either failed or become successful; and history has always been known to repeat itself. There is therefore a need to keep up, a need to emerge so as to continue the structure which has been built overtime by people who overcame. The question now is, how do I keep up? How do I retain mental stability?
Drawing from our discussion so far, one way to keep up and stay mentally well is to "Build a strong Spirit". As one grows and finds himself in different phases of life, there are many challenges that poses a threat in the achievement of his goals such as; self condemnation stemming from low self esteem, feeling like a failure, pressures, confusion, etc. Life situations give you reasons to just stop! Now, it is your duty to stir up something on the inside of you, give reasons to yourself to keep up and not faint, build a strong Spirit!
Having mentioned this, the question is how do I build a strong Spirit that always keep up? An implication of not fulfilling ones goals is self condemnation, you give up and never want to do anything again. What helps you in this case is the strong Spirit you have built over time, the confidence and conviction you have about yourself irrespective of what the world says or does to you. The first requirement to building a strong spirit is believing strongly in yourself and daring to take a stand to keep trying without taking consideration the number of times you've tried hard and failed with the knowledge that one day, you'll be a success, daring to keep going in that dark tunnel knowing you will definitely see the light you are on the look out for. Life itself is what you define it to be; if you see life to be unfair and full of unfriendly happenings, it will continue to be that way. How you see life and face it; our approach to life goes a long way in determining one's mental health. You have to believe in yourself, avoid comparison with others, know what you want and go for it.
Another step to building a strong Spirit is studying the lives of people who have found themselves in these breathtaking situations and how they have struggled to emerge and become the Victors they are known to be today. One example is Thomas Edison, one of the early greatest inventors. According to history, there was a massive explosion of ten buildings in his plant which made more than half of the site to be engulfed in flames. The flames were so heavy that about six to eight fire departments could not be quickly put out the fire due to the chemicals. According to 1961 Readers digest article by Edison's son Charles, Edison calmly walked over to him as he watched the fire destroy his father's work. And his father told him to go get his mother and her friends because they will never see a fire like that again and when his son objected he said to him " it's alright we have just got rid of a lot of rubbish”. He was 67 years old as at that time and he decided to start over again the next day without firing any of his employees. The flames had consumed years of priceless records and prototypes and his plant's insurance covered only about a third of the total damage. Immediately, Edison got a loan form his friend, Henry Ford and got part of the plant up and running again. He and his employees worked tirelessly, they went on to make ten million in revenue the following year. Seeing the life of this man, one would definitely be encouraged to get back up and not be wearied. He did not die, he did not kill himself, he did not go into a coma instead he decided to keep up he brought out the potentiality of being a Victor into a reality and today he servos as a motivation to everyone to always keep up and not relent! Many overcomers like him exist, be one of them, prepare the way for generations to come.
Apart form studying the lives of those who have kept up, there is also a need to surround one's self with positive minds. Those who believe in you and are ready to push you to whatever peak you wish to attain. Researches gives us the understanding that the type of people one walks with, goes a long way in determining the kind of person one becomes. Stay connected with people who are a pushing factor rather than a pulling factor. They could be friends, families, and even mentors.
Conclusively, when you are down and you feel all is over, your spirit is weakened; read inspiring books, write-ups that would help in building you and helping you emerge of every unpleasant situation, see where you are going to , speak positivity to yourself always, write them down in visible and unavoidable places like on the walls in your room, your phone , your heart, etc. Always remind yourself of the victor that you are; because, you my friend, are a victor!
Marcus Esther Emiene
©Endowedwrites
0817 978 6895
One word that can be used as an umbrella to this topic is "Struggle"; something unavoidable to every individual on earth; from the cry of babies as they try to draw in their first breath to the struggle to balance on their feet at old age. This write-up seeks to touch aspects of mental illness and wellness with the various words associated with it; " struggle" in particular.
A thin line between mental illness and wellness can be said to be struggle; a determinant of mental illness and wellness, which can be perceived in a positive or negative perspective based on individual differences. Negatively, struggle is seen as a phenomenon or circumstances that can lead to strangulation, in other words the end product of struggle is strangle. It strangles one and makes one do the things he ought not to. Struggle has a power, it has a voice, it is a force. It means to strive, to contend, to labour in difficulty. Struggle in its negative form is determined by the individual; when one faces a situation that seems beyond ones power, one feels overcoming is impossible which leads to giving up, self condemnation which may further lead to acts such as suicide, theft, armed robbery, murder, etc. Struggle in this form is an hinderance to mental wellness as it destabilizes an individual, pulls and pushes one to dance to its rhythm.
Life cuts across different dimensions and socialization at one point or the other is inevitable. The implication of this is that, struggle in one form or the other, exists in these aspects. Mental illness could come through different forms such as; emotions, academics, finances, etc. An individual who feels imbalanced in any of the aforementioned cannot be said to be mentally stabilized. This, in one way or the other affects his inputs to the SOCIETY and the country at large. Exemplifications of the Various forms of struggles would be briefly discussed.
Mental illness could suffice emotionally; for instance, a case where two individuals who have built their lives together for years and suddenly one of them leaves the picture. In such situation, mental illness sets in emotionally. Such a person may take a very long time to recover or may even never recover. Also academically one may be struggling, let's paint a scenario in which a student in his final year suddenly finds out he would not be graduating with his peers with whom they have all worked together from year one in the higher institution. Such an individual would have flood of thoughts such as; why me? Where have I gone wrong? How can I bear to see my mates graduate without me? What do I tell my family? What can I do to run away from all of these? Furthermore financially, another form of mental illness could come in many ways. Let's picture a graduate who has not been able to lay hold of a befitting job after many years of graduation; such an individual will begin to think of so many underlying responsibilities; he being the first born of his family, his father is retired, his mom who is a petty trader, his younger ones in school, and even plans for his life. This individual is perpetually confronted with how his peers have made it financially and he begins to feel like a "failure" who is unable to fend for himself and his family.
The different categories of individuals depicted in the instances given will in a way embrace the negative form of struggle and it's associates. A great deal of pressure, emotional imbalances, sorrow, depression would be mounted on the individual leading to mental illness. Some circumstances and aspects of life which portray mental illness has been made known, now let's move on.
A striking difference between those who are defeated mental illness and those who are still struggling today is keeping up. Let's redefine struggle; it means to strive, to labour, to fight, to contend. Struggle in a positive sense, is striving to keep up; striving to labour, striving to contend against every difficulty which comes your way in every circumstance in life. Striving to be mentally well, keeping up!
As people develop and find themselves in the different phases of life, struggle waits right there on the door to these phases. It then depends on the individual to embrace the positivity in "struggle". Some fight to find their way out of every situation that poses threats to their mentally health. You contend to come out of that dark enclosed room of sorrow and depression, you dare to take a stand of hope and a courageous leap, you overcome your fears, you trample on anxieties and pressures, you never get tired of lacing your shoes again and running till you emerge a conqueror, you wipe off those tears over and over, keep your head high and show yourself to the world, you focus on positivity and banish negativity forever, You keep up!
As basking as this sounds and feels, bringing it into a reality is paramount. It is actually not easy to come to a point of resurrection in these times. An adage goes thus " there's nothing new under the sun". This can be said to imply that for every situation one may go through in life, people have gone through it and have either failed or become successful; and history has always been known to repeat itself. There is therefore a need to keep up, a need to emerge so as to continue the structure which has been built overtime by people who overcame. The question now is, how do I keep up? How do I retain mental stability?
Drawing from our discussion so far, one way to keep up and stay mentally well is to "Build a strong Spirit". As one grows and finds himself in different phases of life, there are many challenges that poses a threat in the achievement of his goals such as; self condemnation stemming from low self esteem, feeling like a failure, pressures, confusion, etc. Life situations give you reasons to just stop! Now, it is your duty to stir up something on the inside of you, give reasons to yourself to keep up and not faint, build a strong Spirit!
Having mentioned this, the question is how do I build a strong Spirit that always keep up? An implication of not fulfilling ones goals is self condemnation, you give up and never want to do anything again. What helps you in this case is the strong Spirit you have built over time, the confidence and conviction you have about yourself irrespective of what the world says or does to you. The first requirement to building a strong spirit is believing strongly in yourself and daring to take a stand to keep trying without taking consideration the number of times you've tried hard and failed with the knowledge that one day, you'll be a success, daring to keep going in that dark tunnel knowing you will definitely see the light you are on the look out for. Life itself is what you define it to be; if you see life to be unfair and full of unfriendly happenings, it will continue to be that way. How you see life and face it; our approach to life goes a long way in determining one's mental health. You have to believe in yourself, avoid comparison with others, know what you want and go for it.
Another step to building a strong Spirit is studying the lives of people who have found themselves in these breathtaking situations and how they have struggled to emerge and become the Victors they are known to be today. One example is Thomas Edison, one of the early greatest inventors. According to history, there was a massive explosion of ten buildings in his plant which made more than half of the site to be engulfed in flames. The flames were so heavy that about six to eight fire departments could not be quickly put out the fire due to the chemicals. According to 1961 Readers digest article by Edison's son Charles, Edison calmly walked over to him as he watched the fire destroy his father's work. And his father told him to go get his mother and her friends because they will never see a fire like that again and when his son objected he said to him " it's alright we have just got rid of a lot of rubbish”. He was 67 years old as at that time and he decided to start over again the next day without firing any of his employees. The flames had consumed years of priceless records and prototypes and his plant's insurance covered only about a third of the total damage. Immediately, Edison got a loan form his friend, Henry Ford and got part of the plant up and running again. He and his employees worked tirelessly, they went on to make ten million in revenue the following year. Seeing the life of this man, one would definitely be encouraged to get back up and not be wearied. He did not die, he did not kill himself, he did not go into a coma instead he decided to keep up he brought out the potentiality of being a Victor into a reality and today he servos as a motivation to everyone to always keep up and not relent! Many overcomers like him exist, be one of them, prepare the way for generations to come.
Apart form studying the lives of those who have kept up, there is also a need to surround one's self with positive minds. Those who believe in you and are ready to push you to whatever peak you wish to attain. Researches gives us the understanding that the type of people one walks with, goes a long way in determining the kind of person one becomes. Stay connected with people who are a pushing factor rather than a pulling factor. They could be friends, families, and even mentors.
Conclusively, when you are down and you feel all is over, your spirit is weakened; read inspiring books, write-ups that would help in building you and helping you emerge of every unpleasant situation, see where you are going to , speak positivity to yourself always, write them down in visible and unavoidable places like on the walls in your room, your phone , your heart, etc. Always remind yourself of the victor that you are; because, you my friend, are a victor!
Marcus Esther Emiene
©Endowedwrites
0817 978 6895
Great job!
ReplyDeleteKeep it up.
Nice one!!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless
Nice write up
ReplyDeleteLove the write up, well done MA
ReplyDelete