Mental Health is the most important thing you can maintain and improve as it is linked to every aspect of your life.
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. It is important to understand the impact of mental health awareness from a young age and to get rid of the negative stigma surrounding it. If more people openly talk about how they feel the community to will evolve to one that is built on trust and kindness.
Ways to look after your mental health
There are a multitude of ways to improve your mental well-being, here is a list of ways and some tools you can use to improve yourself one day at a time.
Keep track of the things you are grateful for.
Try keeping a journal or take a mental note of things you are grateful for throughout the day as well as things you accomplished, this will help make your days feel more clear and organised while keeping reminders of the things you appreciate.
Disconnect from the internet
It's hard to disconnect from social media in the world we live in but it's very important to take a break every now and then. Taking time offline can promote mindfulness, allow you to fully relax and make you more connected to the present moment. Picking up a book and starting to read more often is a great way to disconnect and be fully immersed away from the internet.
Practicing Mindfulness
Being more present and aware of the moment is a very important skill to promoting healthier habits and improving your life. A very effective and well known practice to improve your mindfulness is meditation. Meditation can seem daunting for people who have never tried it but its easier than it seems. Meditation is just being aware of the present moment and the more you practice and develop it as a skill the better you will be able to handle your anxiety in stressful situations.
Benefits of meditation
Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations.
Building skills to manage your stress.
Increasing self-awareness.
Focusing on the present.
Reducing negative emotions.
Increasing imagination and creativity.
Increasing patience and tolerance.
Physical activity
Physical activity is a great way to increase your mental health as it provides a goal to aim for and a sense of purpose. getting in the habit of exercising regularly can provide you with more focus and motivation in your daily life. If you can, exercise with other people, doing exercise with a friend can add structure and make it less likely for either of you to give up. Also try to use the outdoors as much as possible, Research shows that being in nature can make us feel happier, feel our lives are more worthwhile, and reduce our levels of depression and anxiety.
Practice forgiveness
It might be hard to let go of a grudge but learning to forgive will promote a better mental state and help you to be more satisfied with your life. The only person that is affected by holding onto a petty grudge is yourself.
Try Something new!
Try something outside of your comfort zone to make room for adventure and excitement in your life. You could try learning a new skill like an instrument. Its challenging starting from the ground up but also satisfying when you can see the progress towards a new skill.
"The master has failed more times than the beginner has tried"
These are a few ways you can keep your mental health in check and to be more aware of the importance of it.
There are many different ways and techniques you can use but these are a good starting point for anyone looking to begin working towards living a better and healthier life. Spreading information about your own health and listening to other people is the most effective way to spread the message of mental health awareness. It's something everyone deals with and shouldn't be stigmatized, the more people that are open when they're struggling and aren't afraid of talking about it will greatly improve the way we see and treat mental health.