For centuries we have been taught to take care of our physical health and thereby we prioritize it. Right from a young age we have been conditioned to take care of our bodies by eating right, drinking enough water, brushing teeth twice a day, maintaining hygiene, etc. For decades we have had doctors and healers, who helped us cope with diseases, infections & physiological disorders. As we grow up, we receive a lot of exposure from various sources around us to let us know the importance of our bodies and how to treat it right, so that it can function optimally.
We not only know the importance of ensuring that our bodies are in a healthy form, but we also know different ways in which we can keep it robust. The same cannot be assumed about mental health. While a large section of our population struggles with issues related to mental health, only a finite population knows the importance of it. An even smaller percentage of the population knows the ways in which you can deal with it.
While we are able to understand that our bodies need to be taken care of, otherwise, we would fall sick, we often struggle to apply the same when it comes to our mental health. Mental health is often taken for granted. What we don’t acknowledge is that like other domains of life, mental health needs to be prioritized and thereby, effort needs to be put in to have optimum functioning healthy mind.
Having healthy mental health is extremely important. Our mental health can be broken down into psychological, emotional and social wellbeing as it affects the way we think, feel and behave. It not only helps us think clearly, formulate goals, motivates us to achieve them, but also determines the way we handle stress and make effective choices for ourselves.
Various factors influence and affect our mental health. While our genetic structure and composition can create a baseline for our mental health, the environment that we grow in, along with parental upbringing and personal experiences, largely contributes to it. Various researches also suggest there is a link that associates mental health problems that run in families.
As humans, it is our dire need to gain control over as many things as we can, which creates the problem in itself. The aim to control things around us comes from a deep need for predictability. We tend to function better in situations that can be more predictable in nature. We cannot function in situations that constantly create unpredictability and chaos.
We go through so many situations in our lives, which make the ride bumpy, having its own ups and downs. While there are a lot of factors that we can control in life, there are so many things that are beyond our control, no matter how hard we strive to gain control. Even in the most difficult situations, there are a couple of things that are entirely in our control. Focusing on the same can help us uplift our mental health to a large degree.
Maintaining a routine
In the most chaotic situations or difficult circumstances that we feel that a lot of things are going out of our control, one of the most important things to do is to maintain a predictable routine that will help us balance the chaos with a sense of direction. Our appetite and sleep cycles are the first things to get disturbed when our mental health begins to decline. So it is important to keep that in check as much as possible.
Self care
Self-care is really important for us to feel better about ourselves. We can create our own self-care routine, which can help us ground ourselves and soothe ourselves in the most chaotic situations. When our mental health begins to decline, we stop taking care of ourselves. So it is important that we find the motivation to do look after ourselves. Our self-care involves various activities like physical exercise, meditation, fun hobbies, long showers, drinking green tea, regular journaling and making an appointment with the therapist.
Monitoring self talk
The way we talk to ourselves represents the reality that we create for ourselves. Very often we don't even realize the words and the labels we attach to describe ourselves. It is very important that we closely listen and change the way we talk to ourselves. Usage of positive affirmations really helps to create a positive sense of self, accompanied with expressing gratitude on a regular basis, which really helps us to uplift our mood, realizing how fortunate we are.
Healthy support system
Having a sense of belongingness and intimate relationships, which can be found in friendships, romantic partners, family have a heightened effect on a healthy sense of self-esteem. Various researches conclude that when our mental health begins to decline, we often isolate ourselves from everyone. It is very important to reach out to our support system.
Sense of purpose
Having a career that you truly enjoy can give you a sense of deep satisfaction and meaning to your life. It not only gives us a life with sense of purpose, but it also gives us a direction and motivation to keep pursuing it, no matter what comes in between. Being stuck in a job that we dislike can really impact our mental health over a period of time. So ensure that we choose goals for ourselves that we truly want and desire.
Willingness to adapt
An intelligent person is someone, who is able to adapt to changing circumstances and situations. While we may have a plan and directions in life, it is important to have a flexible approach. Life will come with various uncertainties that we must find a way to deal with. Having a rigid approach towards life and trying to gain control over situations that are out of our control, largely affects our mental health. It is important to have the awareness to change the things that can be controlled and let go of the things that cannot be.
