I recently met Dennis Liegghio, founder of knowresolve.org, who gave a powerful talk about suicide prevention. Life is always throwing us challenges, disappointments, and roadblocks in our way. Dennis asked, “how are we taught to deal with them?” Can you remember the best advice you have been given for coping with a difficult problem?
I don’t think we have been taught how to deal with life’s stressors. That is something we need to change. He talked about ways he has learned to cope; through the School of Hard Knocks, as many of us have. I know from my 8 years in healthcare listening to the community, that a lack of coping skills for life’s challenges plays a big part in the state of our health, stress levels, chronic conditions, suicidal thoughts, and addictions.
When we are dealt a blow in life, how do we address it? How do we deal with it? How do we take care of ourselves, families, and relationships? Dennis suggested four areas of focus (physical, spiritual, emotional and mental), with a goal of working on one thing a day from each category. Start slow and work them into your life so they become a habit. We know we need to take care or our bodies by eating right and exercising, but now we need to learn how to take care of our mental health too.
Tools and Tips for Coping with life’s challenges
“Mental health is a practice.“ Dennis Liegghio, knowresolve.org
(Aspiring to be a) Joy Spreader
