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May is Mental Health Awareness Month

The month of May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.  This is a wonderful time to focus on our own mental health and to make sure our loved ones around us are doing the same.  Self-care is essential for mental health and overall well-being.  When you take care of your mental health, your physical and emotional health improves; you become more resilient; and it makes it easier to find ways to manage life stressors in a healthy and positive way.  Here are a few strategies below that you can use to maintain positive mental health - try a few and see what works for you, then put them into practice regularly.

• Get out into nature: Research indicates that being immersed in nature can help with mild depression and anxiety symptoms.  

• Connect with family or friends: This is another great way to reduce stress and even improve mental health.  We are social beings and thrive on the connection, support, love and belonging that friends, family, and our communities bring to us.  

• Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness techniques, such as breathing exercises or guided meditation, can help manage stress and anxiety.  Practicing these techniques, even for just a few minutes at the beginning or end of your day, can make a huge difference. 

• Extracurriculars: Join a book club, take a hobby related class, or enjoy live music with others.

• Spend time with your pets: Owning a pet can help to reduce stress and boost endorphins.  Pet owners may socialize and connect with other pet owners or be outside more often - both great ways to improve or maintain positive mental health.     

• Volunteer: Helping others and participating in community organizations can also be a positive boost.

• Sleep: Another critical piece to maintaining positive mental health is getting enough sleep.  

• Join a support group: Reach out and connect with others who can share strategies for getting through challenging times. 

• Eat right: Food can affect our mood.  Avoid processed foods and sugary foods.

• Exercise: Spend time each day to walk, run, bike, or whatever you can do to move your body.

• Reduce or eliminate alcohol and other substance use: Limiting the use of substances will improve your health and mental health.

• Practice self-gratitude: Being grateful for yourself, what you have, and the life around you, can promote positive thinking. 

Focusing on self-care is important because we play a part in each other’s mental wellness.  It’s up to each of us to be a lifeline, sharing in a commitment to care for ourselves and those around us.  However, you cannot be of help to others if you are not taking good care of your own mental health.  

*This information was taken from SAMHSA, see the full article here: https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/mental-health-awareness-month-time-self-care