Boost up Mental Health

Connecting with your maker

A CEO of a local stress management company said a relationship with God is key to optimizing mental health.

Outsmart Stress Founder and CEO Santuzza Wolff said only a relationship with God can secure the peace, pleasure and wellbeing many are desperately seeking in these tough times.

While there are short-term “cures” for boosting mental health – such as medication – Wolff explained there are simply no quick fixes for obtaining something so fundamental to life: identity. Specifically, identity as a member of God’s family.

“God has created me in His image and I have a purpose,” said Wolff.

Wolff teaches her clients how to get grounded in their God-given identity by reading their bible daily. This helps her clients hear what God says about them and gives them “a strong picture of who God created them to be.”

Wolff talked about how reading the objective truth of God strengthens her own sense of self and purpose.

“The plans He has for me…I’m going find out by digging into the Word of God. How does He see me? How do I see myself? Or do I see myself based on what the world is telling me? But what does He say? That helps me get a strong self-portrait.”

Wolff explained how she builds daily on the foundation on Jesus, the cornerstone of the Christian faith. “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘see, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.’” Isaiah 28:16

“So I got up this morning and I sing worship music and dance in the presence of God in the privacy of my own home. In doing so, I know my mental health is bordered, protected and stabilized. Because it builds on the foundation (of God).”

She likens the process to that of construction.

“It’s important to know where your foundation is. And if your foundation is unstable, how will you go forward? Build on your foundation block by block.”

Wolff believes this daily practise helps her deal with uncertainty in a chaotic world.

“If I go away to walk a different path, not on the foundation…it is going to be sinking ground.”

Faith is also a common theme in Wolff’s approach.

“Am I walking by faith? Or by sight? If I’m walking on the path with a firm foundation, then I know it’s going to be stable, it’s going to be safe, it’s going to be healthy, it’s going be guided by Him.”

“By walking it out with the guarantees that I have in the Word of God…it makes me stronger each and every day.”

She also said we need to be “willing to step into the space of grace” that God gives us in relationship. That He can do a good work in His children if they cooperate with Him.

“I remember when my daughter was learning to walk. She took a couple of steps and then fell backwards. But she got up and tried it again with my support. It’s the same with us and God.”

Wolff insists we need to “accept the process rather than bypass it.”

“He will walk me through it. With me. Supporting me. Covering me. Leading me,” she said.

For more information about building a customized wellness plan for you, contact Outsmart Stress today by calling 403-805-5626, or email info@outsmartstress.ca.