Mental health is significantly more than a diagnosis. It deals with your psychological wellbeing, which means looking for treatment or expert help, as well as it implies finding a way to enhance your emotional wellbeing all alone.
Everyone experience a certain level of mental health challenge in his life. Whatever the reason may be, a disappointment around career choices, loaded schedule, grief from the loss of a loved one or frustration.
Here is a list that you can do every day to take better care of your mental wellbeing-
1. Eat healthy
There is a direct relationship between what we eat and how we feel. Good mental health
mainly depends on our physical health.
What we consume directly affects our mental health. Eating healthy food will aid you to achieve good mental health and disease-free life. Some foods that are good for our mental health–like avocados, eggs, bananas, and fatty fish. Healthy food help protect our brain against declines that can lead to mental health issues.
2. Take sufficient sleep and rest
According to research, lack of sleep has a critical negative impact on your state of mind. Enough sleep and rest are imperative to have better mental health. A peaceful night's sleep of 7-8 hours is sufficient for overcoming all-day stress. Rest is critically needed as it assists get back the energy lost while executing your daily tasks.
3. Talk About Your Feelings
There is a lot of impact on our mental health because we are not expressing our feelings to others. These emotions eventually manifest and explode in the form of mental breakdowns or panic attacks. Learn how to deal with emotions healthily. Build your support system of family, friends, or co-workers that you can talk to after an enormous day. If you're dealing with any specific issues, it might also help you join a support group and discuss your problems with people suffering from similar ones.
4. Exercise daily
Just consuming healthy food is not sufficient to improve our mental health.
We should exercise daily. It helps to reduce stress by releasing neurotransmitters, building self-esteem, bringing more positivity and confidence. Exercise and meditation help one be more energized and, more importantly, give good sleep, which ultimately decreases the level of stress and depression in our body.
5. Limit alcohol, caffeine, drugs
Consuming alcohol, drugs or caffeine, etc., seems to increase mental illness, studies, and some mechanisms have back fried and worsened people's health. When you use caffeine, you feel energetic, but it drops your insulin levels, making you feel confused and depressed. Regular consumption of alcohol leads to alcoholism and worsens anxiety and depression. Too much alcohol will leave you hungover and tired the next day, hardly the solution to put you in a happier place.
6. Maintaining a daily Journal
Whether it's dreaming of possibilities for your future or ranting or cataloguing a particular day, journaling is a self-care self-activity that is also a great way to improve mental health.
Journaling brings us the same amount of joy as an adult, helps us take stock of our emotions, and makes us feel lighter. The mere process of emptying your scattered thoughts onto a paper will feel cathartic, which will end up making you feel calmer. Maintaining a daily journal will also help you keep a log of your moods and help you keep track of your fluctuating moods.
7. Give some time for your hobbies
Doing something that you love is a great way to improve your mental health. A hobby that you love to do also connects you with other people who enjoy the similar. One of the essential parts is enjoying yourself. It will be possible when you are doing what you love. When we are deeply involved in the task, we are interested in it, and our mind focuses only on that. It helps reduce stress and tension and improves mental health, and sometimes provides a physical outlet.
8. Take a break from social media
It's not a secret or surprise that social media can be toxic. Just try to put that phone away for a day and see what a positive impact it has. Once try to do dopamine detox, it can have a profound effect on you. By avoiding social media for a day, you can improve your mental health.
9. Gratitude
When you are going through a difficult time, it can be hard to think of the good things going on—being grateful for the things that we are blessed with, from the little things to the most significant. Be thankful for what you have. Be happy for the things that you have, no matter how small they are.
10. Listening to music
Listening to music causes the release of dopamine, a feel-good neurochemical that can lead to feelings of pleasure. You can enjoy the freedom of serotine and dopamine, cancelling out cortisol. There is a stress reduction, and feelings of control can make you feel more hopeful and powerful. It makes you feel better.
11. Enjoy the outdoors
Take a nature walk, spend time watching flowers, trees, plants, shrubs. You will be amazed by the display of colours and textures. Take some time to listen to the birds; when we talk or think, we miss out on many beautiful aspects of nature.
Nature is called to lower blood pressure and reduce stress hormones in our bodies. There is a fascinating science in nature that benefits both our mental and physical health. Spending time in nature is a form of self-care that improves mental health by slowing down and relieving stress.
12. Take A Break
Most people have a terrible habit of working hard without taking breaks. They work through lunch breaks, work for years without going on vacation. When we stress ourselves, it affects our brain, stops functioning normally, and our productivity takes a massive hit. Worrying about a problem is not a solution for that, but taking a break certainly will. Give a break to your mind from stress and do something to distract yourself for a short period. It will help you freshen your ideas, and you might come up with a solution to the problem.
Written By-
Harini Mothe
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