Today, the 19th September is Youth Mental Health Awareness Day and I feel it is especially important to encourage conversations about mental health in this demographic. Not just today but every day. So let’s start by considering what exactly is ‘mental health’? It’s a term we hear a lot and for many, it conquers descriptions of mental-ill health such as depression, anxiety, stress, psychosis and all of their associated negative behaviours. But surely there is more to mental health than merely the absence of these states?
Question any young person today and you may hear ‘free from depression, free from anxiety’ when talking about mental health. But from exploring what defines mental health in the therapy room, a recurring theme underlying most peoples’ best hopes from Hypnotherapy sessions seems to be a balanced state of self. Imagine the image of a set of weighing scales that can, from time to time, be tipped in either direction as a result of a life event(s), trigger or chemical imbalance. We may remain in this ‘tipped’ state for minutes, hours or days whilst navigating the situation. Sometimes we are aware we’re there, sometimes we are unaware until afterwards, but in time, we will swing back to the middle again to return to our place of balance. Balance being, a sense of control, capacity, autonomy and clarity.
Many of us have our ‘hacks’ for returning to this state of balance and some of us are quite expert at it. Be it going out for a run, walking away from a situation, reaching out to a friend, picking up an old hobby, a digital detox or even something bolder yet, solution-focused like a change of relationship, house or career. Mental health therefore isn’t simply feeling happy and positive as some may imagine it, oozing confidence, charisma and self-discipline, but instead, having resilience, adaptability and a solution-orientated attitude to achieve our equilibrium in the face of all of those unexpected twists and turns that life will inevitably throw at us.
For the youth of today and tomorrow who navigate life in a fast-paced and uncertain world, it is therefore essential to nurture mental healthiness by becoming experts in their own life hacks and strategies for coping. To be relentless problem-solvers and solution-finders and to have the confidence to reach out beyond themselves for reassurance, guidance and support as they fine-tune these life skills. It is always a pleasure to partner with my clients to help them return to their place of balance and to discover their path to a more peaceful and purposeful sense of being using solution-focused hypnotherapy. Not only that, but to acquire skills and knowledge to set them up for a lifetime so that they can better enjoy the highs and cope with the inevitable lows. Hypnotherapy via Zoom also means that whatever the constraints around your time and location, it is always possible for us to work together. If you would like to explore how Hypnotherapy may help you, either in-person or remotely, please get in touch to book your without obligation consultation.
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1) Getting to know your brain