Sunday, December 11, 2022

Are You a Prisoner to Deep Down Beliefs about Yourself?

Creating curiosity about your beliefs can be the difference-maker in experiencing a state of mental health well-being

By Quentin Steen, Representative

Like many people, I still hold deep down beliefs about myself that are shame-based and certainly don’t serve me. How do we deal with these beliefs to experience a state of mental health well-being?

Instead of judgment of my beliefs, I’m creating curiosity around them that moves me toward asking the right questions about them.

Would you be surprised if I told you that, on a neurological level, your brain can’t hold both contempt/judgment at the same time as curiosity? Well, its true. And that’s a good thing because curiosity about the self (or others for that matter) instead of judgment will always serve us better.

It’s become evident that my life is currently marked by a certain level of grief over what I’ve lost inside and outside of myself. But as I’ve said before, not all our losses are of the harmful, damaging variety.

I’m in the process of dying to something and waiting for something to be born in its place. I’d tell you what it is, but it’s a little too raw to put to pen.

But what I can tell you with certainty is that more often than not, what I want is not what I actually need.

It takes presence of mind to know the difference in these moments. And it takes strength to pause long enough to choose wisely, even when I don’t necessarily want to because I’m caught up in my racket.

It’s a self-regulated kind of response to my feelings of living with a certain level of ambiguity. And that can be the difference-maker in experiencing a state of mental health well-being.

Quentin Steen is a certified mental health first aid instructor for the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Get your BRAIN right and your MIND will follow!

4 Mental Health Resources to Help You

If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health issue, CLAC has a number of resources and interactive tools available to help you at My Health and Wellness.
Stronger Minds features videos and quick reads from mental health experts, activities to help you gain resilience, and ask-an-expert videos in response to questions.
WellCan offers free well-being resources to help Canadians develop coping strategies and build resilience to help deal with uncertainty, mental health, and substance abuse concerns.
Wellness Together Canada: Mental Health and Substance Use Support provides free online resources, tools, apps, and connections to trained volunteers and qualified mental health professionals.

Are You a Prisoner to Deep Down Beliefs about Yourself?

4 Mental Health Resources to Help You

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