Press pause

Title: Mindful moment: Mental wellness is a team sport

One in five Americans suffers a mental illness. Often people experiencing a mental health condition report feeling isolated and alone, that's a big deal. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said this about depression: "One of the most important things you could realize is that you're not alone. You're not the first to go through it. You're not going to be the last to go through it."

And that applies to any mental health issue. When we understand that loneliness and isolation are big parts of mental illness, it makes it easy for us to understand how being part of the team is important for our mental wellness. Consider this, team sports involve a team, a group of people working together for a common goal or cause. Your team's goal is your mental wellness. Your team may consist of a spouse or significant other, friends, family, coworkers, or other positive acquaintances, but generally people that will be there to listen, to talk to you, to offer support. Your team should include your doctor who can run tests to rule out any physical health issues, prescribe medications if needed and help tailor a plan for you. Your team may include a therapist or support group to provide you with a safe space to work through challenges. It may include clergy or a sponsor. Whatever the makeup of your team, you get to be its captain.

Team sports require practice. It's true that practice means that some effort is required and that can be hard, but it also means different expectations. It means that you don't have to have everything together or to be a finished product. You are someone that is taking steps to be a little better today than you were before. It comes with the idea that there will be mistakes and days that aren't as good as others. But that's okay because viewing our work towards wellness as practice lets us focus on progress instead of perfection.

Team sports involve communication. Good teammates talk to each other about what they see on the court or field. They talk about obstacles, challenges, risks. They hold each other accountable. They share their own experiences, way to show understanding and to offer suggestions. Good teammates provide praise when they see hard work, effort and progress and we can all use more of that.

The point is this mental illness can be very isolating. That's why it is so important to remember that you aren't alone. You have existing teammates who are there to help and support you. You can always draft more team members if needed. Your team will strengthen you and help you to progress and they do it because they recognize that mental wellness is a team sport and you're the team MVP.