5 Minute Therapies #5: Security

Episode 5 of our ‘5 Minute Therapies’ guide takes us into the second tier of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – You may recall that we are using this as a model, accepting that, broadly speaking, there are some things that we need to consider & resolve before we attempt to achieve our full potential.

Doing so allows us to sequence our plans for helping you become the best you!

The second tier of Maslow’s hierarchy is generally concerned with our safety & security. The idea is that, now that we have taken care of our basic needs in the first tier such as diet & nutrition, adequate rest, etc, we must now think about the measures we need to consider to ensure our safety & security.

You might ask Why does this affect our mental health?

Well, consider the impact of someone living in a state of perpetual fear, perhaps someone experiencing some kind of abuse or someone living in circumstances which increase their vulnerability – maybe someone who lives nearby a potential environmental hazard.

This might sound dramatic and maybe you’re thinking that this would involve a minority of people. But you’d be wrong – depending on which dataset you draw from:

• Around 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men are victims of domestic abuse.
• 1 in 5 females & 1 in 10 males report being a victim of abuse as child.
• 12% of men & women believe they have been or are being stalked.

These are shocking figures and demonstrates the prevalence of these threats to our safety. However, these still constitute a minority. If we stop to consider how many of us experience environmental threats such as:

• Poor air quality & contamination
• Pesticides
• Chemicals in consumer products
• Weather & climatic conditions
• Toxic waste
• Radiation
• Disease & infection
• Work related stress

Not to sensationalise and cause you unnecessary anxiety but all of us are exposed to several of these things every day. Although we often become accustomed to these threats to our safety & security and their perceived threat level may feel diminished, the physical implications cannot be so readily ignored – You may not notice the effect of living in an area with poor air quality, but the physical toll will gradually take effect over time and the psychological impact may drift beyond your awareness since you are exposed to the threat so regularly. It may not be not until you remove yourself from the threat that you notice the difference, or until there is a noticeable health impact.

Consider how refreshed you might feel when you take a holiday. You may notice how good it feels to be free of work stresses, the freshness of sea air or a slower & more peaceful pace of life in the countryside. The physical & psychological difference is often immediately noticed.

Of course, most of us can’t spend our lives on holiday but these experiences do hint at changes we can make in our lives to limit our exposure to these threats to our safety & security.

Let’s look back at our short list of common environmental threats and consider what we can do about them:

• Poor air quality & contamination – Do you need to live & work where you do? The recent challenges presented by the global pandemic have illustrated how possible it is for many of us to work from just about anywhere.
• Pesticides – Consider what food you eat & how it is produced.
• Chemicals in consumer products – Again, consider what goods you buy & what is involved in their manufacture.
• Weather & climatic conditions – Again, do you need to live where you do? What sort of safety does your home offer you & do you have adequate clothing for the weather & climatic conditions you face.
• Toxic waste – This is a bigger issue than many of us realise. Many of the goods we regularly purchase & consume either contain toxic materials or toxic waste is generated in their manufacture. Consider what goods you buy & consume.
• Radiation – We are bathed in this all the time. In fact we depend on it to some extent. Sunlight is a good example of this. However, as much as we need sunlight, we all know that too much is bad for us. Consider common sources and learn about safe exposure.
• Disease & infection – Not in my lifetime has any period driven home the impact of exposure to disease & infection more than the impact of the global Coronavirus pandemic. In some way, this has impacted on your life whether it be by direct infection, knowing someone who has become ill, or being effected by temporary rules & regulations implemented in order to reduce infection rates.
• Work related stress – in 2020 a study found that 70% of people were experiencing work related stress, with only 30% of workers reporting a good work/life balance; And 40% of people found work related stress so bad that they thought they were at risk of burning out. Think very carefully about your work/life balance – does it feel right to you? If not, consider what you can do to change that. For example: Is it possible to negotiate your workload with your employer, or perhaps consider looking for a new role.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of potential threats to your sense of safety & security but these are common areas of concern for us all so represent a good place to start looking.

I hope by now it is apparent that your safety & security is, of course, about imminent & existential threats of danger to such as experiencing violence, but it also about the often unnoticed dangers that we are exposed to, or dangers that are so ingrained in our way of life that we often fail to notice their affect – they simply drift from our awareness.

More so, our perception of safety & security is paramount to good mental health. We need more than to be safe, we need to feel safe. Your task is to determine how this applies to you & your circumstances and make any necessary changes which will not only make life more pleasant for you but set you up for further growth as the journey of self-discovery continues.

If you would like to talk about mental health issues, whether it be for yourself or someone you know feel free to contact BroadMinds Therapy for help & advice. Call (+353) 0899420568, email help@broadmindstherapy.org , message us via this website, or visit our facebook page http://www.facebook,com/jpbroad for more information.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this article.