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IPSYCHODELIC STALL

N a social climate that is not only ever-changing but also ever challenging, we are consistently dealt a litany of life situations that put our mental strength to the most rigorous of tests. This is, however, almost a given because by virtue of our mere existence, we are susceptible to such as part of the fabric of our being.

Besides ensuring that we remain physically able to manoevre through the peaks and troughs of life, we equally have an innate obligation to ourselves to keep our mental dimension as fully functional as possible. Mental fortitude is a skill that is learnt usually in the aftermath of a psychological setback that one may suffer as a consequence of one negative condition or another. In a sense, the ability to display numerous episodes of resilience, not giving up and the hunger to always try again in life are what essentially characterise individuals with that mental ‘steel’ and because we are always around the corner from a setback, it is a handy skillset to grow and attempt to develop.

In most cases, our coming into contact with a disappointment, a failure or a setback of any other sort often leads us to believe a certain way about ourselves, our abilities as well as our potential going forward and with this in mind, we are often lead into assuming a natural state of disempowerment.

Improve

Upon assuming a state such as this, the difficulty then comes with ‘seeing beyond’ that situation or setback and being able to draw some psychological positivity and optimism that things may improve for the better and consequently, many people remain a mental ‘lockdown’ out of options to deal with the negativity in their lives.

The beauty in developing a personality characteristic such as a mental fortitude is that, in the presence of these challenges, individuals who have this sort of character (even if it’s still budding), tend to harbour a different perception of the situation by comparison to others. For them, they see it as an opportunity to exercise their rational thinking, calm demeanour and composed mental resolve to dealing with whatever they may be

in the face off: whether an academic setback, a personal loss or any other sort of happening that places their mental health under stress or strain.

To be fair, it is not the easiest skill to acquire, grow and develop, however, as earlier alluded to, it is a very handy skill to have given how much of an emotional rollercoaster our daily lives are. Characteristically, mental fortitude allows the development of a character that is far well suited and well adjusted to the vigourous society that we live in whilst also being the cornerstone from which the mental health of an individual may hinge.

Bounce back

The ability to ‘bounce back’ is what basically engineers life moving on, getting over certain traumatic experiences and, therefore, it is important that we as individuals have this for our own good.

There is not a dedicated method to developing this and honestly, it is not similar for all of us. While it may be easy for some to recover from setbacks, it may not be the same for others hence, in every experience, we have the responsibility to try find the ‘hidden messages and life lessons’ that we are supposed to learn from what we go through. That alone, could be the start in a shift in the way we perceive the negative things that go on in our lives, thus eventually fostering a mind and mental health in general that is not just sturdy but also optimistic and hopeful. Send comments to runsford0505@gmail.com.