O is for Optimism – The Guide to Good Mental Health
‘Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence’ Helen Keller
Optimism comes from the Latin word optimus, meaning best. Optimism is the mental attitude of looking for the best in any situation, a way of thinking about the past, present and future in a positive light. It’s about thinking everything is as it should be and it’ll all turn out for the best.
There have been a proliferation of research studies on optimism in recent years. Two significant findings have emerged. First, that optimism is really good for us and is highly correlated with positive outcomes, and secondly that humans do have a natural propensity for optimism in terms of their outlook on life and about themselves. In fact optimism has been highlighted as an important aspect of our evolution as a species. In his book Optimism: The Biology of Hope, Tiger argued that it’s one of our most defining and adaptive characteristics.[1]
So what else do these new research findings tell us? An optimistic outlook is linked to increased life expectancy, success in sports and work, better recovery rates from operations and better mental resilience when faced with adversity.
But does an over-optimistic outlook cause problems? Not appreciating the pitfalls or risks in a situation could mean a greater likelihood of failure or disappointment. On the other hand an over-pessimistic outlook is more likely to lead to feelings of powerlessness and inaction, and increased risk of common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
The really encouraging finding is that ‘optimism’ or positive thinking can be learned – it‘s much more related to what we do rather than who we are. We tend to believe we’re either optimistic or pessimistic by nature, but actually these are skills of emotional intelligence.
And the intelligent thing to do is learn optimism, as “optimists are happy and healthy not because of who they are but because of how they act” [2]
N is for NLP – The Good Mental Health Guide
NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming, and is essentially the study of behaviour patterns. An underlying assumption is that behaviour has a structure, and that if you study people who demonstrate excellence you can identify their patterns of behaviour which they may not be fully aware of, and teach others how to become more skilled at what they do.
NLP was developed in the 1970s by John Grinder and Richard Bandler from the University of California,USA. They modelled excellent communicators of the time, and noticed how all these people went through similar patterns – both internally in terms of their thinking, and externally in terms of their behaviour.
When Grinder and Bandler taught these patterns to other people, these new people improved their communication skills. The patterns evolved into NLP, which is often called ‘the study of human excellence’.
NEURO relates to the nervous system through which experience is received and processed by our five senses
LINGUISTIC relates to the verbal and non-verbal communication systems through which our neural representations are coded, ordered and given meaning
PROGRAMMING relates to our ability to organise our behaviour to achieve specific desired goals and results.
Here are the principles and assumptions of NLP as described by one of the many training companies, NLP Excellence:
The Four Principles of NLP
- First, know what you want. In any situation, have a clear outcome of what you want to achieve.
- Be aware and alert. Have sufficient sensory awareness of yourself and others to know when you are moving towards or away from your outcome.
- Have sufficient flexibility to be able to keep changing your behaviour until you get your outcome.
- Take action now.
Basic Assumptions of the NLP Model
- The map is not the territory; the menu is not the meal.
- There is a positive intention motivating every behaviour
- The resources an individual needs to effect a change are already within them
- The meaning of the communication is the response you get
- Successful communicators accept and utilise all communication/behaviour presented to them
- There is no failure only feedback.
http://www.free-nlp.co.uk/index.html
NLP is studied by many therapists and coaches because of the wide range of tools and in-depth understanding it offers of the connections between human experience, interpretation and meaning and behaviour.
N is for Narrative Therapy – The Good Mental Health Guide
One of the most important ways in which we make sense of our experiences is through the stories we tell about our lives. Events happen to everyone. People experience trauma and losses which can’t be changed or undone. But the way in which we interpret and give meaning to those events can be very different. How we place events into our story-line can result in very different effects in our lives.
Sometimes those stories are what can be called ‘problem saturated’ which can have a powerful negative influence on how people see their lives and their capabilities. And sometimes the story can become an identity – ‘I’ve always been a depressed person’, ‘I’m an alcoholic’ and so on.
Narrative therapy was developed as a specific approach in psychotherapy by Australian, Michael White, and David Epston from New Zealandduring the 1980s.[1] An underlying assumption is that stories are always multi-layered, there is never just one ‘true’ story about a person’s experience.
In narrative therapy, a person’s story can be collaboratively ‘reauthored’ so as to create some distance between the person and the ‘problem’. One narrative therapy motto is “The person is not the problem, the problem is the problem.”
A ‘story’ consists of the following elements from a narrative therapy perspective:
- events
- linked in sequence
- across time
- according to a plot
We all have stories about ourselves, our abilities, our shortcomings, our struggles, our actions, our dreams, our relationships, our work, our interests, our achievements, our failures. The way in which we build our stories is determined by how we have linked events together in some kind of sequence, and the meaning we have given them.
Narrative approaches are commonly used by therapists and coaches to help a client reframe and revisit the personal story which brought them to the point of seeking help. In narrative therapy however, the focus is on really developing the narrative in the story in much richer detail and depth, enabling the person to create distance between themselves and the ‘problem’ and engage in constructing a new identity based on their strengths, skills, values, hopes and commitments.
M is for Motivation – The Good Mental Health Guide
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Motivation is the word we use for the feeling of really wanting to do something, for wanting to make changes, for wanting to achieve something. Motivation is what keeps you going when the going gets tough, it’s what gets you up in the morning with a sense of anticipation and excitement about the day.
Of course, we may be motivated at times by pressure and fear. If you’re threatened with the sack you’ll probably work harder to finish something on time. Generally however, research into motivation at work has shown this is not very effective, and interestingly neither is money. Continue reading
M is for Mindfulness – The Good Mental Health Guide
Mindfulness is awareness of the present, of the now moment. It represents a way of freeing ourselves from thoughts about the past and worries about the future. Most of us spend a lot of time on autopilot, that is we carry on with our daily activities, our work, our relationships without really ‘being there’. Most of the time we’re busy thinking about other things, things that we’ve done or haven’t done, things that we’d like to happen or we don’t want to happen. Our minds become busier and busier with all these thoughts, which all too often generate more angst and negativity. Continue reading
L is for Laughter – The Good Mental Health Guide
Children laugh spontaneously and naturally – it’s not something they have to learn. Apparently children laugh 200 – 400 times a day, while adults laugh an average of 15 times. Laughter, along with playfulness, gets lost as we grow up and take on responsibilities and obligations.
There are many benefits of laughter. It strengthens the immune system, reduces stress hormones in the body, lowers blood pressure and improves circulation, releases tension, promotes relaxation and deeper sleep, increases levels of positivity, creativity and energy, provides an antidote to anxiety and worry, remotivates and lifts our spirits. Continue reading
K is for Kindness
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~Dalai Lama
How often do we think about just being kind to others? Not to be polite or because we ought to, but because we choose to.
Recently I was going into a shop as a young woman was struggling out of the door with a pushchair. Absent-mindedly I stepped aside to let her come out and as she did she sarcastically said thanks. With just a little thought I would have held the door open for her. I would have felt good and so would she. Instead we both felt bad. Continue reading
J is for June – The Good Mental Health Guide
I must confess that J has proved the most challenging letter so far in this A-Z of Good Mental Health.
I had thought of Joy though we’ve already had Happiness. I considered Jazz, Jokes, Jam and Jerusalemfor associations with music and comedy as well as socialising.
However thanks to a suggestion via LinkedIn, I’ve gone for June as the month with the most daylight. Daylight, sunlight in particular, is an important source of Vitamin D which supports good mental health. Our modern lives no longer relate to seasonal changes or the rhythms of the sun and moon. Continue reading
H is for Hope The Good Mental Health Guide
What do we mean by hope? It’s about believing in a positive outcome for ourselves, the feeling that events will turn out for the best, anticipating a desirable change in circumstances, looking forward with confidence. Hope is important when things are not going well, when there’s a lot of uncertainty, confusion and negativity. Hope is the antithesis of despair.
Hope is now recognised as a guiding principle of the recovery concept for people experiencing mental ill-health. The ‘recovery philosophy’ developed from accounts of people, particularly in the 1980s and 90s about their own journeys of recovery from often very severe mental health problems. Continue reading
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