Welcome to the last episode in this season’s content about culture from the lens of technology. We talked with coaches, entrepreneurial-minded folks, and a few people whose profession gave them good insight into the matter. There is an overlap between mental health and culture. Changes in society have started a larger discussion about mental health. In today’s episode, we’ll discuss struggles with mental health and some ways anyone can get involved in their well-being. I also want to add a disclaimer: If you are struggling with mental health problems, it’s best to seek help from a trained professional. We’ll talk about both mental health and mental wellness, for our viewers to get a clear understanding of what the two methods of increasing one’s wellbeing can do for them. All with some commentary from our previous guests.

Mental Wellness and Mental Health Defined

Living your best life is what mental wellness is all about. Mental health can also help you lead your best life. The symptoms of mental illness are usually debilitating for the patient. The nature of mental health problems can lead to hospitalization or, even worse, suicide. As with any medical illness, we often want to keep our problems private. Today, mental health is starting to be seen at the same level as traditional diseases as more money and infrastructure are being provided for people with mental illnesses. Mental health and mental wellness overlap. Mental Wellness includes things like feeling uninspired by your work, not having a passion in life, or even being overweight. I believe things like meditation, exercise, and finding healthy pastimes are great ways to treat mental wellness. On the other hand, mental health can also be treated with the aforementioned activities. Mental Health denotes a serious condition that worsens over time and affects someone’s higher-level functioning.

Kyle Duford’s Journey

Another guest from this season’s podcast was Kyle Duford who knows firsthand the positive impact of treatment for mental health. He was diagnosed with depression and was able to move forward – living his best life – with the help of medications as an accomplished founder of a successful Agency. Oftentimes, people can catastrophize that mental health problems will be the end of the world. These thoughts can stem from stigmas, deeper-seated insecurities, or not knowing where to seek help. I believe with the addition of mental wellness, we can reduce some of the stigmas, allowing more people to get the benefits of making their wellness a priority. Kyle gave a good description of the differences between mental health and mental wellness

The Cure for Unending Pessimism

There are lots of things that overlap with mental health and mental wellness. As I mentioned before, mental wellness is a balance that increases our mind, body, and spiritual connection. Things like exercise for the body. Things like intelligent hobbies like reading or even mindful web surfing for the mind. Things like religion or yoga for the spirit. These examples lend themselves to a sense of contentment with life that can affect your mental wellness. 

Why Drugs and Wellbeing Don’t Mix

There is another side to mental health, and that is substance use disorders. While some medical professionals treat substance use, I would say most of the treatments fall under the mental wellness category. Substance use is part of our lifestyle choices. Mental Wellness is tied to lifestyle choices, and its remedies are tied to the way we live. I have experienced struggles with my well-being. As a teenager, I was a regionally recognized skateboarder. It is likely my lifestyle choices like injuries, physical and emotional pain, and self-medicating with alcohol and weed led to triggering the onset of my mental illness. I thought I was invincible when I was in my teenage years. The belief of perceived confidence coupled with a lack of knowledge of the world led to my emotional and physical health being left to the wayside. Once my body and spirit left the building, my mind wandered to risky behaviors that weren’t conducive to my well-being, like Alcohol and weed. To keep it real, I didn’t know what I was doing, but desperately wanted a direction in life. I had little thought of my own and other’s well-being. Later, after over 10 years in recovery, I received my bachelor’s degree at 38. After years of therapy and medications, I was able to go back to work. Then the pandemic hit and I could work from home, which prompted a move into a one-bedroom apartment. I even started this podcast. With these changes like working from home, new passions in life, and my own living space, I began to feel more satisfied with my direction in life. It was amazing because I was able to experience having a healthier work-life balance first-hand.

Help Yourself and Help Others

I wanted to bring it back to mental wellness. We have the ability in our lives to make choices that make our lives better. Today, there is a wealth of information online that is along the lines of self-help. I feel like mental wellness is a way to achieve real self-help. You can do a lot for yourself once the ideas of mental wellness are understood. You can have a positive impact on people’s lives around you by becoming your best self. Also, coaches can help you through a tough time or capitalize on what’s already good. Our well-being is important. Overall, I would like to posit that mental wellness solutions come from within, and mental health solutions come from outside yourself.

Onward and Beyond

I hope this gave you an idea of where to start with your well-being. Also, I hope if you struggle with any sort of mental issues, seeking help will be easier. Today, there’s much less stigma surrounding mental health issues. I am planning for the third season to be released soon. Those of you who listened to the end of the podcast may have heard in the conclusion that I would be releasing YouTube videos weekly. That didn’t happen in the past, but in the future there’s hope. I’m getting the creative juices flowing and want to bring that vision to life in 2024. So look out for season 3 and also keep an eye on YouTube for some digs.