Did you know that spirituality can actually relieve stress, help you focus, and provide a more stable platform to build upon? The mental and spiritual aspects of our lives are inextricably linked, and when they’re out of sync, you’re going to notice. A big part of spirituality and mental health is discovering who you are. For some, this is a life-long journey, and for others, it simply takes the reconciliation of the physical, mental, and spiritual to light the way.
Do you know who you are? Have you taken a self-discovery journey through your spirituality? Let’s look closer at how reconciling the three pillars of overall health and discovering who you truly are can help alleviate stress and make you feel more comfortable and happy with your life.
Evaluate Where You Are
The first step in your self-discovery process is to evaluate where you are. Where are you in life? Are you happy with who you’ve become? Do you truly know yourself? Are you happy with your job? Do you feel a calm mind and spirit?
You’ll know when the spirit is troubled. Even if everything in life has aligned as you want, something will always feel like it’s missing when the spiritual aspect is ignored. Have you ever accomplished something or reached a milestone, only to find that something is missing from your joy?
It’s your spirituality.
Knowing what you believe in when it comes to spirituality is a major component of an overall understanding of who you are as a person. Maybe you’ve never even thought about spirituality, or maybe you’re ignoring it because you don’t understand it. Either way, it’s time to put it at the forefront of your mind and find that missing piece.
Who Am I?
Now, it’s time to ask the question, “Who am I?” Who are you really?
The Physical: Are you in shape? Out of shape? Do you live by specific standards for your physical health? Do you keep to a diet and exercise routine, or is that something you’d like to include in your future?
The Mental: How’s your mental health? Do you have clarity and focus on your life and personal goals? Are you always stressed, depressed, or anxious? What measures are you taking to protect your mental health? What kind of relationships do you have with the people around you?
The Spiritual: Do you believe in a higher power? Can you feel its influence in your life? Do you pray, meditate, or otherwise connect to your spirituality in some way, or are you just a “casual” believer? Do you know who you are as a person and have some idea of who you’d like to be?
Being spiritual can include things like prayer and bible meditations for sleep to attending church and everything in between. There’s no real measure for how spiritual a person is, but you should certainly understand your own spirituality.
Stress Relief
Stress is an everyday occurrence for all of us, and something that can quickly become overwhelming to the point of impacting our mental health. When the mental and spiritual pillars of your personality are intact and well-tended, it’s far easier to weather stress and life’s challenges.
Unity in the spirit and the mind means you have a clearer vision and more self-awareness. This is important because the stress we feel is never as impactful as the way we react to that stress is. How you react to stress can change it from a growing experience to a nightmare.
The more self-aware you are, the more you understand your motivation and your reactions to stress. It’s like being your own tour guide through life!
Your mental health depends heavily on your ability to navigate life’s stress with some measure of grace. If you’re always reacting negatively and making rash decisions, you’re going to have a much harder time bringing a sense of calm into your daily life.
How To Unify The Two
So, how does one unify the spiritual and mental pillars of their person? First, you need to re-read the above section on evaluating where you are. Then, once you have a better idea of where you are and where you want to be, it’s time to put the pedal to the floor and get started.
Don’t wait another week, month, or year. Getting started as soon as possible means there’s less time between you and your goals. Remember—if you never start, you’ll never finish.
Final Thoughts
Spirituality and mental wellness are two pillars of your wellness that you don’t want to ignore. Reconciling the two with each other and the third pillar, your physical self, can bring about a sense of wellness, understanding, and self-awareness. The process isn’t difficult or impossible—you just need a place to start.
