Thoughts on Mental Health

This isn’t a lake. It’s a flooded field. Which means there are no fish swimming causing ripples on the surface of the water. The light breeze isn’t strong enough to result in small waves. The only sound disrupting the silence is a few birds chirping in the distance. This is a picture of utter peace. Time is passing. But it seems to have stopped.

I experienced this for a good ten minutes on my morning ride today. The reason I bring this up is because there is quite a bit of talk about mental health these days. Indeed, we are all going through unprecedented times. We have been locked up in our homes for months. Businesses have been destroyed overnight without any forewarning to plan for bad times. Jobs are going or are at risk. Salaries are being cut. Socializing with family and friends has been restricted to online calls with frustrating internet connectivity. And most importantly, nobody know when this will all end.

One way to cope with all this frustration, anxiety and uncertainity is the time tested method of opening up to someone – a therapist, a friend or familiy member.

Talking to someone is good and it works. But I also think its a good idea to indulge in an activity that removes you from this world and all its challenges for a short period of time. Try and do it once every day. Or at least once a week. For me that activity is riding my motorcycle to a beautiful and peaceful place and spending ten minutes there. It’s enough to press my mind’s reset button. The world around me didn’t change. But something in me did.

By the way, when I say “indulge in an activity that removes you from this world and all its challenges for a short period of time” I don’t mean drinking yourself silly. While this particular activity can give the same effect, you could end up with more problems than you started out with. 🙂