Your mental health influences how you think, feel and behave in daily life. It also affects your ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, and recover from life’s setbacks and hardships. Whether you’re looking to cope with a specific mental health problem, handle your emotions better, or simply to feel more positive and energetic, there are plenty of ways to take control of your mental health.
Mental health refers to your overall psychological well-being. It encompasses the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties.
Being mentally or emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues. Rather than the absence of mental illness, mental health refers to the presence of positive characteristics.
People who are mentally healthy have
These positive characteristics of mental and emotional health allow you to participate in life to the fullest extent possible through productive, meaningful activities and strong relationships. These positive characteristics also help to cope during adversity.
Having mental or emotional problems is not farfetched and it happens to the best of us. It does not have to be as severe as psychosis. Anything that causes maladjustments to us is a problem. Yet, despite how common mental health problems are, many of us make no effort to improve our situation.
We ignore the emotional messages that tell us something is wrong and try ‘toughing’ it out by distracting ourselves even with distractive behaviors. We bottle up our problems in the hope that others won’t notice. We hope that our situation will eventually improve on its own.
Luckily for you, there are practices you can adopt to elevate your mood, become more resilient, and enjoy life more. Just as it requires effort to build and maintain physical health, so it is with mental health. We have to work harder these days to ensure strong mental health, simply because there are so many ways that life takes a toll on our emotional well-being.
No matter how much time you devote to improving your mental and emotional health, you will still need the company of others to feel and function at your best. Remember, no man is self-sufficient, nor an island. Humans are social creatures with emotional needs for relationships and positive connections to others. We’re not meant to survive, let alone thrive, in isolation. Being physically present with someone is the greatest form of connection. A person that is good for you.
2. Get more active
Getting and staying active is as good for the brain as it is for the body. The mind and the body are intrinsically linked. When you improve your physical health, you’ll automatically experience greater mental health.
3. learn how to keep your stress levels in check
Stress takes a heavy toll on mental and emotional health, so it’s important to keep it under control. While not all stressors can be avoided, stress management strategies can help you bring things into balance. You can keep stress levels in check by talking to a friendly face, appealing to your senses, make leisure time a priority, making time for contemplation and appreciation
4. eat a brain-healthy diet to support strong mental health
Unless you’ve tried to change your diet in the past, you may not be aware of how much of what you eat and don’t eat affect the way you think and feel. An unhealthy diet can take a toll on your brain and mood, disrupt your sleep, sap your energy, and weaken your immune system. Switching to a wholesome diet, low in sugar and rich in healthy fats, can give you more energy, improve your sleep and mood.
5. find purpose and meaning in life
Everyone derives meaning and purpose in different ways that involve benefitting others, as well as yourself. You may think of it as a way to feel needed, feel good about yourself, a purpose that drives you on, or simply a reason to get out of bed in the morning. In biological terms, finding meaning and purpose is essential to brain health as it can help generate new cells.