Dr. Beau A. Nelson, DBH, LCSW
Director of Clinical Services
The Florida House Experience
505 South Federal Highway
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441
(866) 580-4867
There are few things in life that touch everything that we do. Mental health is a basic building block of how we operate, survive, and thrive. For many of us, we get by and there is not much that we need to do in order to take care of ourselves. We have the occasional sad day, we have a day or two where we are stressed, or we have a shock that goes away once a situation passes.
People are designed to experience intense emotions, its hard wired into us. But we are not able to function optimally when we have these emotions for long periods of time. It takes a toll on us when every day is stressful, when we are hopeless, or when we think that we cannot go on anymore. These sorts of long-term disturbances can lead to a very real mental health issue. The longer we go and do not address this kind of situation the worse we are going to feel. There are many ways we can cope, get by, such as taking it easy one weekend, having some alone time, or talking through things with a friend. But in order to get through a very low or scary period of life we may need something more to get through it and get back to healthy living.
Unfortunately, for many of us, our coping skills are not healthy and can make a bad situation worse. Many of us turn to the glass of wine, or two or three, each night. For others it is shutting off everything and just subsisting on the most minimal self-care. For others, this can be eating to comfort ourselves or engaging in distraction behaviors like watching TV in all our free time.
Begin the process of coping better by stopping and assessing if you need help. Reach out to your medical provider, a trusted friend, or a professional counselor to sort things out and get back on track. There is always hope; take care of yourself and use healthy skills not unhealthy ones. Learn what you need and make sure you include healthy habits such as exercise, good sleep, and reaching out to others, in order to get though the rough spots or something more serious.
