Mental Health: The Most Impactful Change You Can Make

Are you at wit’s end and slowly giving up on your mental health? Unsure what else you can do and feel stuck in a cycle of frustration and despair?

Recovering from mental health challenges can be incredibly tough, but making changes to your lifestyle and your mindset is the best and only way forward.

It is a journey of learning and growth, where setbacks are inevitable. However, these setbacks aid in learning and growing, making you stronger every time you stand back up.

With every fall, you have a choice: stay down or rise stronger. Each time you choose to stand, you become unbreakable

MentalBeing

In this blog, I want to share how changing your environment and mindset can be the turning point in your recovery, just as it was in mine. By making these changes, you can break free from the cycle and find a path to lasting mental health and well-being.

Returning to the same environment

One significant learning curve I made during recovery was that repeatedly returning to the same environment wasn’t beneficial.

In fact, it was the complete opposite.

Going back into the same environment triggered old thoughts, feelings, and memories. While overcoming triggers is essential for full recovery, coming fresh out of the hospital can leave you feeling overwhelmed, making you more vulnerable to setbacks and triggers.

After years of going back home during or after treatment for anorexia nervosa, I finally noticed the trend: being discharged, coming home, feeling overwhelmed, being triggered, restricting, and ending up back in the hospital.

The cycle just went on and on.

So, after connecting all the dots, I took that trend, scrunched it up, and threw it in the bin. It wasn’t until I made a change that I saw a significant improvement in my mental health.

And what brought about this change? I left home, seeking a fresh start.

The Impact of Surroundings on Mental Health

Your illness and struggles are individual to you; however, from what I have learned, there is always a trigger. Returning to familiar places often reintroduces old challenges during the healing process. The environment we surround ourselves with plays a crucial role in our mental health journey.

Changes in physical health, like in my case, weight gain can add additional stressors. Negative thoughts may be amplified by the reminders and triggers found in familiar settings.

Every time I came out of hospital I would return home. I felt stronger, but I would constantly be reminded of, “Oh, remember when you…?” “This is where you…,” “Shouldn’t you be…?” These thoughts would bombard me, making it difficult for me to remain strong.

For the first few weeks, I would be able to push past these thoughts. But not for long. Soon They would start getting under my skin again, gripping me mentally and dragging me down.

This led to hospitalization after hospitalization.

What are mental health triggers?

Triggers can be split up into 4 categories:

We have external triggers, which can come from our senses—sight, smell, sounds, and textures. For example, the smell of wood reminds me of my grandad, or a song might remind you of a happy or sad memory.

Internal triggers are strong feelings and thoughts that arise when reminded of an experience. For example, becoming anxious when a partner doesn’t respond quickly to messages due to a history of abandonment.

Trauma triggers can be events that cause significant distress. A personal example is when I struggled with excessive exercise and was unable to stop walking. I accidentally poured boiling water onto my foot, causing a third-degree burn. This also all happened at work…at Christmas so my foot didn’t have time to heal. This experience has left me feeling very insecure when handling boiling water.

Symptom triggers, such as changes in weight, can significantly impact mental health. For example, weight gain can lead to increased body dysmorphia, while weight loss can become uncontrollable, resulting in being underweight.

Identifying triggers

Understanding and identifying your triggers can help in avoiding them, though it doesn’t stop them from happening. You can’t control everything or everyone—after all, if you could, you’d be a superhuman.

You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength

Marcus Aurelius

By identifying our triggers, we empower ourselves to delve deeper, uncovering the what, where, when, and why behind them. Sometimes, we’re unsure why we might feel a certain way.

Keeping a journal can be instrumental in gaining insights and understanding the why. It allows us to reflect on our thoughts and feelings, then untangle them and find their true meaning.

Changing Environment in recovery from mental health

Changing your environment or your recovery route can be a game-changer for a positive turnaround. Consider moving to a different town, your safe place, or even abroad, as I did.

However, if this isn’t possible, don’t worry—you can work with what you have.

Giving your room a makeover, taking a different route to therapy, getting a haircut, or swapping out objects that bring back bad memories—these are simple but powerful ways to create change and cultivate a new environment.

With my parents’ help, I was admitted to a German clinic specializing in eating disorders. After discharge, I knew that I didn’t want to go back home, so I moved up north to Flensburg—a place I had never been to or heard of before.

In Flensburg, I lived in a shared apartment, which was very stressful, but the experience was incredibly beneficial. I became independent, relearned how to cook, stayed busy, started a part-time job, and even began distance learning.

Why leave home?

Living alone, away from my family, is hard, but we all knew it was for the better. I wouldn’t have moved away so quickly if I hadn’t fallen ill. But even then, staying wouldn’t have helped.

My eating disorder put a tremendous strain on my family, making them stressed, sad, and worried. My mum lost a lot of hair from the stress, and I saw my dad cry for the first time.

Their suffering was painful to witness. My younger sisters were also at risk of being influenced by my condition. So, until I felt strong enough, I had to leave.

Living on a small island also has its pros and cons. As a young adult trying to build a future, being limited to island supplies is definitely a challenge. However, moving to Germany has opened up new opportunities for me to explore life more deeply and to shape my future with greater ease.

Creating a new home

My home will always be where my family is, but to feel comfortable and continue my recovery I needed to create a second home. My very own home.

The shared flat wasn’t the right place for me. There were drugs and alcohol misuse. So I moved to another completely new city, Dresden. A place where I have also never been to.

After not feeling at home in the shared I was in there, I finally decided to find my own space. I am now living in a cute little rented apartment and I am designing it to my needs. Though it is not yet called my home, it definitely has the potential.

It just needs a little love, to become my safe space. (I will be creating a separate blog on how to make your room or home feel like a safe space, and cosy)

Seeking support

Seeking support during difficult times ensures that you have the correct support and are still on the right path in recovery. Even if you think you are doing well, reaching out and talking about it, can make you aware of what is happening from within. You might notice recurring thoughts or behaviours.

Sometimes, recovery can be deceiving. You might feel like you are alright, but internally, you are struggling. If you are unable to change your environment, either because you don’t feel ready, aren’t financially stable, or are too young, I recommend getting external support. This will ensure that you remain stable and continue to flourish in your recovery.

Leaving note

Taking the step to leave home can be daunting, but it often leads to significant improvements in mental health. Even small changes in your environment can make a substantial difference. Rearrange your space, add new decor, or remove items that remind you of past struggles. Gradually replace primary triggers with positive elements until you feel more equipped to face them.

Prioritize your health and focus on your recovery. When you’re ready, tackle these triggers step by step, building your resilience with each challenge. Remember, every positive change you make contributes to a stronger, healthier you.