Tips for Mental Health
In today's society we forget how important our mental and emotional well-being is. Our mental health effects every aspect of our everyday lives, from the minute we wake up to the time we fall asleep at night.
Mental health is defined as a person's condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. Daily stress and anxiety greatly effects our mental health. Over time elevated stress levels can negatively effect our bodies physically, mentally and emotionally.
These following tips are a few of the things that help me to maintain stress and anxiety. These will hopefully help you to focus on the importance of your mental health as well:
1. Remember it's okay not to be okay.
One of the main things that we must all learn is that we are not always going to be constantly happy. There's going to be rough seasons and things to overcome. It's completely fine not to be okay and to admit that. We don't have to act like we constantly have it together, once we admit that we aren't okay it's easier to get out of that bad season. When you're in a bad season remember that there is hope and that you will eventually get out of it. Keep doing the things that make you happy and surround yourself with support.
2. Take on one thing at a time.
Sometimes we overwhelm ourselves with taking on so many things at once that we end up stressing. Instead of trying to take on so many things at once, sometimes you need to slow down. When you are feeling overwhelmed just take on one thing at a time. Focus on one thing at a time, instead of trying to multitask on projects all the time. Give yourself time instead of rushing. Focus on one thing and give yourself a certain amount of time to focus on that, and move from there.
3. Relax and breathe.
You may be so caught up in the moment sometimes that you forget to step back and breathe. It's easy to get overwhelmed when we don't set aside time to relax and just take a breather. When you becomed stress or you feel yourself becoming anxious remove yourself from the situation, go to a quiet and calming area. Different things certain people, a quiet place with no noise may help you to breathe or calming music may help you to calm down. When things become too much it's always important to take a step back and to take a few deep breaths before continuing on.
4. Surround yourself with support.
When life gets hard it's important that you have people you are able to talk to and to support you. When you have friends or family that are constantly there for you in bad and good times it helps to prevent stress so you feel less burdened. When you vent to others and they listen it takes a weight off your shoulders. We were never meant to do life on our own, so having a support system is important. Getting a counselor may help as well, having someone there that will be there to help you and to listen is a great source of aid. Never be afraid to seek help whether that may be from a psychiatrist or just a friend.
5. Alone time.
Never be afraid to take some time to yourself. Doing something you love by yourself for awhile can help you to recoop and relax while focusing as well. Many people become overwhelmed by being around others all of time, in this case it's very important to set aside time for yourself so you can maintain your mental health. Even setting a day or two aside out of your week to do something you want by yourself can help. Do what you love, and just relax.
6. Find something you enjoy.
Finding a hobby can help you to calm down and focus during a time in your life that may be pretty stressful. Different things work for different people, once you find something you love to do you will know. For some people, jogging, reading, writing or even knitting may calm them down. Its always a good idea to set aside time to do a hobby you like so you don't become stressed. When you actively doing something you like it helps you to focus on that one thing, and prevents you from stressing. Hobbies also help your mental health by helping you to learn new things and keeping your brain thinking in new ways.
7. Meditation
By meditation I don't necessarily mean mediation in the yoga form, I mean if that works for you go for it! But I mean doing something for a short period of time that allows you to relax. There are different forms of this: some of the simple forms are just having a few quiet moments to shut your eyes in silence. Another may be for other people listening to calming music for a certain amount of time while closing your eyes. You can research different forms of mediation or come up with your own. But the common concept is setting aside a certain amount of time out of your day to do something that is calming to you, which allows you to relax, focus and reflect. This allows you to breathe and to recoop in a short amount of time to calm your mind.
I hope these few tips give you an idea on how you can improve your mental health and to come up with your own ways to limit your stress in your own life.
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
-1 Peter5:7
Sincerely,
-Amber. Love + grow.
