When you think of what you need for good mental health, what do you think it encompasses? It's not just your mindset (although that is very important). Mental health includes your emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It connects to everything!
How Mental Health is Important
Mental health also helps us understand how we handle stress, relate to other people, and make our choices. Your mental health is so important and it effects so many different aspects in your life. We know that life has its challenges. Change happens, friendships come and go, jobs can either excite you or exhaust you, and the world is ever changing. It can sometimes feel like life is coming at you in all different angles, all at once. It's important to strive for the positive and practice having a healthy mental state through it all.
Positive Mental Health
Living in a positive mental health space can result in such a fruitful and happy attitude. Here are some ways to make mental health positive:
- Help you cope with stress in your life
- Understand how to minimize anxiety / panic
- Can help you realize your full potential
- Increase your work productivity
- Help you feel more in control of your emotions
- Give you a better mindset / perspective
There are great steps you can take to help you practice and develop a healthier mental mindset.
Talking to a professional
There is no shame in asking for help and there are hundreds of thousands of people who are professionally equipped in guiding you through your questions, thoughts and concerns. Sometimes you just need to vent to someone about all the things happening in your life and in your mind. It's also nice to hear from a person who can listen to your heart and have zero judgement! Again, there is no shame in asking for help; only relief.
Mental Health and Exercise
Did you know that staying physically active could help you improve your mental health? Exercise can help reduce anxiety, depression, and negative moods. It can also improve your self-esteem and cognitive function. Sometimes it can feel like a really large commitment to join a gym - so start small! Baby steps are still progress. Go for a walk twice a day for fifteen minutes! And if it's rainy, allow yourself sometime to stretch and practice some deep breathing. A little can go a very long way.
Mental Health and Sleep
Sleep is so healthy for your brain! It allows your mind to flip the "off" switch and allow yourself to rest. Giving yourself more rest will essentially give your brain more room to think. REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) helps your brain sort through and process emotional information. The brain works to evaluate and remember your memories and thoughts. With lack of sleep, you can harm the consolidation of your thoughts, memories and even positive emotional content. AKA, you aren't able to address your emotions correctly and you tend to react in different moods/emotions than you would normally. Sleep is important!
Mental Health and Community
Being around friends, family, or a community of people who can relate to you will help you have a sense of belonging. It's also reassuring to have someone relate to your situation so that you don't feel alone. Having a community offers positive mental health benefits and it increases your amount of support, motivation, understanding, and encouragement.
Is Journaling good for Mental Health?
Don't be a bottle full of steam that's about to blow; it's time to release some pressure. Journaling is another great way to sort all of your thoughts and feelings. By writing everything down, you're almost giving something else the permission to carry the weight and not you. Journaling can also help you walk through how you're actually feeling and reflect the "why?" behind your emotions. You may also pick up some patterns in your day-to-day journal entries that might be worth changing or eliminating for a healthier life style!
We want you to WIN in life. We want you to feel empowered to tackle any adversity that might come your way and establish a positive mental health so that you know how to handle any and every situation. Please know that you are not alone.
Mental health is important and everyone has some kind of struggle they are working through. Help is available.
Mental health problems are common and help is always available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.
It's always good to be aware of your emotions and to be observant for friends or family around you. Here is a list of feelings or behaviors that can be early warning signs of a problem (if you're doing one or more):
Eating or sleeping too much or too little
Pulling away from people and usual activities
Having low or no energy
Feeling numb or like nothing matters
Having unexplained aches and pains
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
Yelling or fighting with family and friends
Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head
Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
Thinking of harming yourself or others
Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school
Get Help
Again, help is always available and there are lots of resources to help you get a handle on things.
Here are some extra resources:
National Alliance on Mental Health
They are available to talk at any time and can provide best practices, advice and extra resources.
Great resource on how to start conversations around mental health. From new parents and young adults, to educators and community leaders.
Another great resource where you can talk to someone at anytime.
Affordable therapy that can be done remote. Have a relationship with a professional who can help you walk through your struggles.
If you or if you know someone who is struggling and is considering suicide as an option, please call this number immediately. 24/7 support where someone can hear your heart and guide you through great next steps. You are not alone.