Why You Should Monitor Your Mental Health As Frequently As Possible

Why You Should Monitor Your Mental Health As Frequently As Possible

Mental health is not just something to “check in on” when life becomes unbearable. It is the ongoing emotional, psychological, and even physical state that influences how you think, feel, and behave. Just as we brush our teeth daily or pay attention to physical symptoms like a sore throat or persistent cough, we must also consistently monitor our inner world.

This is especially critical for Black individuals, many of whom live under the weight of compounded generational trauma, systemic injustice, and inherited suffering—realities that can trace their origins to the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, and biblically foretold oppression. Deuteronomy 28 outlines a pattern of curses that would befall the true Israelites for turning away from divine instruction. These include displacement, familial breakdown, economic hardship, and psychological affliction—conditions that disproportionately afflict Black communities worldwide.

As Dr. Gabor Maté puts it in The Myth of Normal, “For people of color, especially those descended from enslaved peoples or colonized nations, trauma is not the exception but the rule.”

The Power of Self-Inquiry: Ask Yourself, "How Do I Feel?"

It sounds simple—almost too simple—but regularly asking yourself “How do I feel?” is one of the most powerful tools for emotional regulation and self-awareness. Not in a flippant or rhetorical way, but with intention. Pause. Breathe. Ask, “What am I carrying today that I haven’t named?”

In the chaos of daily life, we become conditioned to suppress our emotions. Many of us function in survival mode—moving from one task to the next without checking in. But what gets ignored emotionally doesn’t disappear. It festers.

By asking yourself how you feel and giving yourself the space to answer honestly—even if the answer is “I don’t know”—you’re building emotional literacy. You’re saying: “I matter. My internal world matters. I am not ignoring myself.”

Journaling: Your Mirror to the Soul

This is where journaling becomes invaluable. Writing down your thoughts is not just venting—it’s reflecting, untangling, and understanding.

You may notice that you keep coming back to the same anxiety-provoking thoughts. Certain themes may appear again and again: fear of abandonment, insecurity in relationships, feeling not good enough, guilt, or shame. These patterns aren’t random—they’re clues. The journal becomes your mirror. You begin to track the repetition. And repetition is often the symptom of unprocessed trauma.

Is This Trauma? Looking for the Root

Trauma isn’t always a dramatic event like abuse or a car accident. According to Dr. Gabor Maté, trauma is “not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happened to you.” In other words, trauma is the wound you carry, often invisibly.

If certain thoughts cause you disproportionate fear or anxiety, ask: Where did this start? Can it be traced back to a moment in childhood? Perhaps you always felt you had to earn love by achieving. Or you learned to stay quiet to avoid rejection. Or maybe you feared your emotions because expressing them led to punishment or neglect.

Explore your relationship with your parents. Not to assign blame, but to understand the environment you emotionally adapted to. Were you allowed to cry? Were your needs validated? Did you feel safe being authentic, or did you become a version of yourself that was acceptable to others?

These questions open the door to healing—not by wallowing in the past, but by seeing it clearly.

For many Black individuals, these traumas are not merely personal—they are generational. The lingering effects of slavery, segregation, discrimination, and social marginalization are traumatic stressors passed down like an inheritance. Understanding this inheritance through the lens of biblical prophecy adds depth to the healing process.

Maté writes, “When historical trauma remains unacknowledged or unprocessed, its imprint reverberates across generations. It hides in our coping mechanisms, our immune responses, our relational habits.” This is exactly what we see in the emotional realities many Black people carry today.

Forgiveness With Boundaries

Forgiveness does not mean excusing harmful behavior or pretending it never happened. It means releasing yourself from the internal prison of resentment. But just as important is this: forgiveness without boundaries is self-betrayal.

You can forgive someone for the role they played in your pain and still choose not to give them full access to your life. Monitoring your mental health means recognizing who contributes positively to your peace and who repeatedly violates it.

Sometimes the most loving thing you can say is, “I forgive you, but I need distance.”

Suppression is a Slow Poison

What happens when we suppress rather than express? When we push down emotions like grief, anger, sadness, fear, or shame?

Dr. Gabor Maté explains this in great depth. He shows how suppression of emotion—especially chronic suppression—manifests physically. He writes extensively about the mind-body connection, showing how unresolved emotional wounds contribute to chronic illness, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and more.

The body keeps score.

“When we are prevented from expressing our authentic selves, the result is disease,” Maté explains. And for many Black people, this prevention isn’t internal—it’s imposed by society, culture, and even trauma-informed upbringing.

When you silence yourself to avoid confrontation, the stress doesn't go away—it gets internalized. Cortisol levels rise. Inflammatory responses increase. Your nervous system stays on alert. Over time, this becomes the breeding ground for disease.

Monitoring your mental health means preventing your body from becoming a container for your pain. It means giving yourself permission to feel—so that what’s inside of you doesn’t turn against you.

Final Thoughts: Frequent Check-ins Are Preventative, Not Reactive

You don't have to wait for a breakdown to start caring about your mental health. In fact, frequent mental check-ins are a form of emotional hygiene. Just like you don’t wait for your teeth to fall out before brushing them, you shouldn’t wait for a mental collapse to start reflecting on your emotional wellbeing.

So ask yourself every day:

• How am I feeling right now?

• What thoughts keep showing up uninvited?

• What do I need that I’ve been ignoring?

• Where do I feel tension in my body?

• What would it feel like to be at peace today?

  
  

Then write it down. Journal it. Speak it out loud. Share it with someone you trust. Reflect on your upbringing. Forgive where necessary. Create healthy boundaries. Honor your story. Your mind and body are deeply connected—and your mental health deserves your full attention, as often as possible.

Especially if you are part of a people who have been historically broken down and scattered, yet prophetically chosen and called to rise.

Because you’re not just surviving. You’re meant to live—and be restored.