A mental health MOT
A little exercise you could use to better understand how you are right now.
This post describes a short exercise in self-enquiry which I created recently, inspired by The School of Life and ideas from One Team Gov’s Wellbeing Camp. It is for anyone looking to understand themselves a little better.
At One Team Gov we’re really trying to focus on how we can take better care of ourselves and each other. In trying political times, public servants are at the forefront of national tension, and it’s important that we are able to take time to care for each other and ourselves. Self-awareness has also been linked to high performance at work.
I was having a rough day a couple of weeks ago, and I sketched out some questions to ask myself which helped to throw light on my feelings and also to get some distance from them. I’m noting them here in case they could help someone else.
The questions form a kind of progressive circle— what’s hard right now, what’s great and what I can do to make things better. It’s very deeply rooted in how I felt in the moment — there’s something relieving about just describing how we feel just now, as opposed to trying to identify emotional trends or doing deep analysis, which can be scary or tiring.
The questions are:
1a. Which negative feelings am I carrying right now? This lets you vent unashamedly.
1b. Of these, which am I most likely to hide from others? This might throw a light on which emotions you find shameful.
2. What am I most hating myself for right now? Much as I wish this box were empty for most people, it’s healthy to acknowledge how much we’re beating ourselves up.
3a. What do I know helps me when I’m feeling like this? These can be as mundane or massive as you like.
3b. What do I have the urge to do right now? This might give you a clue as to the best self care for you in the moment — my answer was ‘walk in the sunshine with my partner’
4. What am I proud of myself for today? This can make you feel warm and hopeful — or motivate you to do a little thing to make yourself proud.
5. What am I grateful for today? This is a zoom-out to look at what is awesome about your existence.
6. What are 3 wishes I have for myself? These can be big things like ‘get a new job’ or tiny things like ‘get a good night’s sleep tonight’
7. What are 3 wishes I have for people I love and how can I help these happen? This might help you to escape yourself and do something good for others.
8. What are some mantras or key phrases that I can repeat to myself when I feel like this again? This can help us feel like we might be able to cope with the next rough moment a little more easily.
This can be a throwaway exercise, just to get a snapshot of how you are. Or maybe it’s something you can redo periodically, to observe how things change. I found it helpful to do this in a mindful way — by which I mean I tried hard to distance myself from my answers, not judging but just observing.
I hope that it helps — if you’re feeling brave, you can tell us some of your answers, here or @OneTeamGov on Twitter, and help spread a little hope :)
