Tag: self-care

14 Mental Health Indicators

If you had to rate your mental health from one to ten, what would it be? I learned to manage disappointment more effectively, to accept what I cannot control and to trust God, and to gently correct others’ offenses. My marriage improved because I stopped speaking negative words over it and replaced negative thinking with gratitude. I have spent the last year exploring ways to improve my mental and spiritual health. I was amazed by how much it affects our psychological and physical health. There is so much more to learn. The key takeaway from my research is that mental health and spiritual health are interrelated and directly affect your physical health. Therefore, the more spiritually healthy you are, the more mentally healthy you will be, and the more mentally healthy you are, the more physically healthy you will be. Read “Why Be Physically Healthy?“

Mental Health Rating.

I created the following summary in the post titled “How Mentally Healthy Are You?” published on January 11, 2025. When I read various articles about mental health, including my Mental Health coaching instructions with Light University, I learn that there are many perspectives on what a mentally healthy person is. The following list summarizes people’s views of what a mentally healthy person looks like. Rate yourself from one to ten for each category. How well are you doing?

  1. Aware of negative thinking but not obsessed with it. 1 —–5—– 10

(Thinking creates feelings, which build beliefs that affect emotions and behavior. Read “All Thoughts are Within Our Control.”)

  1. Identifies and accepts disappointment but does not discount it. 1 —–5—– 10

(Acknowledge the unmet expectations and process resulting disappointment through prayer. Read “How to Develop Emotional Resilience.”)

  1. Forgive those who offend me. 1 —–5—– 10

(God requires forgiveness, and it removes the power of the offence from influencing your thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Read “Why Must You Forgive.”)

  1. You are realistically thankful about something even when expectations are not met. 

1- –5 — 10 (Thankfulness changes the negative thought and emotion into a positive thought. Read “Being Thankful During Hardships.”)

  1. Humbly consider others’ needs and desires. 1 —–5—– 10

(Loving others requires humility and consideration. Read “How to Build Trust with Win/Win Agreements.”)

  1. Understands boundaries and uses them. 1 —–5—– 10

(Boundaries create healthy interactions. Read “HOW TO BE PROACTIVE: cont.”)

  1. See possibilities and positives in hardships, and don’t obsess over unrealistic worst-case scenarios. 1 —–5—– 10

(Hardships are part of life, Jesus said He will give you peace. Read “Thoughts That Create Peace Within and Without.”)

  1. Proactive and not defensive. You receive criticism and use it for positive change, and do not get defensive or become depressed. 1 —–5—– 10

(Very difficult to do. Read “How to Respond to Criticism.”)

  1. Do not get into futile arguments to prove your right. 1 —–5—– 10

(This requires wisdom and a sound mind. Read “How to Have a Healthy Argument or Conflict.”)

  1. You know you can only control your own thoughts and actions, not what others think or do. 1 —–5—– 10  (Read “10 Ways to be Proactive Instead of Reactive.”)
  2. You are content yet persevere toward positive goals. 1 —–5—– 10

(Being envious and anxious steals you peace; contentment gives you a sound mind. Read “TWELVE WAYS TO ACHIEVE HEALTHY GOALS.”)

  1. Do not need validation from others to feel good about yourself. 1 —–5—– 10

(Read “Eliminate Depression with Self-love and God’s Love.”)

  1. Do not relinquish your power to external influences. 1 —–5—– 10

(Do you allow others’ flawed opinions to influence how you think and believe? Read “What is An Emotionally Healthy Person?”)

  1. Do you take your sad thoughts to God and rejoice in His help, provision, and wisdom? 

1 —–5—– 10 (You can take every thought captive and focus on Jesus as your source of joy.  Read “HOW TO REPLACE SADNESS WITH REJOICING” and “Purpose, Sadness, and Loneliness.”)

Conclusion

How did you do? if you need to improve in one or more areas, there is hope. Read “Eight Ways to Rewire Negative Responses.” Your mental health is critical for living your best and most prosperous life. You cannot have healthy relationships without healthy emotions. You can’t face life’s hardships without a strong spiritual life. I pray you grow more mentally healthy as you also strengthen your spiritual and physical health. To read all my mental health posts, go to the Mental Health Posts page.

**********

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of promises relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91. 

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and the truths behind them. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

10 Ways to be Proactive Instead of Reactive

How reactive are you to events that don’t go as planned, to other people’s inconsideration, when people don’t keep their promises? My reaction level was off the charts, so when I separated from my abusive husband, I wanted to know what a mentally healthy person should act like. I read Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The first habit was being proactive. What does proactive mean? According to Dictionary.com (2025), proactive means to prepare for, intervene in, or control an expected occurrence or situation, especially a negative or challenging one; anticipatory.

How To Control Your Feelings

Knowing you will act in anger or frustration, you can mentally prepare. What you think controls what you feel, what you believe, and how you act. So, stay in prayer mode, so you respond with kindness or patience. Self-control begins in the mind. Visit my web page on how to develop self-control to learn more. Being proactive requires self-control.

In my last post, I explained a church situation that made me angry and how I prayed through the Victory Plan from my post, “How to Develop Emotional Resilience.” I resolved to be kind and let the situation I could not control go. The following Sunday, the custodian came up to me, with his wife present, and said he loved me and gave me a hug. I eliminated stress by being proactive in how I dealt with the situation, even though I felt wronged.

If you know driving raises your stress level because you get frustrated and angry at how other drivers drive, you can say to yourself, “Getting upset and yelling at other drivers does not help, and it makes me tense and anxious; I will be thankful I don’t have to ride a donkey.” Try it, it works. You can also say, “I can be patient as I would want other drivers to be patient with me.” If you know attending a family function will upset you, you can pray for God to give you grace and kindness toward the difficult family members. Remember, people want to know they have worth and are loved as much as you do. Often, people act out because they have low self-worth and feel angry because they don’t feel loved, which is frequently related to their childhood.

10 Proactive Habits.

In my online book, I wrote the right thinking I need to practice for each of Stephen Covey’s seven habits. This is what I wrote for Habit 1—Be Proactive.

  1. I can choose my response.
  2. I am driven by values and truth, and I am not reactive.
  3. I will not let the weaknesses of others control me.
  4. I take the initiative and am responsible for making things happen.
  5. I will use proactive language: “I choose.” “I control my own feelings.” “Let’s look at the alternatives.”
  6. I will work on what I can do something about, which is in my circle of influence.
  7. I will BE more ……….. To change from the inside-out, to be different.
  8. I choose to be thankful.
  9. I will acknowledge mistakes instantly and correct them.
  10. I will make and keep commitments and promises.

Change Unhealthy Beliefs and Discover a New Reality

The article in Psychology Today “Why Proactivity Is the Superpower You Can and Should Develop,” says that “proaction is worth viewing as a superpower because it is the “possible you” that 1) spots and prevents problems, 2) identifies, pursues, and captures opportunities, and 3) creates a new, personally-chosen, desired future through a strategic change of trajectory.” This article provided valuable tips.

My life was controlled by my past trauma. I continued to live out of my emotional programming and unhealthy beliefs about myself and my capability. I married my first husband because of unhealthy beliefs and wrong thoughts. I allowed people to define me and limit my ability. Being proactive about healing my past soul wounds changed the trajectory of my life, and it can change yours. Read my online book about how I changed my destiny.

In the following posts, I will continue to explain these ten ways to be proactive. If you would like a PDF of my Victory Plan to Overcome Anger, Depression, and Anxiety, email me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com.

Continue to learn how to apply the other ways to be proactive in the next post.

May God bless you richly as you think proactively.

********** 

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.