10 Ways To Look After Your Mental Health

Written by Vinaya Ranade.

Human Mind is one of the most powerful tools. It has the power and ability to remind us of good, soar to possibilities or to take us down a black hole and block all of our abilities. A person’s point of view creates his reality. The mind is our most powerful ally and having a healthy mind and good mental health will leverage in living an incredible life.

Today, our lives are fast-paced and we have a 24/7 work-life culture, many people have multiple jobs and increased working hours. The overuse of social media everyday platforms leads to continuous bombarding of information to the mind.

These are only some of the daily threats to our mental health. In these times we tend to ignore and take our mental health for granted when in reality protecting and strengthening of our mental health could not be more important.

Mental health can be best defined based on how we deal with our everyday challenges. A person with good mental health can cope better with the daily challenges whereas being mentally unhealthy can make everyday functioning difficult.

The mental health of a person not only affects the person alone but also the people around him. Mental health is a major factor affecting a person’s relationships, achievements and even physical health. However, life doesn’t pull it’s punches hence here are some simple and easy ways to look after your mental health.

Accept who you are-Value yourself

Every person is different. It is definitely healthier to accept that each person is unique rather than trying to be someone else. Self-acceptance that is a person’s acceptance of his or her own positive and negative attributes is necessary.

Self-acceptance is the first step towards self-improvement. Most of the people tend to have low self-acceptance and try to fit into a box created by society. It can be a slow process but self-acceptance also helps to increase the self-esteem of a person.

Achieving greater things in life cannot boost self-acceptance. However, learning to focus on our strengths is most important. It is important to valve yourself more than trying to seek it from others. Treating self with respect and kindness is most essential in today’s world.

Feel The Rush

It is necessary to do things that we like. Discovering new hobbies and being creative helps the brain to be calm and deal with stress. We have Endorphin these are chemicals produced by the brain which are believed to relieve pain. Adventures activities like rock climbing or leisurely activities such as meditation, swim, exercise and even a brisk walk can stimulate the release of endorphin. The release of endorphin can vary from person to person. So just enjoying what we do and feeling the rush naturally will help to improve mental health.

Feeling Stressed? Smile

Stress is a part of our life. So dealing with it and finding your own way to cope with it is necessary. Having an active lifestyle surely helps in dealing with everyday stress. Regular exercise, walk or practising meditation and other relaxation techniques can help deal with stress.

Just enjoying your favourite hobby and nurturing creative self can effectively reduce stress. A smile is the best stress buster. After all, laughter is the best medicine. Hence one needs to just find ways to manage stress and increase the relaxation response.

Talk About It

Talking about your problems, worries can help to maintain good mental health. Opening up to someone can help manage stress effectively and sometimes may even help in changing perspective. Surrounding self with good people can improve a person’s mental health.

It is always essential to be in touch with friends and family. Hence one must always keep the lines of communication open.

Break Up With The Monotony

Routines make us efficient but are tedious and at times can be the causes of stress. Monotonous lifestyle can sometimes cause tension and restlessness. Altering and making small changes in daily routines can help in dealing with such stress.

Even small changes like a jog on a new path, trying out new restaurants, making new friends, road trips can perk up a tedious schedule.

Aim High-But Be Realistic

We often tend to dream a lot and set our goals high. Each person wants to achieve a lot of academically, socially and even financially. The setting of high goals and not being able to achieve them can lead to depression or a sense of failure.

Hence it is a must to set goals that are realistic and work on them every day. Developing and achieving even small goals causes a tremendous sense of accomplishment and helps increase self-worth. Hence it is necessary to have realistic goals and stay on track to achieve them.

Right Intake

Food intake consequences are not limited only to taste buds. Right food choices are not just important for physical fitness but also for mental fitness. For good mental health, an increase in products like fresh produce, fish, nuts and whole grains must be increased in the diet and a reduction in intake of sugar and fats is recommended. The mind requires a mix of proper nutrients, proteins and vitamins. Good eating habits are even recommended by mental health experts

Mindfulness

Mindfulness refers to being in the present and not dwelling on the past or being in a constant worry about the future. Mindfulness originates from Buddhist meditation principles. It is self-awareness training. Mindful refers to paying full attention to things going on in the present.

It is a very effective way of dealing with depression and helps to be fully aware of the surroundings. It keeps the mind positive and surely effective to maintain good mental health.

Avoid Self Medication

Sometimes people use alcohol and drugs to self medicate. These habits only lead to increasing of the problems rather than curing them. Self-medication may seem effective for a shorter time period but can cause long-lasting damages on a persons mental as well as physical health. Therefore it is necessary to stay away from such self-medicating techniques.

Ask For Help

Seeking help is a sign of strength — not a weakness. And it is important to remember that treatment is effective. For example, visiting a mental health center to receive treatment for trauma in luxury surroundings can provide a supportive environment for healing, ensuring an individual receives the help they need in order to heal and get their life back on track. People who get appropriate care can recover from mental illness and addiction and lead full and rewarding lives.

Finally, I would like to say that whether we have a mental illness or know someone who has any mental health issue we need to care about mental health. Spreading awareness and making mental health a priority is a must. After all mental health is all we have.

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Vinaya Ranade a contributor at The Strong Traveller. Currently, apart from pursuing an undergraduate degree in Instrumentation engineering, she loves writing and is a keen learner.

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