How To Recognize The Right Timing For A Mental/Emotional Check-up

Taking care of your health is important for so many reasons. Why? Well, when you’re healthy, you have more energy, you feel better, you can do the things that you love and you enjoy life even more. Physical health is vital for you to have all of those things, but your health is not just about your physical body. Your mental and emotional health are vital parts of your overall wellbeing as well!

So my question is… when was your last mental and/or emotional checkup for your overall health?

It’s time to add a therapist to your annual visits

When we talk about our health, most of us are referring to our physical health.  This is evident in how you approach taking care of yourself. In any given year, you’ll take the time to go to an annual exam of some sort with your regular doctor.  You may go to the dentist to get a cleaning so that your teeth are in good shape. If you’re eyesight isn’t 20/20, then you might need to go see your eye doctor every year. If you’re a women, then you’ll get an annual mammogram. In so many way, you check in with your physical health throughout the year.

I’m curious about your mental and emotional health though. How often do you take the time to check-in with those aspects of your self?

Few people take the time to do this sort of checkup even though your mental and emotional parts of yourself can have major impacts on your physical body.

Why aren’t we doing a mental and emotional checkup more often?

Our society tends to look down on anyone who has mental or emotional concerns.  In fact in some professions, just admitting to any mental or emotional issues can have an impact on your career. So, of course no one wants to admit to not being 100% mentally or emotionally.

I think emotional wellbeing is emphasized more in schools now, but for a majority of people out there this wasn’t something that was talked about in school. Often just the opposite was taught.

Be strong. Don’t cry. Keep a stiff upper lip.

Sayings like this don’t encourage you to show your emotions. Instead, they do just the opposite. These types of sayings lead to beliefs that you should keep your emotions to yourself, and doing that only leads to more repression. In turn, that repression leads your body to compensate in other ways.

In fact, many of us were even taught that if you can’t deal with an event that causes mental or emotional upheaval in your life, then something is ‘wrong’ with you.  This is so NOT true!

When you’ve not been given the essentials on how to handle major events that cause mental or emotional upheaval, then how can you be expected to handle them on your own.  So, it’s no wonder why many people will repress something instead of sharing it with a colleague, friend or therapist. These are not skills that are taught to us in school and often not at home either.

There are signs that you might be ready for a checkup

When your emotions are going from one extreme to another & causing issues in your life, then you’re not living your best life.  When you don’t have the skills to process or deal with your emotions, they’ll start to back up in your body and can eventually cause other illnesses or diseases.  Thus, when your emotions are bouncing around like that, it’s usually showing up as a physical symptom and a visit to your regular medical doctor is not likely to be able to fix the issue.

So, what can you do? 

One thing you can do is go for a mental or emotional checkup with a therapist of some type.  A check-in with a therapist can give you the support for any concerns that are coming up in your life right now or that are still hanging around from your past.

There’s a therapy that’s right for you.

There are many different types of therapists available.  I won’t tell you that one type is better than another.  Instead, I’ll tell you to find one that you can connect to and can work with in order to feel comfortable with them.  If you don’t have a good fit with your therapist, then maybe try a different type of therapy to see if it helps more.   Just don’t give up and let your mental/emotional health slide backwards even more.

Bring your body into the discussion!

The therapy that I practice is a somatic type of therapy.  This practice brings the body into the discussion.  What’s happening in your life is usually showing up in your body in some way.  So, those emotions that are bouncing around all of the time are showing up in different parts of your body as well.  Sometimes, we simply need to bring some awareness to what is happening in order for you to process it, heal & move forward again.

Therapy is not a one time visit and then you move on.  Often my clients will attend a series of sessions. This allows you to get to the root of whatever is happening in your life right now so that you can thrive again. You might find that ongoing support is helpful to improve your emotional health, or you might only come for a check-in a couple time of the year. Either way, you’re beginning to listen to your body and your emotions learning to thrive as a whole being again.

Just get support!

Whether that support comes from a medical doctor, a chiropractor or a therapist of some type, there is no shame in needing support in order to get through life .  We all need support from time to time in some form or other.  So, I encourage you to get your annual checkups with your medical doctor.  Go see your chiropractor when you need to do so.  However, don’t neglect your mental and emotional health.  Schedule a checkup with your therapist and allow yourself that gift of mental and emotional support as well. 

You’re worth it and you’ll feel so much better when you take care of your whole self & not just your physical self!

If you’re curious about the benefits of yoga therapy, schedule a free chat with me. Let’s talk about how yoga therapy can help you be more aware of your emotional well-being.

And remember, it’s never too late to live healthier & happier!

Becky is a Yoga Therapist & has been teaching yoga since 2006. She loves to match people with a yoga practice that helps them to feel better every day & believes that there is a yoga practice for everyone. Click here to sign up for her mailing list & get all of the important news & tips first!