Allow me to be candid: In the summer of 2019, I broke my butt.
Well actually I injured my piriformis, which is a “band-like muscle” in the buttocks, as I learned from a physiotherapist after I couldn’t walk without pain one day. I had been training vigorously for my first half-marathon. Turns out that if you run poorly and then keep running, you can really hurt yourself.
For me, it’s helpful to use the analogy of running when looking at mental health struggles with mental health. To some, the journey through tough mental health seasons can be a brief jaunt. For others it may be a harrowing, lengthy, and slow journey in pursuing wellness. As is the case in any race, there is a goal. To finish. And to finish in one piece.
Thankfully, I managed to finish my half marathon––yet it wasn’t without angst, physical pain, and a lot of doubt along the way.
In a race, it is common for runners to battle emotional and mental distress along the way. Many struggle with doubts, discouragement, and a loss of motivation. That’s how life is too, isn’t it? In fact, one in three Canadians will struggle with mental illness at some point in their lives. This means that their mood and distress levels will shift enough to impair their normal functioning.(1)
In fact, one in three Canadians will struggle with mental illness at some point in their lives.
Considering all the above, here are four strategies that runners might use in a long-haul race. As someone who is also a psychotherapist, I offer them to you in pursuit of mental wellness.
Help from others
Pacers help runners run at a sustainable pace. You benefit by having others who can help you keep pace.
When the going gets tough, you might find yourself pulling away from those who care about you. This behaviour is common, especially when you don’t want others to see you in a dark place. But isolation does not help. Having people in your corner cheering you on is crucial.
Acts 2:42 paints a picture of the early church sharing together: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Those early Christians literally learned together, ate together, and prayed together.
Letting people get close enough that they can see mental health struggles is not easy. However, when you are isolated, it can be easy to get trapped in negative thinking, clouding our reality.
Having people actively tuned into your inner thought world can help
- balance anxiety
- validate your experiences
- challenge negative thought patterns
- normalize the reality of hard times
These friends can function as pacers along the way.
If you don’t have a network of people, good places to start might include volunteering in your community, joining a sports league, or getting plugged into a local church small group. Social media can be a great place to build connections centred around common interests. I recently discovered a local houseplant swapping group. Unbeleafable, right?!
Having people in your corner cheering you on is crucial.
Caring for your body
Healthy food and training habits fuel runners for their race. You need to care for your body.
This includes, and is not limited to, eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy level of physical activity. So much of your emotional wellbeing can be linked to your physical body.
In the human hierarchy of needs, your physical needs make up the base layer of health, and if those aren’t met, they can impact your emotional and mental wellbeing. Staying hydrated, moving your body, and resting can go a long way in combating difficult mental health challenges.
Using phone applications that track mood, food intake, and physical activity can be helpful tools to notice patterns in your life.(3)
Staying active can be especially tough in the winter seasons when the natural response is to hibernate and rest (the northern animals have this figured out, don’t they?). Fortunately, proper rest is also a necessary factor in maintaining emotional health. Don’t discount the power of a good nap!
Creating a balance or rhythm that suits you and your lifestyle is important.
Checking in along the way
Checkpoints allow runners to seek specialized help as needed. Likewise, you may need to regularly check in with specialized support along the way.
Finding support in mental health may mean finding a therapist, counsellor, mentor, pastor, or spiritual director to journey with you for a season. These specialists have resources and the knowledge to help manage difficult realities.
Visiting your family doctor is also essential. In the same way that you’d visit a doctor with a broken bone, your battered mind need tending.
Many post-secondary schools also provide access for counselling at little to no cost. Exploring these options at your school or researching local counselling agencies can be a place to start. Oftentimes, churches have resources available to support, guide, or help in hard times.
Another practical checkpoint in the race can be to slow down to check in with yourself.
- Where am I at right now?
- What’s going on in my body, my mind?
- Am I settled, grounded, or secure?
- What do I need?
Maybe practising a grounding strategy would help. One of my favourites involves using the senses to check in with the present moment. Naming
- five things you can see
- four things you can touch
- three things you can hear
- two things you can smell
- one thing you can taste–I often replace this one with one truth about myself.
This exercise can help soothe a spike in anxiety or panic when the race feels grueling.
Inspired by faith
Good music inspires runners along the way. You can also be lifted up and inspired by faith.
Your faith can greatly impact how you walk through difficult seasons of emotional health. Like good music that infiltrates your ears as you run, pursuing God in hard times can bring melodies to the dark caverns of your soul.
In Romans 8:26, the apostle Paul writes of the Spirit working on your behalf even when you don’t have the words: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
When your mind and thoughts aren’t where they could be, and you haven’t the exact words to pray, God’s Spirit intercedes for you. You still have to show up willing to seek him. Another verse in Romans talks about hoping for what you don’t have yet: a perfect resurrection body. Until that day in eternity, you will continue in the angst of not being perfect, with a flawed, failing body, and faltering brain, while still being able to seek God now with the help of the Spirit.
Anticipating future wholeness gives believers courage to seek God in the depths of despair. Holding on to faith means holding hope that God can move in your life when you can’t see a way out. An ounce of hope and courage goes a long way in running a race, and the same is true when it comes to your mental health.
During all seasons of life, surrounding yourself with others who can help set the pace, practising healthy care for your body, checking in with specialized support when needed, and digging into faith are four ways among many to pursue health.
You are in the midst of the long race of life. Some intervals in the race will not be glamorous, and there may be times when you fall, and scuff your knees. Some days the getting up may take longer, or require more support. Wherever you are today in the race of life, there is hope.
As you walk forward in this finite race toward an infinite wholeness, may you find strength to press on.
Editor’s Note: Did you enjoy this article? Check out more articles in our #mentalhealth series.
If you are facing a mental health crisis, please contact a mental health emergency hotline. For young adults up to 29, Kids Help Phone is also available for phone calls, Facebook Messenger, or texting conversations.
Written by Christina Main. Christina leads an eclectic life which includes working as a Psychotherapist, and being on staff at her church as the Director of Student Ministries. In her spare time, Christina enjoys running, birdwatching, and checking the waitlist for when she’ll receive her future Bernedoodle puppy.
Footnotes
1. “Mental Illness in Canada.” Mental Illness in Canada – Data Blog – Public Health Infobase | Public Health Agency of Canada. 08 Oct. 2020. Web. 30 Nov. 2020.
2. Findlay, Leanne, and Rubab Arim. “This Article Examines the Self-perceived Mental and Physical Health of Canadians during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Reports Differences between Women and Men and for Different Age Groups.” 24 Apr. 2020. Web. 30 Nov. 2020.
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