5-minute mental health check

Mental health, Self-development, Wellbeing Leave a comment
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Have you got 5 minutes to check what’s going on inside you? Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash

Sometimes it’s worth giving yourself a brief MOT to see what’s going on under your bonnet these days.

Even if you’re feeling healthy, it’s a good idea to see ahead, and check that your life is in balance, and you’re not neglecting yourself.

Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself, to see whether you have everything in good balance.  It isn’t necessary to use each one, but the aim is to get a quick all-round review in as short a time as possible.

You will need a piece of paper.

QUESTION 1 – WHAT AM I WORRIED ABOUT?

Very quickly, almost without thinking, list the first three worries that occur to you.  Be honest with yourself – you are the only one who will read this.  Now, equally quickly, try to think what these three worries have in common.   Are they areas of your life where you are giving away power?  Are they areas where you feel too busy?  Are they relationships you are not attending to or feeling overwhelmed by?

QUESTION 2 – WHAT AM I BORED BY?

Equally quickly, list the first three things that are currently in your life, that you would secretly like to remove from your life.  In particular, think of things that you find a chore, or tedious.  Then, quite quickly, see what they have in common.  For instance, have you listed three people who share a similar characteristic?  Have you listed tasks which you have to do repeatedly because you have not delegated them?

QUESTION 3 – WHAT AM I ANGRY WITH MYSELF ABOUT?

Here, list one thing which you feel angry at yourself for.  It might be something you consistently don’t do, or procrastinate about.  Is there a project you keep failing to discipline yourself on?  Are you failing to be assertive with the outside world in a particular area?  Then, again quite quickly, write down the quality you would need to get this sorted.  Is it assertiveness?  Courage?  Positivity?  Discipline?  Write it down.

QUESTION 4 – WHO IS THE MOST ANNOYING PERSON IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW?

Write down their name.  (You can throw away the piece of paper later!)  Now write down what it is that annoys you about them.  Then think about it.  If you could never change that person, what characteristics would YOU need to develop in order to cope with that person?  That’s your lesson.

QUESTION 5 – WHO IS THE MOST INSPIRING PERSON IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW?

It could be a celebrity or a friend.  Write down the name of someone who genuinely refreshes you every time you think about them.  Now write down what it is about them that you admire or find refreshing.  That is your chosen characteristic, which, if you choose, you can develop in yourself.  After all, why rely on that external person for it?

SUMMARY

These 5 questions, answered on a piece of paper, can give you a quick view of your own mental health and where you might like to develop next.  They are:

  1. List three worries (these, correctly interpreted, give you a key to your current anxieties)
  2. List three tedious things (these, correctly interpreted, give you a key yo your current sources of depression)
  3. List one source of self-anger (this gives you a focus for personal growth)
  4. List one annoying person (this gives you focus for improving your patience)
  5. List one inspiring person (this gives you a focus for improving your self-reliance)
Good luck.