9 Building Blocks for Recovering from Mental Health Issues

Many of those choosing to undergo a period of counseling are likely to be suffering from some sort of mental anguish. Indeed, mental health issues are incredibly common and nothing to be frightened of. They do, however, often require professional help in order to be managed and treated. But what are some of the most important aspects of effective mental health treatment?

One of the things that most therapists will encourage their client to focus on is resilience – the ability to bounce back from a difficult period and to keep persisting, no matter what. Mental health issues are often quite unpredictable. You will have good and bad days, but your resilience and resolve need to remain strong if you are to reach full recovery.

So how is resilience built up over time? Well, some have been blessed to have parents who have encouraged a healthy resilience in their children, while others may have had no support from their parents and may only be addressing this characteristic in adulthood. Indeed, while it can be challenging to develop this trait when you have no grounding in childhood, a good therapist will be able to guide you through the building blocks of resilience, no problem!

Some of this can be achieved through talking therapy such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in order to train the brain to develop more positive ways of thinking, then rehearsing them until they become habitual. It is important to remember that any person is capable of building up resilience, even if they feel weak and incapable. With the right therapy techniques, this quality can become prominent and will be transformative.

9 Building Blocks for Overcoming Mental Health Issues

There are, however, nine different building blocks that must be worked on individually if resilience is to take root in a person’s life. Let’s take a look at them.

1. Spirituality

Spirituality is an important part of building resilience that will lead to recovery. Beyond just observing a religion, the ultimate faith in a higher power is an incredibly beneficial thing psychologically.

Believing in an omnipotent being who cares for you and loves you unconditionally can be a wonderful assurance in the midst of a mental health struggle. Indeed, studies indicate that those who have faith in God do very well in recovery, with the resilience that this encourages being absolutely invaluable to them in the long-term.

2. Purpose

Purpose, or hope, is also a vitally important aspect in building a long-lasting resilience in the face of relentless mental health issues. Everyone needs a purpose in life.

We all have deep questions about why we are here and what we are meant to be doing and so we all need hope. Hope is an integral desire of the human heart and must be firmly implanted within us in order to build resilience and weather the storms that may come in the future.

Clients must be hopeful for tomorrow, and be energized to see things change as they move forward. While we cannot muster this up out of nowhere, it is important to build things into your life that are offering that deep-rooted hope for the days ahead. A steadfast trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God can certainly help with this.

3. Compassion

Compassion is also an important element of building resilience that will serve you well in the long term. When we choose to take the focus off ourselves and our own problems and place it instead on serving others, our resilience is strengthened in a powerful way.

Jesus calls his followers to love God and to love your neighbor — this is wonderfully profound advice for living healthily. When we see that others are hurting, and when we choose to help, we experience a sort of healing in our own hearts which will help with long-term resilience and recovery from our own mental health issues.

4. Mentorship

Mentors use their experience to help others through difficult times, helping prepare them for future problems they might face. A mentor can help you anchor your life in truth, so that you are not swayed when the storms of life hit without warning.

In light of being treated for a mental health issue, mentorship can be incredibly beneficial, as you choose to accept wisdom from someone who has been through a lot more life and developed an understanding that might be useful to you.

One of the most significant things a mentor can do for you is to enable a shift in perspective that means you are more likely to see things through a lens of hope and understanding, rather than being filled with hopelessness. This hope and wisdom, in turn, will strengthen your resilience and help you cope with future situations that may be difficult or challenging.

5. Discipline

Discipline is not the most popular character trait in the world. No one likes to be told what to do, do they? But this is not what discipline is about.

Too often, we perceive it negatively and associate it with growing up or being at school. In fact, it can be a very positive thing and can help aid recovery and build resilience.

When we understand that we have the power to discipline our mind, to focus on the positives, and to recognize the ill health in our thinking patterns, we can start to change our thinking patterns, with the help of a counselor, and experience greater freedom from that which plagues our minds. Discipline, through time, helps us build resilience and develops strength of character.

6. Work

Work is underrated. Often times, it is seen as a chore and as something to be avoided for as long as possible. It can, however, be a wonderful and therapeutic thing that builds resilience and aids recovery.

Work requires effort and risk. It won’t always go completely according to plan. Therefore, you have to adapt, strategize, and put the extra hours in if you want to succeed. This is a good model for being treated for a mental health condition. You need to persevere, even if you feel like progress is slow or you are not yet seeing the results you desire.

If we are committed to hard work, and if we choose to shed the cloak of entitlement, we will develop a resilience that will serve us well.

7. Ambition

Ambition is expressed as a desire to achieve and accomplish – to be driven to see things happen and change and it is a vital step to building resilience that will lead to recovery. Of course, much of our modern ambition is related to work. However, it is understandable that not all clients will be in the place to hold down a job.

Still, even if you are not working full-time, it is wise to keep busy doing various activities and following a schedule of tasks. This will help build self-esteem and ensure resilience is being developed.

Without any desire to try, it becomes very difficult to achieve a level of resilience that will serve the person well in the future. With ambition comes a desire to see things change, and this is an effective building block to developing a drive that will see you well through treatment, resulting in a positive future.

8. Behavior

A significant element of mental health treatment is the altering of behavior. Of course, this all starts in the mind. However, the shifting of behaviors to becoming more healthy and balanced is a vital aspect of success in treatment.

Often times, people feel discouraged by counselling because they are not seeing any immediate change. However, sometimes this lack of progress is as a result of their unwillingness to change unhealthy behaviors and exchange them for things that will help improve their mental health instead of hinder it.

People who believe that behavior cannot be changed are often those who exhibit low levels of resilience and are more difficult to treat for their mental health problems as a result. However, those who have a sense of hope that they can change, and who are willing to try and shift their behavior, often find more success in treatment as they build their resilience to a good level.

Being optimistic and maintaining a positive outlook on the future can aid behavioral change in a powerful way and ensure that levels of resilience are maximized.

9. Perception

Perception is invariably dependent on the type of person you are. Different people will perceive a situation or challenge in completely different ways. As such, maintaining health perceptions can be incredibly significant in the building of resilience when dealing with a mental health issue.

We all experience pain, for example, but the perception of pain is an extremely variable thing and is dependant on the person’s attitude towards it. Those who see pain as a challenge to overcome will do well in building resilience that leads to recovery. However, those who see pain as insurmountable and impossible to overcome will struggle.

Emotional pain is exactly the same. A shift in perception and a different way of looking at one’s problems can be truly transformative in the treatment of a mental health issue.

Just remember to never give up. Resilience can be built up over time, hope can be found, and recovery can be attained. With the right attitude and the development of these nine different resilience factors, the future really can become brighter than you have ever imagined.