Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
5 Tips on How to Maintain Your Mental Health
Ever feel like you have trouble concentrating? Feeling less interested in day-to-day activities? Often in a low mood and constantly feel overwhelmed?
It seems like your mental health is not at its best. With the lockdown and social distancing measures in place, there has been a decrease of in-person social interactions, which has affected the psychological well-being of people around the world.
People who are psychologically well have a more positive outlook in life, increased self esteem and clearer thinking etc. They usually perform better in the workplace as well.
Mental health affects every part of your life. With some effort and changes, you can improve your mental health and feel better about yourself. Below are 5 tips on how to maintain your mental health:
1. Connect with friends and family
Strong relationships with your family and friends are important for your mental well-being. They can help you deal with the stresses of life, build a sense of belonging and self-worth, give you a place to share your thoughts and feelings and provide emotional support when you need it.
2. Talk about how you feel
Talking can help you feel better about a situation that you have been thinking about for a long time. Sometimes being heard is all you need to feel supported and less alone. It is not always easy to put your feelings into words so take your time to explain how you feel. Give it time if it seems strange and awkward at first, but make it a habit to talk about how you are feeling.
3. Keep active
Keeping active not only helps your physical health and fitness, but it helps your mental wellbeing as well. Experts believe that exercising causes your brain to release dopamine and serotonin, which improves your mood and makes you feel happier. Regular exercise may improve your self-esteem and can also help you to concentrate, sleep and feel better.
4. Take breaks
Taking a break might mean being really active or doing nothing at all, but a change of scenery or pace is beneficial to your mental health. It may be a five-minute break, a half-hour break, or even a weekend trip. It only takes a few minutes to de-stress. Make sure to have some 'me time' for yourself.
5. Do something you enjoy
What do you love doing? Stress may be reduced by having fun. Doing something you like makes you happy and thus improves your mood. Find an activity that you love doing and would not mind spending a whole day on. By focusing on such an activity, it will help you forget about your troubles for a while and make you feel better.
Information extracted:
Miller, K. (2021, June 12). The benefits of mental health according to Science. PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-mental-health/.
Hara, M. (2021). Signs of poor mental health: Health information: BUPA UK. Health Information | Bupa UK. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/workplace-mental-health/signs-poor-mh.
Mental Health Foundation. (2021, June 4). How to look after your mental health. Mental Health Foundation. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-mental-health.
NHS. (2021). 5 steps to mental wellbeing. NHS choices. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/.