You are not the mental mess

Often when I’m in session with a client I’m reminding them that mental health is an illness and not who they are. The anxiety, depression , anger outburst, heavy fog … is not who they are … it's often just a mental mess.

An analogy we often use at Next Step is that when someone gets a broken leg it doesn’t define who they are. It is just an accident or a break that needs to be treated.

So what do we do when we break a leg? Well we go to a doctor (a GP here in Australia) and they will promptly send us off to a hospital to get an X-ray. Often after the X-ray (and the diagnosis is confirmed) we will then receive some treatment. We will get our leg put into a cast, to enable the bones to be healed without movement, hopefully get some pain killers, rest and recuperation.

Now there are two things that are simple but profound about this,

• The first is that NO ONE in our society questions this sequence of treatment around a broken leg. So WHY do we question sequences of treatment when it comes to mental health? This is something that can change in our lifetime!

• Secondly is that when we go into a pub or coffee house and say hi to everyone … people don’t respond with “hi broken leg”! They call us by name! This is why we are not our illness … we are individuals … who happen to have anxiety, depression etc … That there is a distinct differentiation between ourselves as an individual and the illness that sometimes we have. That the mental mess or fog that we sometimes live with isn’t us … it's just something we are working through.

This is an increasingly empowering thought when you think about it.

So the key take away with this is how are you managing your mental mess? What techniques, resources, and support do you have to be on your “A game” when it comes to your life, relationships and passions?

Remember that you are not your mental mess, you're amazing!

Hope this helps you today.