Over years, several notions are known to be believed about mental health, but very few people understand that mental health is not just mental disorders or illness like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder. It includes and is affected by several other factors – emotional, psychological, social well-being as well as spiritual health, each factor contributes in making of a healthy mind. Our ability to think, feel, make decisions and act are all affected by the state of our mind.
Taking care of your mental health at every stage of your life is vital. Biological factors, family history, life experiences, surroundings, everything plays a role in determining your mental health and hence it’s important to constantly keep improving all these aspects of our life.
Here are a few habits, if inculcated in our day to day life, will help you feel better, live a better life and even reduce the risk of mental illness.
Following a healthy lifestyle
Nothing helps you live a balanced life better than following a healthy lifestyle. Proper diet, adequate exercise and healthy choices don’t just play a part in the betterment of our physical health but also directly impact our mental health. Working out helps release endorphins in the body, which helps in boosting our mood and making us feel happy. Excess consumption of sugar, oil and other unhealthy food items increases the risk of depression and therefore a healthy lifestyle is the first step towards good mental health.
Adequate and sound sleep
Getting sound and adequate sleep every day is extremely important for good mental health. Many people begin experiencing symptoms of mental disorders due to lack of sleep. Sleep is not just restorative but also helps your body find balance and relax after all the wear and tear it undergoes every day. Slipping into a cosy, warm shower before sleep and keeping the room minimally lit and absolutely silent helps the onset of a healthy sleep cycle. For people suffering from insomnia or have difficulty in falling asleep quickly, it’s best to keep your phone or other electronic gadgets away an hour before bedtime.
Mindfulness
Increasing mindfulness helps manage stress better and helps you remain calm in situations that would usually evoke panic or make you anxious. Different mindfulness practices impact different people in varied manners, while meditation works the best for some, spending some peaceful time with nature or in isolation helps others. Augmenting mindfulness helps you live in the present and feel grateful in life without letting other unnecessary and insignificant factors affect you.
Disconnect yourself
It is important to disconnect from social media and the world that resides in our phone for some time every single day. This time helps you connect to yourself and discover your true inner self. Journaling is a very healthy practice if followed routinely, instead of mindlessly scrolling on social media. It helps you keep track of your thoughts and align them better.
Such an insightfil read!
Agree with all the points. At the end of day person should analyse himself which can help in improving his nature