Your Mental Health is Tied to Your Rest

 Mental health is a broad term for a wide range of topics. Mental health can refer to:

• Diagnosable mental health conditions
• Overall mental status
• Activities that sustain mental health
• Issues that negatively impact mental health

Your mental health is a state of being. With or without an organic mental illness, you can experience mental health issues. Issues like: 

• Brain fog
• Depression
• Behavior problems
• Forgetfulness
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• And more

Many of the symptoms affecting your mental health can be tied to your rest or lack of rest. Lack of rest and poor-quality rest can trigger mental health issues. Without rest, your ability to manage mental stressors diminishes and can create symptoms of fatigue and worse.

Your rest is tied to your mental health. Managing your physical, emotional, and spiritual rest well helps keep your mind clear and free from worries, anxieties, and brain fog. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kiitty Rathod, a sleep expert, for A Pilgrimage to Self Lifestyle Coaching Membership to learn more about the dangers and symptoms of not getting proper rest. And I learned that the bottom line is when you don’t rest, your mental health suffers.

It’s entirely possible to think you are losing your mind when the reality is you need to rest. Use this checklist to see if you are risking your mental health by failing to get adequate physical and mental rest.

 Symptom: Brain Fog

Possible cause:

Poor quantity and quality of sleep

Failure to eat high-quality foods

Over-stimulation from screen time 

Symptom: Depression

Possible cause:

Overthinking during bedtime

Being in unsafe relationships

Failing to remedy personal issues

Failing to take time off from responsibilities

Symptom: Behavior problems

Possible cause:

Unresolved relationship issues

Allergies to foods or toxins

Suppressed anger or sadness

Symptom: Forgetfulness

 Possible causes:

Chronic stress

Overwhelm in multiple areas of life

Overstimulation from dugs or alcohol

Sedentary or “checked out” behaviors

Symptom: Anxiety

Possible causes:

Sleeplessness

Chronic worry

Avoiding important tasks

Overbearing relationships

Symptom: Fatigue

Possible causes:

Living in crisis mode

Frequent illnesses

Injuries

 Each of these symptoms and the possible causes can be present as a mental health issue and may stem from a failure to get adequate or frequent mental or physical rest. This means you or someone you love might be suffering a mental health issue that could be remedied by simply getting adequate rest.

Don’t diminish the impact that healthy rest plays on your mental health. Remedy your brain fog and your behavioral issues by making rest a priority and including rest in your mental health recovery.

 If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, a physician or mental health specialist can help you evaluate your situation and create a mental health plan that makes sense for your specific needs.

Isn't it time to make REST a priority?

Until next time...

Lisa

P.S. I'd love to hear about strategies you've tried to help with getting the rest you need...it's all about taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing...which is what the philosophy of A House With Four Rooms is all about and what I teach. Share your ideas with me at [email protected]...what routines and practices do you have for getting a good night's rest? What do you make a priority? I look forward to hearing from you!