You don’t need permission from others to do what you want. Have you ever felt scared to do something and saw someone else doing the same thing and thought – well if they have done it so can I. You don’t need for someone else to lead the way – do it regardless!
Feeling free is essential for mental health. When you feel restrained and trapped, it leads to anxiety and depression. . Lack of choice is associated with higher levels of emotional stress, physical strain, and negative health impacts
When you feel free, you feel empowered to make changes in your life and make decisions. When your freedom is limited it can lead to “learned helplessness”. This is a feeling that no matter you try to do, nothing makes any difference and you end up giving up completely.
Self actualisation, as described in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows how self-actualisation is when we have ultimate freedom to express ourselves and find our true talents. This is almost impossible to do if you don’t have freedom because that is a basic human right and that will take precedence ahead of you finding your true purpose and the associated happiness that comes with that freedom.
Maslow believed that people have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, that is, to be all they can be. In order to achieve these ultimate goals, however, a number of more basic needs must be met such as the need for food, safety, love, and self-esteem
Loss of hope
Mental health problems are responses to difficult life circumstances, so trapping people into situations of trauma, abuse and neglect can create life long problems. Can happend to anyone irrespective of socio-economic status, race, culture. Giving up hope is a significant predictor of serious issues, possibly even suicide.
Covid and feeling trapped
Mindfulness can help 54321
- Be curious about your thoughts. In other words, bring attention to your thoughts without acknowledging them as true. “Thought is behavior of mind and does not necessarily reflect reality,” says Dwyer. “When we can see anxious or racing thoughts as the habit of a busy and/or worried mind, we can bring curiosity to those thoughts and observe them moving through our head, rather than feel like we are dragged along and have to attend to and experience the outcomes of those thought trails.”
- Defuse your thoughts. Now, try labeling your thoughts, based on the feeling they are rooted in. Dwyer explains this as, “quite literally ungluing yourself from your thoughts. This can be as simple as labeling thoughts. For instance: ‘I’m having an anxious thought,’ or ‘There goes my anxious thought track again.’”
- Change your response. Finally, challenge and change your normal response to an overload of negative thoughts. “Recognizing that it is our brain trying to keep us safe and problem solving can help,” says Dwyer. “The response can then be, ‘Thank you brain for trying to keep me safe, but right now I’m okay.’”
How to feel free
Don’t give in to emotional blackmail
Control guilt
Spend time in nature – freedom for past regrets and future worries
Be playful, fun. laughter!!!!
Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
