You Are Not a Rock: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Mental Health (for Humans)

by Mark Freeman

If you avoid sweating, eventually everything makes you sweat. If you avoid anxiety, eventually everything makes you anxious.

It’s not about avoiding feelings and controlling feelings. It’s actually about feeling much more.

Trying to avoid difficult things makes difficult things more difficult.

You are not a rock. You feel things.

Unhealthy behaviors simply become things we don’t do anymore because we’re spending our time and energy on creating health and happiness and a life that’s aligned with our values.

Pain is a symptom. It might be something I feel, and something I don’t want to feel, but focusing all of my energy on escaping the pain won’t get rid of the thing causing the pain. In fact,

define a compulsion as anything you do to cope with, check on, or control uncertainty, anxiety, and other feelings you don’t like.

“mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention on purpose in the present moment—non-judgmentally.”

Struggling with mental health is all about pouring your time and energy into things that don’t matter to you.

Building better mental health is all about investing your time and energy in things that do matter to you.