How do values and mental health work together to ground us, and build resilience and stability?
Values is a powerful term that is often misunderstood or misused by individuals in their daily lives. Although coinciding with materialistic goods, values can also play a large role in maintaining mental health.
What Are Values?
Values are broad, desirable, and trans-situational goals that represent guiding principles in people’s lives.
In plain terms, values are like a moral compass which is comprised of significant and core beliefs one holds that help direct people in making everyday decisions and guiding their behavior.
Everyone’s value compass can look different and can be influenced by both internal or external factors such as race, culture, and socio-economic environment.
Some areas that are often considered as core values are:
- Family
- Religion/ Spirituality
- Empathy
- Humility
- Love
- Trust
- Kindness
- Power
- Financial Stability
- Health
- Independence
- Beauty
- Respect
- Teamwork
- Justice
These are aspects of your life that you have thought of in passing and hold as important but have not had much thought about how much they actually provide direction for one’s life.
It is important to note that the list above is not an extensive list. There are many more values to discover.
When we actually take the time to put thought into some of the topics above, a question to ask yourself is “How much influence do these values have on my life?”. We also can ask “How do values affect mental health?”.
Values And Mental Health: Top Benefits Of Having Them In Our Lives
There are two ways values and mental health work together to improve our lives.
1. They Help Ground Us
Values are important to mental health because they play a role in grounding us and helping us in navigating our own experiences.
When we don’t know our values, it can be difficult to know where we are headed or to better understand how we may feel in certain situations.
For example, valuing family may mean that you make your decisions with a collective stance in mind. Or if you’re in a long-term relationship, children and marriage may be a non-negotiable in the long term.
Overall, values give us a “goalpost” that we try to aim for or act on. Without these “goalposts” life’s purpose could appear meaningless taking us down an existential rabbit hole (aka crisis).
2. They Help Us Be Resilient And Manage Stress
When we are able to identify our values which provide us purpose, they can be used to help us bounce back from hard times in our lives, by continuing to clearly provide a strong foundation for us to persevere.
Additionally, when life is chaotic or faced with higher amounts of stress, values can be a great way to help prioritize what is important to us and what will have better shorter and longer outcomes.
For example, if we value family over work achievements or financial stability, then spending quality time with family will be more beneficial in managing stress and prioritizing what is most important.
When we prioritize our values and make time to honour them it may help increase our overall resilience during stressful times.
How To Identify And Define Your Values
Identifying your core values involves introspection and self-awareness. Here are some steps to help you get started:
- Reflect on Past Experiences: Think about moments in your life when you felt deeply fulfilled or proud. Consider what aspects of those experiences resonated with you. Were there specific values that were honoured in those moments? For example, you might recall feeling a profound sense of satisfaction after helping a friend, which could point to a value of compassion or service.
- Consider Role Models: Reflect on individuals you admire, whether they are personal acquaintances, historical figures, or fictional characters. What qualities or principles do they embody that you find inspiring? Identifying the values associated with these role models can provide insights into your own core beliefs.
- Explore Your Passions: Identify activities, causes, or interests that ignite a sense of excitement and purpose within you. What values do these passions represent? For instance, if you are passionate about environmental conservation, values such as stewardship and responsibility might be central to your belief system.
- Create a Values List: Write down a list of values that resonate with you. There are many values to choose from such as integrity, creativity, or freedom. So, start by listing as many as you can. Then, prioritize this list to understand which values are most significant to you.
- Engage in Self-Discovery Exercises: Consider using self-discovery tools, such as journaling or guided reflection exercises, to explore your values further. Questions like “What matters most to me?” or “What principles guide my decisions?” can help deepen your understanding of your core values.
- Integrate Values into Daily Life: Once you’ve identified your core values, make a conscious effort to align your actions and decisions with them. See what feels right for you, values are not set in stone and can be adaptable. Regularly reassess your values and how well your life aligns with them to ensure ongoing harmony and fulfillment.
- Navigate through Therapy: Sometimes, talking to trusted friends, family, or a mentor can provide additional perspectives on your values, but this can often be biased leading to too much external influence. Speaking with a counsellor about life goals or purpose may offer insights into your qualities that align with certain values or values. These may already be present in your daily life waiting to be clarified.
While values seem to be small descriptor words, they have the power to encompass one’s identity, purpose, and continued growth in life.
By becoming aware of them. By living by your values, you aid the resilience and stability of your own mental health.
Connect with us at Rebound Total Health for accessible counselling online or in person to learn more about values and mental health. For news and educational information, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.