Why is Mental Health Important?
To understand the answer to this, it’s important to know what mental health is, the areas of your life that it impacts and how you can achieve it.
Many of us tend to neglect our mental health until it starts to affect us physically. It’s important to be aware of your warning signs and pay attention to the state of your mind.
By simply becoming more aware of what mental health is, you can avoid slipping into poor state of mind as often as you may have in the past.
What is Mental Health
Mental health refers to how you are coping with various life experiences that come your way.
When you’re in a good state of mental health, you’ll be able to deal with both positive and negative events that come your way in daily life.
Being in good mental health does not mean that you’re never upset, annoyed or experience irritation. It is simply how good and “fortified” you are when dealing with day to day issues (both positive and negative).
If you’re experiencing poor mental health, your ability to deal with things appropriately will be failing. You may negatively overreact, or feel overwhelmed and defeated by something that wouldn’t otherwise make you feel that way.
Why is Mental Health Important?
It is the base from which our life develops. If we neglect our mental health we won’t be able to achieve our fullest potential with our goals, relationships, careers or even our own personal fulfillment.
Making mental health a priority is also helpful for avoiding potentially developing disorders from underlying causes.
While most people who suffer with mental health disorders typically develop them by early adulthood, it is possible to develop them later in life as well.
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Symptoms of Mental Health Issues
There are several symptoms and signs that someone may be struggling with their mental health.
As we discussed in this earlier article on Comparing Mental and Emotional Health many of the same symptoms may be seen with those struggling with either mental or emotional health.
Here are a few of the most common symptoms that can help clue you in if someone you love is struggling with…
Irritability
If every little thing seems to irritate you, it may be time for a mental health check-up. Becoming irritable over little things is a negative response to events in your life.
The truth is that there is an underlying reason why you lash out inappropriately. You could be physically fatigued and your brain simply cannot cope with all of your responsibilities.
Similarly, you could be experiencing burnout and have no energy to deal with any stressor of any size.
Depression
While some people are diagnosed with depression, it’s normal for those not diagnosed to experience depression from time to time as well.
Personally, I find that I briefly get depressed if I’m working too much or if my sleep has been suffering.
Lack of Interest
This can be a sub symptom of depression but it can also exist by itself. When you’re in poor mental and emotional health, you may find yourself not caring about your work or hobbies as you typically do.
Excessive Crying
While there are plenty of reasons where crying is a healthy reaction, sometimes it’s a sign that your mental/emotional health is not up to par.
Crying is a great outlet for stress and if you’re crying all the time, it might be time to take your body’s hint that you need to take some time to rest and reset yourself.
Poor Hygiene
If someone you care about always seems “put together” and all of a sudden they seem to stop caring about their appearance and hygiene, they may be struggling with their mental health.
This is also a symptom of depression and is a typical symptom with people under a lot of stress.
It’s important to be aware that some people hide their symptoms.
We’ve all heard of a tragedy that happens when someone takes their own life because their mental and emotional health is so extreme, yet no one had a clue that they were suffering.
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How to Achieve Mental Health
Understanding why mental health is important and some of the symptoms is a great way to become more aware of your own state of mind.
Knowing a few helpful tips that could help you achieve mental health will push you to the next level of your journey.
I’d like to break it up by practices that can help you achieve good mental health and daily habits for healthy maintenance.
They’re very similar and can be interchangeable, however, I find that some have suited me better for when I’m in a good state of mind and just need to maintain that as opposed to when I’m mentally unwell and need a boost to get to a better state of mind.
Here are a few top tips that have been known to help people achieve and maintain good mental health.
To Achieve Good Mental Health…
Take a Mental Health Day
Picking yourself up and moving toward your mental health goals will be much easier if you have some time to focus on yourself.
While you can achieve a healthy state of mind working around your schedule with daily practices, having a day off will jumpstart your progress. Plan for your day off in advance and make sure you have everything you need to reset yourself.
Eat Healthy/Exercise
Question: What’s the last thing you feel like doing when your mental health is in the garbage?
Survey says: Ditching the junk food and going for a run!
All joking aside, it’s true! Your brain is craving a quick fix for endorphins and unfortunately in today’s world that often translates to fast food pick-up on the way home and spending the night on the couch.
While there is nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence and much deserved relaxation, the reasons and circumstances in which you do it can make or break it’s justification.
Believe me! I know just how hard it is to opt for a healthy dinner when all you want to do is gorge on junk food.
Or how hard it is to get yourself outside for an evening run instead of snuggling under your favorite blanket on the couch in front of Netflix all night.
It takes discipline but even more so, self love! When talking about achieving a good state of mind, self love is not all bubble baths and yoga (although those are great options for daily self-care).
What we need is some good old fashioned discipline and the drive to achieve the best version of ourselves possible.
Practicing discipline by choosing a healthier diet and exercising regularly will significantly help you progress toward the healthy state of mind that you’re after.
Aside from the physical and mental benefits you’ll get, imagine how accomplished you’ll feel knowing you took a step in the right direction for yourself!
Talk to Someone
Whether you’re more comfortable talking to a family member, friend or a certified therapist, having that outlet can do wonders for improving your mental health.
Not only can sharing your problems help you get another perspective that helps solve the issue, but you might realize that your troubles aren’t as big as they may seem.
Additionally, if you opt to speak to a certified therapist, they will have the experience and skills needed to help you resolve and avoid your triggering instances in the future.
To Maintain Good Mental Health…
Journaling
One daily practice that I find particularly helpful is the use of a journal and a gratitude journal.
The use of a regular journal is helpful for sorting out your thoughts, goals, frustrations and anything else that might be bothering you.
Using a gratitude journal to supplement your journaling practice is very helpful as well. By writing down all the things you’re grateful for in that moment, you’ll experience a sense of gratitude that will help you see all the good things in your life.
The more you practice this, the more you’ll automatically start to look for the positives in your life.
Plan Something Special
Whether it’s a getaway with the girls (or guys), or brunch with friends, having something to look forward to can help motivate you in daily life.
A bonus tip for this would be to plan a day trip (or longer if you can) somewhere off the grid. Unplugging brings a sense of control that is often lost in our busy, demanding lives.
You’ll be able to reconnect with yourself and you may discover what it is you need in order to achieve mental health.
Similar to meditation, when you’re outdoors (walking or sitting) and you’re able to let your mind relax, you’ll get answers that you didn’t know were there.
Avoid Alcohol
In so many words, alcohol and poor mental health are not a good mix.
The physical effects that alcohol has on your brain will make your mental and emotional health worse when you’re struggling to maintain it.
It might be challenging to avoid that quick “escape” with a glass or two of wine, but it’s key for quicker recovery.
Think of it like a cold. When you’re sick you feed yourself healthy things to get better. It’s the same thing. What you put into your body physically and chemically affects it.
Sleep more
Plan for it. Rearrange your schedule and go to bed an hour earlier. We’re all busy but when there’s a will there’s a way!
When you get enough sleep, regularly, your mind will be recharged and able to handle more with ease. Having a good night’s sleep can help your outlook on a daily basis.
Plus, when you’re sleep deprived, you’re more susceptible to mental illness.
Take Frequent Breaks
Resting your mind is key for a healthy mind. Humans are capable of amazing things but working non-stop is not one of them that we can do without some serious mental health consequences.
Try Meditation
Not only is meditation a great way to slow down and take a relaxing minute for yourself, but with practice, you’ll be able to achieve a healthier state of mind with it.
At first, you might not “get” how to meditate. It’s as easy as it sounds but it is also much harder than you might think.
When you actually give yourself permission to slow your mind down and clear it, you’ll notice how busy your mind is.
Taking charge of your mental health may seem daunting at first.
Taking it one step at a time and figuring out what works best for you is the key to maintaining a healthy state of mind.
This doesn’t mean you’ll never have a bad day, but they will become fewer and farther between. To add to that, knowing yourself and what triggers you is important as well.
If you know your triggers or weaknesses, you can fortify yourself and work to avoid them.
Personally, just the other day I wasn’t in the best mental health. I could feel negative and unproductive thoughts start to creep in.
Not only is this bad for my mental health but it does not align with who I want to become.
I’m not saying that my goal is to not have any poor mental health days (that’s inevitable).
But the poor choices I used to make while experiencing poor mental health do not serve me well and they make my mental state even worse!
This is exactly the type of thing you should try to be aware of.
Perhaps you’re someone who starts to experience poor mental health when you’re overworked (I know I am).
Work on not over scheduling yourself. I find that choosing 2 “big” goals per week and scheduling the time to do them (plus smaller, less important goals).
If you’re working toward specific goals, momentum is everything with mental health as well. If you’re on a big, life-changing journey, having a reasonable schedule can help build that momentum and create better mental health days as well.
In short, practice being aware of when you start to slip into negative self-talk, negative attitude, or any type of mental negativity that brings you to a place of poor mental health.
Watch the choices you make during this time and how they affect your mental health. Learn from those observations and do better. Self love is not always easy.
It will be challenging to go against what your brain is telling you in the moment but making positive changes while experiencing poor mental health will bring you out of it faster and make you stronger going forward.
If you would like to check out more quick tips to boost your mental health, check out this helpful article over at MHA!
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