“Tune-Up” Your Mental Health

Dear Readers:

For those of you who would like to make New Year’s resolutions or simply “tune – up” your mental health consider the following suggestions:

Resolve to quit living only in the past and/or predominately for the future. Instead, try to increase your ability to learn from the past, be excited and look forward to the future, but enjoy every single experience of the present – today. Individuals who are “prisoners” of their past don’t grow or change and miss a great deal in life. Those who think mainly about their future become “prisoners” of anticipation while those who enjoy each sunrise and sunset and all the time in between are most likely to be emotionally healthy individuals. Some people begin to enjoy life one day at a time only after a heart attack or automobile accident has nearly taken their lives. Vow to start valuing the really important things in life now rather than later.

Find something in life in which you can become vitally absorbed. The opposite of this is tedium and boredom, both tools for digging a rutted existence. Ideally, a passionate involvement and commitment in one’s vocation and career can provide a healthy framework for a major portion of most people’s lives. This same joy of life hopefully carries over into hobbies, social interests and other activities so that those choosing to retire do not experience a loss of purpose that helped organize their existence.

Strive to avoid rigidity and inflexibility by embracing openness, diversity and change. Lifestyles that are governed by tight boundaries, stereotyped roles and an over abundance of rules create a brittle, static existence which is prone to cracking or breaking under stress.

If you don’t already do so, begin to practice unconditional self- acceptance. Measuring your self-worth by other people’s standards for your performance, and your accomplishments and achievements will leave leaves you open to chronic insecurity and fragile self-esteem.

Don’t be afraid to take some risks and venture into the unknown in life. Nothing ventured nothing gained is true, especially when the risks are taken in a thoughtful manner and, when possible, under advisement. Learn to accept uncertainty as a fact in an ever- changing world. Don’t give up order and self-discipline but don’t be bound by the need for control and predictability in everything you do.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright © 2007