🌟Weekly Inspiration🌟

Last e-blast I was discussing some key takeaways from a talk I heard by Lisa Damour, Ph.D. She discussed the importance of emotional regulation, but also another concept that I found valuable. She reminded us that we are bombarded with many messages about happiness in our culture—there is a commercialization of happiness and we largely buy into it. We equate "mental health" with "happiness", which is really not accurate. 

Instead, consider this: Mental Health is Having the Right Emotion at the Right Time.

Yes ❤️— this sounds right to me. Life has many ups and downs, it is not realistic or possible to feel happy all the time. There are many periods in one's life that are uncomfortable emotionally—sadness, grief, fear, struggle, pain, hardship, loneliness, joy (yes! You read that right—we are actually most scared to experience joy)...mental health is truly being able to experience the range of these emotions when they present themselves in our lives. When we try to avoid or numb our experiences or emotional reactions to them, we human beings often get ourselves in worse trouble. Mental health truly is the ability to feel what we need to feel at the right time.

Ask yourself:
 

What are my expectations around happiness—for myself and my children?
What are the signs of mental health in my observation?
Do I tend to avoid or numb feelings? Did my parents?
How can I normalize the full range of experiences and emotional responses for my children?
How does the commercialization of happiness affect my family?

Be Well ⭐