One of the most common - and damaging - mistakes that people make is assuming that they don’t need to do anything for their own mental health. If you find yourself thinking that, because you might not have been diagnosed with a specific illness, that means you don’t need to worry - then you need to change your approach somewhat. The fact of the matter is that everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even if it is also true that some need to do so more than others. If you are unsure what this entails, don’t worry - in this article, we have put together some of the most vital things that you need to think about doing in your life, to ensure that you are taking care of yourself mentally. As long as you do these, you should find that you are happier, and healthier of mind in general.
Stress Management
Stress really is a killer. Not only does it cause and exacerbate any number of physical illnesses and diseases, it also worsens any mental problems which an individual might have, and again can even bring them on in the first place. The more that you are able to manage your stress, therefore, the more likely it is that you will be looking after your mind properly. Stress management really is one of the most powerful tools that you have in keeping your mental health in check, so anything you can do to manage your stress is going to be worth your while.
There are so many approaches to this, but the best are those which focus primarily on avoiding stress arising in the first place. You can do a lot to keep the balance of your stress from coming up if you take up a daily meditation practice. Whatever you think of meditation, it’s worth giving it a go. You might find that it is surprising how much it does for you, and even just ten minutes of it a day can be enough to keep your stress demons at bay much more easily. Even if you don’t want to meditate, learning a few simple breathing exercises can often be enough to rid your body and mind of accumulated stress in the moment, so that is worth looking into too.
The best approach, of course, is to try and build a lifestyle which avoids stress as much as possible in the first place. Don’t think that stress is somehow worthy or noble or a sign of a good worker - see it as the disease it is, and do whatever you can to keep it out of your life. If you have the freedom to build a mostly stress-free life, then you should absolutely grasp that opportunity with both hands. Work fewer hours if necessary, spend more time on your leisure activities - whatever it takes to keep that stress from damaging you physically and mentally in the long run.
Sleep
You don’t really appreciate what sleep does for you until you fail to get enough of it, and then it becomes alarmingly clear how vital it is to get enough sleep night after night. Even just a few nights of skipped or reduced sleep can drastically alter your mood and your hormone regulation. It can also easily make any existing mental condition much worse. This is as true for depression and anxiety as it is for schizophrenia or other serious illnesses. So it is in your mental health’s interests that you are able to get enough sleep night after night, and anything you can do to make that more likely is going to be a wise move to make.
One of the best ways in which you can ensure you get more sleep is to make your sleeping environment much more comfortable. Everything from the light level to mattress sizes is likely to affect your ability to sleep, so it’s important that you make a point of paying attention to all these details as best as you can. If you hope to sleep better, you should also go to bed earlier, and make sure that you try to avoid using screens in the evening (this will also help your mental health in other ways, as discussed below). Finally, get into the habit of having some kind of a routine for your bedtime, as that makes it much more likely that you will get to sleep more effectively.
The more sleep you get, the better off you are metnally, so this is definitely something to work on as best as you can.
Social Life
Being social is a hugely important part of taking care of your mental health. We are social creatures, and even if you are naturally an introvert who doesn’t need much in the way of a social life, you need to get the amount that is right for you. Nobody does better with absolutely nobody than with at least an occasional social function. If that means joining a club or going out somewhere, then you should make a point of doing so. If it is frightening, feel free to take baby steps, but be aware that you should aim to improve and increase your social life as best as you can along the way. The more time you spend with others, the more that you can feel good about yourself, so this is hugely important.
It is worth noting here that spending time on social media does not count as socializing. In fact, not only that, but looking at screens a lot is bound to make your mental health much worse off. You will be amazed at how much happier and less depressed and anxious you become once you step away from social media, in particular. This is an aim that we should all have in order to be healthier of mind, and it’s something that you should consider working on today.
Take care of these things, and you will find that looking after your mental health is much easier and simpler than you might have thought.
i never know the use of adobe shadow until i saw this post. thank you for this! this is very helpful. mental daily
ReplyDelete