Written by: Rae Sturtevant, therapist at Active Therapy Counseling.

May was Mental Health Awareness Month which is intended to have all of us consider the topic of mental health. May has come and gone but the topic is still worth considering! As we head into the summer season, we want to celebrate the strides taken by all our clients at Active Therapy Counseling and provide a few helpful thoughts about mental health for our readers.

Many people look to summer in the hopes that there will be time to relax! Sunshine, summer break, vacations, and parties all seem to suggest opportunities for slowing down, enjoyment, and extra connection with others. But how might mental health impact these otherwise great moments and what can be done to allow yourself a more enjoyable summer season? Here are 5 things to consider as you approach your days in the sun (with links included for further reading).

Mental health is defined as “emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is more than the absence of a mental illness—it’s essential to your overall health and quality of life. Self-care can play a role in maintaining your mental health and help support your treatment and recovery if you have a mental illness.” (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health)

Let’s look a bit more closely at what the terms, emotional, psychological, and social well-being mean exactly, and how they create balance in our mental health.

Emotional well-being refers to a person’s ability to accept and manage their emotions. As emotions come up, rather than dismiss or judge them, accept them as they come and try to understand what they are telling you. Dr. Lesli Greenberg suggests that emotions “provide us with information about how our environment is treating us.” Self-awareness and self-compassion towards your own emotional experiences are pillars for mental health. (https://nj-act.org/greenberg.html#:~:text=Dr.,Emotions%20are%20motivating)

Psychological well-being is a key feature of mental health and is characterized by overall positive feelings about yourself and your life. It involves “emotional, cognitive, and social well-being, positive emotions, healthy thoughts and behaviors, resilience, and a sense of fulfillment and purpose in life.” Try keeping a running list of things you are thankful for, or a short journal entry about what your day was like, or about the highlights of your summer. Set attainable goals for yourself to increase physical activity which is another key contributor to psychological well-being. Lastly, summer is often a time when people slow down with or pause therapy to make more room for fun and vacations. We encourage you to talk with your therapist about your needs during the summer, so that the plan moving forward allows for all the greatness of the season, while still making progress. (https://www.betteryou.ai/what-is-psychological-well-being/)

Summer naturally tends towards being a more social season as people often get together for weddings, graduations, barbecues, pool parties, and hanging out around the fire pit. These are all great opportunities to engage in your mental health through connection. Social well-being is an aspect of mental health that suggests being socially connected to family, friends, or a community promotes happiness, reduces depression, decreases loneliness, and isolation, and enhances your sense of self. If depression or anxiety are current factors that impact your desire or ability to be social, start with small goals. The goal is connection, so if larger social situations are overwhelming, commit to yourself that you will go for an hour and then check in with yourself. Ask yourself, “How am I doing?”, “How am I feeling?”, and “What feels good or necessary moving forward?” Try incorporating one connection point a week if you find yourself lagging in social health. Here are 12 tips for more meaningful conversation: https://www.bswhealth.com/blog/12-tips-to-spark-more-meaningful-authentic-conversations

(https://www.summahealth.org/flourish/entries/2023/12/five-surprising-health-benefits-to-socializing-with-others)

Pay attention to the kids, teens, and young adults in your life that you have relationships with. How can you support their mental health? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that “children ages eight to 10 spend an average of six hours per day in front of a screen, kids ages 11 to 14 spend an average of nine hours per day in front of a screen, and youth ages 15 to 18 spend an average of seven-and-a-half hours per day in front of a screen.” Not only is this behavior habit-forming, it is socially isolating, inhibits age-appropriate social growth and connection, and is also linked to increased depression and anxiety. Here is a great resource for non-screen activities:

https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/blog/ways-to-reduce-summer-screen-time#:~:text=Summer%20activities%20for%20kids%20that,volume%2C%20leading%20to%20brain%20imbalance.

Lastly, invest in self-care during this sunny season. This could take on many wonderful forms, and will require some intentionality and commitment, since self-care is essentially a habit that we can all work towards. What are you drawn to do that you have been putting off? What do you need that you haven’t allowed yourself? What goals could you set to make it more attainable? Break your day into sections and consider, what are small ways that you can be kind to yourself in the morning, afternoon, and evening? Author and speaker Brene Brown says, “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” Here are two lists, one of great quotes about self-care and one with fantastic ideas to implement this summer and beyond:

https://www.calmer-you.com/self-care-quotes

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/134-activities-to-add-to-your-self-care-plan/

There is no magic pill for mental health but there are always obtainable actions you can take to invest in your overall well-being. Use the rest of spring and head into summer ready to make a few great habits that will contribute to your journey of personal health.

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