Freedom isn’t free. Neither is good mental health.
There is no doubt I will never come close to understanding the sacrifice that members of our military have made throughout our country’s existence. Without their sacrifice and bloodshed, neither you nor I would enjoy the countless freedoms and liberties that we all take for granted each and every day.
Tireless work, indescribable sacrifice, and constant investment in our military has paved the way to achieve and maintain our freedoms.
Our military has not won every battle along the way. However, our proud and brave military have always regrouped, recovered, and learned; and continued to march forward.
Achieving and maintaining optimal mental health isn’t free either, and shares keen principles to building an efficient and resilient army.
Achieving our best mental health is a journey that requires dedication, some sacrifice, honest self-assessment, investment, and regrouping when we stumble.
One cannot simply take a Zoloft tablet and sit back on autopilot and expect the world become their oyster, and everything be kumbaya with lolli pops, teddy bears and smiley faces; skipping along through life as a perfect movie with KC and the Sunshine Band music serving as the soundtrack.
The reality is achieving and maintaining our best mental health is not free and simple.
However, as the saying goes, the best things in life aren’t free. Or easy. The good news is that we have self-determination on our side. We get to choose.
The sleep we get (or choose not to get), the people we date (or choose not to date), the illegal drugs we take (or choose not to take), the education we get (or choose not to get), the geographical areas we live in (or choose not to live in), the job we choose to take (or choose not to take), the therapy we get (or choose not to get), the healthy diet we choose to consume (or not consume), and the prescriptive medications (when warranted) we take (or choose not to take)…. This is just a snapshot of the choices we get to make as adults that have direct impact on our mental well-being. Choose wisely; but if you don’t, learn from that purgatory and keep marching forward.
Just like a military, the mental health campaign is never over. When we achieve optimal mental health, we must consciously choose to maintain it and defend it. It is never-ending journey. There is no closing up shop.
