HEAD SPACE Welcome to the Head Space column, where we’ll discuss all matters related to mental health and how it relates to our lives here in Singapore. By Andrea McKenna Brankin.
Resilience is Key How do you bounce back from mental health setbacks? Here are some tips from around the world! Some of my best coaches in sports told me long ago (and even recently) that’s it’s not how and why we make mistakes that is the problem. What matters most is how to adjust and change to recover from them. Tall order, but I know from personal experience that it can be done. I manage my Bipolar Disorder with many tools that all work towards resilience. Here are a few tips from friends and family around the world when asked the question, “How do you get yourself out of a funk?” My Aunt Barbara from Mystic, Connecticut, USA, says Spring weather might help. But also, this: “Stop thinking thoughts of all kinds, such as things to get done, things that happened, the long-gone past, everything. Turn up music, go for a stroll, I even go for lunch, or a movie. I’m totally alone so I can’t let a depressing funk settle in.” I do try to connect with my aunt as much as I can on this last point. Walks are high on the list, with myself as well, as I often walk down the East Coast Park for mental health management. I love to hear the birds especially! Larysa, who lives in Texas, USA, says this about walks:
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“Long walks with no pace and just the sound of my breath are helpful. It helps me work out the noise in my head. Sometimes, it only takes a few minutes; sometimes, I'm out a long time. Whatever it takes, walks gives me peace and a timeout.”
