Mental health is confusing. Not surprising when the best advice most of us got growing up was to suck it up and try harder. Feeling sad? Here’s some cake. Keep eating until those unwanted feelings goes away. Feeling anxious? Here’s some alcohol to give you some courage. And that’s how you end up with people who can’t cope. Only now, they also have to deal with diabetes and alcoholism on top of their depression and anxiety.

Mental health is in many ways analogous to physical health. Let’s take going to the gym as an example. If you’re just starting off on your journey, it’s going to be a rough start. You won’t have the stamina or strength to do much. You need to start light and find a pace that you’re comfortable with. Meditation is like mental weight lifting. Same way that you aren’t going to be able to curl 50lb barbells right off the bat, you aren’t going to be able to meditate for 30 minutes right away. Maybe start with 5 minutes. See how that feels. If it’s too easy, add more weight. If it’s too much, back off a little. If meditating isn’t your thing, try other options. If you aren’t into weight lifting, there’s running, bicycling, swimming, yoga, etc. Not into meditation? Try drawing, journaling, listening to music, crossword puzzles, etc.

If you’re having a rough time because you don’t think you know what you’re doing or how to go about it, ask for help. Therapists are like personal trainers for your brain. They are there to help you figure out a gameplan and how to go about improving your mental health. Simply showing up and expecting to get better is like watching your personal trainer demonstrate the exercises and expecting to get stronger. It’s the work that you yourself personally put in that makes the difference.

The next couple of series will go into more detail regarding the different options you can take. Stay tuned.