Growing up mental health was never a thing to reckon with around here. In fact, for a dude, raising issues about mental health was seen as a sign of laziness or weakness. No one believed in depression and its associated problems. If a person takes his own life, spiritual powers of the world are solely blamed for it, and not some messed up mental issues.
It got so worse that people suffering from mental derangement were chained to a pillar while a prophet tried to cast a supposed demon of madness out of them. The general belief was that madness is an affliction from the realm of darkness and anyone exhibiting that should be sorted spiritually. Funnily enough, some of them for better because of the peace and tranquility afforded them in those settings.
I never took my mental health seriously until it nearly tore me down. It was gradual and unnoticed. After years of working remotely, I started noticing a feeling of uneasiness around me. Due to spending hours alone in a quiet environment, I got used to the loneliness but it was hitting me hard in some other ways.
Sometimes, I'd wake up feeling very calm and without any bother. Other times, I'd felt like something was about to tear me apart for no just reason. It took me a while to realize that the incredible amount of time I was spending in solitude, away from chitchats and viable discussions with people was the cause of this bizarre feeling. I started out in earnest to tackle it.
Since I know where the problem lies, finding the solution became clear cut - I had to get out of the house more often. One of the things I jettisoned because of my work and personal life was watching football in packed viewing centres. Due to the advent of online streaming, I started watching games alone. But when I realized I was mentally drifting, I turned to my old ways.
I started going to the viewing centre close to my home to watch every match I'm available for. At times, it can be annoying with some dudes talking off point and constituting nuisance for no reason. But, hey, I chose the place for the annoying and sometimes hilarious extras. A couple of times I'd get involved in their arguments, too.
After each match, I'd get home feeling exhausted and happy. In some cases, I'd feel frustrated at the silly points I joined in to argue at. But then, those arguments pieced me together. It helped clear my head after working for hours without talking to a single soul. And also, I started making more friends than I'm used to, guys of similar ideas I crossed paths with at the viewing centre.
The other thing I did to get me right was that I started jogging a specific distance every morning. Even when I have some work things to sort out, I conditioned myself to detach from work between the hours of 5am to 6am for early morning jogging. In some cases I'd make it less athletic and just walk around the neighborhood for one hour, greeting people and just finding pleasure in the little things of life.
With that, I was starting my days feeling energetic and happy. And I also became excited about the morning stuff as I look forward to whatever surprise in store for me the next morning. In some cases, the surprise may be the preaching of an evangelist doing his or her thing early in the morning. Heck, it may even be that of a ritualist trying some weird stuff on a junction.
In conclusion, I've relied on simple approaches to taking care of my mental health in recent times. Honestly, these little things worked and I've been the better for it. At some point I considered meeting a therapist but being able to find a solution all by myself has been exciting.
