Ways to improve mental health

Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life. On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world. Poor mental health is also associated with rapid social change, stressful work conditions, gender discrimination, social exclusion, unhealthy lifestyle, physical ill-health and human rights violations. Mental health promotion involves actions that improve psychological well-being. This may involve creating an environment that supports mental health.

An environment that respects and protects basic civil, political, socio-economic and cultural rights is fundamental to mental health. Without the security and freedom provided by these rights, it is difficult to maintain a high level of mental health. Here are a few ways you can improve your mental health.

Check out the following resources to help you improve your mental health:

Building Mental Wellness: Your Blueprint to Thrive: https://amzn.to/2Lvq8Ve

One Day at a Time: A guided journal for mindfulness, self-care, and organization: https://amzn.to/3a15N3K

Emotional Wellness - Supports Mental Well-Being and Helps Moderate Occasional Stress: https://amzn.to/3q3Z1Q3

Become engaged and self-aware

- Always engage in learning, whether it be professional-related or for fun (a hobby). Engaging your mind in new ways helps distract you from the daily noise in your head, helps you find new ways to build confidence and feel mastery.

- Find your way to be expressive and creative, whether it be in the garden, writing, making something, cooking, drawing, dancing, etc.

- Focus on kindness — your oxytocin, the hormone of connectedness, rises, your heart rate slows and you feel more benevolent, which makes you healthier and happier.

- Your system should help you feel in control without overwhelming you. If you are forgetful, a lot of reminders might help, but if you're anxious, so many reminders could make it worse.

- Educate yourself on common signs of mental health issues so you can recognize them in yourself and others as they emerge. You won’t have to go down the lane very much before you get hint of something being wrong

Practice mindfulness

- Be curious about your emotions, especially the hard ones such as fear, anger, shame, and sadness. Ask them questions and be patient with trying to understand and learn from them.

- Accept what you feel like a feeling, not a fact. Step back and notice it, accept it, breathe, watch it move through you. Feelings are information. You have to gather quite a bit to get a useful picture.

- Set the intention to pay attention. Studies show that fa or most of us, our minds are wandering more than half of thee time and that we're unhappy while it is doing so. You can do this either from a top-down approach (by giving yourself gentle reminders to pay attention) or bottom-up (by tuning in with your senses to what it feels like in the present moment).

- Take several breaths in which the exhalations are twice as long as the inhalations. In doing so, you're activating the calming, centering parasympathetic nervous system and telling the fight-or-flight-prone sympathetic nervous system that it doesn't need to work so hard.

- Cultivate a "resourcing" practice by thinking of the things in your life that support you and make you feel cared for. Examples could include nature, a pet, an engaging hobby or music. Call these things to mind to serve as a resource during times of challenge.

- If you find yourself having a positive experience, stay with it. Really savor that experience and take it in. Since "neurons that fire together, wire together," you are using your own attention to integrate these new feeling states into your body-mind.

- Breathe. It's so simple, it's an automatic function, and yet sometimes when we're overwhelmed, we forget just how in control we are. Breathing deeply and slowly for a few minutes throughout the day can make a world of difference, and you can do so at any time/place.

Remember that self-care is important

- Make time for exercise, try to have physical movement every day. If you like sports then get into one and spend your time in the ground. Remember than physical wellbeing is really important for mental health and both cannot be separated at any cost.

- Get enough sleep — seven to nine hours is recommended for young adults and adults. Sleep not only refreshes your mind but also your reactions and responses to various conditions. A tired mind will show you worst case scenarios that don’t even exist.

- Eat healthy. You are what you eat! The nutrition that you receive impacts your thought patterns and behavior and we cant stress enough.

- It's great that you put your kids or other beloved friends and family members first, but it shouldn't be at the expense of your own emotional well-being. Find ways to take good care of yourself or "secure your mask first" before you do that for others. Your wellbeing will in turn determine how you take care of others.

Pay attention to how you communicate with others

- Find healthy ways to assert yourself. Not speaking up in productive ways can lead to bottled up emotions that will fester and leak out later on. So learn to get it all out!!

- Expressing your appreciation of others will make you happier and healthier and help you build stronger relationships. Say thank you and take actions to show your gratitude to the people you love.

- Use your phone settings to limit your time on social media. Living people need your attention and support which will give you satisfaction to beat everything. So get out there and chat with everyone you know.

Shift your mindset to positive thinking

- Remember that you are a human BEING, not a human DOING. Its ok if things don’t get done and you are stuck. It will all work out one way or another.

- Check our thoughts — we often get caught up in negative thinking without realizing it. Take the time to doubt your fears and question them as they arise – if you made a mistake at work, does this actually mean you are not smart, or do you just feel a little out of control right now? Seek evidence for times where you've proven your fear is wrong and hold those examples close to you.

- Appreciate the bigger picture. When you are able to feel gratitude or awe about your life, you can better withstand any difficulties you might face. Examples might be, what a beautiful sunset, what a tasty clementine, I love being a therapist, etc.

- Remember that behavior has meaning. Ask yourself, "What was my child or partner feeling inside when they did that?" to understand where they're coming from. Putting yourself in others place can really lift you up.

- Practice gratitude — when there are dirty dishes, be grateful for food; dirty laundry, be grateful for clothes; toys on the floor, be grateful for your children; clothes on the floor, be grateful for your partner…

- Keep a daily list of things you are proud of yourself for. It is far too easy to forget the moments throughout our week where we felt proud of ourselves — even for things like being on time or putting effort into having a nice lunch for the next day. Give yourself credit, write it all down, and look back on it later when you feel like things have become more difficult. We are far more capable than we ever give ourselves credit for.

- Before doing any self-help thing, no matter what, if you can ask yourself, "What do I know about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses, that will help me formulate a plan that works for me?" you can save yourself some enormous headache, because there is plenty of advice that only applies in certain conditions. Overcome perfectionism

- Paralyzed by what you have to accomplish? Break down big goals into smaller, manageable pieces that you can execute one step at a time. Celebrate your achievement of each step. This will encourage you to try even more

- Plagued by the critical voices in your head? Counteract these messages by starting a positivity journal. Write five positive things about yourself every day.

- Feeling overwhelmed? Practice mindful breathing for three minutes. Focus your attention on breathing from your belly instead of your chest. Pay attention to the sounds and sensations of each breath over three minutes.

Nurture your relationships

- Value and cultivate the relationships in which you can be both imperfect and loved. Take care of every need

- Stay connected. It takes effort to connect with people amidst a busy life, but taking the time to visit, have people over or send a thoughtful text is beneficial in the long run.

- Take a risk with someone you trust and share about your struggles. Be vulnerable and ask them to just listen and understand. This might get you all you might need.

- Remember that no human interactions are perfect. It is a process of "Tear and Repair" to preserve your relationships. Do not be shy of this

- Share something beautiful, especially if it doesn't cost anything, with someone else.

- Calming yourself down takes a lot of energy. Calming yourself down with the help of someone you trust takes a lot less energy. We exist in relation to other people. Without talking about relationships, we miss one wall that's holding the roof up. If you want to be mentally healthy, you should have some good friends. They will be with you in all ups and downs

- Have realistic expectations about your relationships, friendships, family connections, etc. and establish clear personal boundaries regarding what is reasonable.

- Take time for yourself as individuals and as a couple. Plan nights, take a yoga class once a week, go for a walk, etc. Make time for the activities you enjoy and for activities that help you feel closer to your partner or spouse.

- If your relationships are experiencing some road bumps, consider seeking couples therapy. Therapy can help couples strengthen their relationships, but success depends on when they come in.

Check out the following resources to help you improve your mental health:

Building Mental Wellness: Your Blueprint to Thrive: https://amzn.to/2Lvq8Ve

One Day at a Time: A guided journal for mindfulness, self-care, and organization: https://amzn.to/3a15N3K

Emotional Wellness - Supports Mental Well-Being and Helps Moderate Occasional Stress: https://amzn.to/3q3Z1Q3