May is Mental Health and Wellness Awareness Month. The Bills are doing many things throughout the month to recognize and celebrate the importance of mental health.
Throughout the month, Bills team clinician and sport psychologist Dr. Desaree Festa, known as Dr. Dez at One Bills Drive, will provide a series of 'Mental Moments' to help equip everyone with tools to enhance our mental and emotional resilience.
This week's mental moment is self-talk.
Self-Talk: Your inner voice matters
Dr. Dez says when we think about communication, we often focus on communicating with others rather than ourselves. She believes the way we speak to ourselves has a big impact on our mental health.
"The way you speak to yourself matters!" Dr. Dez shared. "You are with yourself 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You talk to yourself more than you talk to anyone else. Your inner dialogue, also known as self-talk, is a powerful tool that shapes how you think, feel, behave, and perform. In fact, your inner voice can propel you forward, or it can hold you back."
The way we talk to ourselves sets the tone for our mindset. Dr. Dez thinks it's important to be aware of how we speak to ourselves.
"Ask yourself, are you a positive coach or a negative critic?" Dr. Dez said. "A positive coach fuels self-belief; A negative critic fuels self-doubt."
Here are some ways to look at positive vs. negative self-talk when faced with a challenge.
- The Positive Coach says:
"This is an opportunity to grow and learn something new." - The Negative Critic says:
"This is too hard. I'm terrible at this."
Reframing the way we self-talk
Dr. Dez knows that negative thoughts are going to pop up because it's part of human nature. What's most important is being able to reframe the negativity.
"Do not judge yourself when you have a discouraging thought, it happens to everyone," Dr. Dez said. "The most important thing is to notice when you have a negative inner voice and then reframe it."
Reframing is the practice of shifting your negative thoughts to positive thinking.
"Even subtle shifts are powerful," Dr. Dez added. "At first it may be hard to reframe your thinking into words of encouragement. But like any habit, the more you practice, the easier it becomes. And over time, you can train your brain to have more positive and encouraging language, especially during times of setbacks or adversity."
Here are some examples:
- Instead of: "I can't make a mistake."
Try: "I'm focused on progress over perfection" - Instead of: "I don't measure up.
Try: "I am enough as I am, and I'm still growing." - Instead of: "I can't believe I messed that up"
Try: "One mistake doesn't define my performance; I will learn from it and do better next time"
Affirmations and mantras
Dr. Dez thinks daily affirmations or mantras are great ways to remind us of our inner strength.
Here are a few to try:
- "I trust myself and my preparation."
- "Today, I will show up with my best attitude and effort."
- "Control the controllables."
We can even develop our own mantras and affirmations. Dr. Dez says to repeat them during our morning routine, work, training, or challenging moments.
"It's never too late to start enhancing your self-talk," Dr. Dez said. "By implementing positive self-talk, practicing reframing, and integrating affirmations and mantras into our routines, we can rewire our brains to have a more positive mindset."
Remember: Be your own positive coach!
Resources to help
Here are links to organizations where people can find assistance to take care of their mental wellness!
BestSelf Behavioral Health
No matter how old you are, where you live in Western New York or what challenges you're facing—BestSelf Behavioral Health can provide you and your family with the innovative and evidence-based services you need, along with a personal and caring approach that will help you feel respected, valued, confident and hopeful. We are proud to offer numerous locations that provide all of the mental health and substance use disorders treatment and rehabilitation services you need.
Learn more: https://www.bestselfwny.org/
ECMC – Health Services
The Regional Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health is proud to offer mental health, psychiatric, and substance use treatment services. Our team of compassionate specialists provides care on both an inpatient and outpatient basis to best serve the needs of our community and patients.
Crisis Services
You are not alone. Crisis Services is ready to support you through moments of urgency. In addition to our main 24-Hour Crisis Hotline, you can safely and confidentially call one of our specialized Crisis Counseling Program Hotlines to best respond to your individual crisis. Free of charge, no matter what you're going through. Every Crisis Services number is ready to help.
- 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: 716-834-3131
- Buffalo & Erie County Addiction Hotline: 716-831-7007
- Kids Helpline: 716-834-1144 or 1-877-KIDS-400
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
- 988 Lifeline – If you need to talk, the 988 Lifeline is here: https://988lifeline.org/
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: https://www.samhsa.gov/
Learn more: https://crisisservices.org/
Mental Health Advocates
For 60 years, Mental Health Advocates of WNY (formerly Mental Health Association of Erie County) has been deeply committed to providing essential non-clinical services that address the needs of individuals, families and communities living with mental illness.
Through awareness, education, prevention, early intervention programs and supportive services, we advocate for and actively promote mental health and wellness for adults, families and children in homes, schools and workplaces across Western New York.
Learn more: https://mhawny.org/
Let's Talk Stigma
If you're dealing with a mental health challenge, you are not alone. Approximately 1 in 5 Western New Yorkers are living with a mental health diagnosis, yet many of these people suffer in silence because of the discrimination that goes along with it. So, we're starting a conversation to end the stigma surrounding mental illness. Join us as we share our stories, our struggles and our successes. When we talk about mental health, we help everyone find their voice.
Learn more: https://letstalkstigma.org/
