This year, improving your mental health should be at the top of your priority list. It is not just to encourage a stable psyche but ensure the overall welfare of the body-mind and soul. In this excerpt below, we will discuss key ways to start caring for your mental health.
As always, there is no one-pill solution for your mental health. Thus, it would be best if you kept working towards its betterment every day. It begins with acknowledgment and initiative.
Acknowledgment in the sense of normalization, Just because you are going to contemporary and non-contemporary treatment doesn’t mean something is wrong with you. Initiative in the sense of knowing what you should do next.
Once you are attuned to what you want, you can pick any perfectly crafted solutions below to start your mental health journey.
Key Ways You Can Work Towards Improving Your Mental Health
Without any further ado, let’s get some of the expert-given mental health practices that you can start implementing this year. These are not only functional but also cost-effective in every sense.
1. You Cannot Do It All
Sometimes it is okay to acknowledge your imperfections. Acceptance will assist in getting the right solution, especially when you can ask for help. Inevitably, you cannot do it all. This is no sign of weakness but rather a strength. Only someone with a high EQ knows when to step back, gather more ammunition and then strike back.
In our daily activity, this ammunition would be to have someone to talk to whenever difficult situations go out of hand. Believe it or not, viewing your difficult situation from someone else’s eyes gives you a different perspective.
You can talk to a close person whose advice you respect or take professional suggestions from a therapist.
2. Have A Gratitude Journal
Once in a while, we all need a humbling moment that doesn’t remind us about what we don’t have but rather makes us thankful for what we have, especially for people who do not like the act of journaling but would love to enjoy the mental health perks of writing one’s feelings.
A five-minute gratitude journal is all you would need. Fill the pages effectively daily, highlighting five things you’re thankful for. Changing your perspective and concentrating on the positive side of your life will make tackling the negative even easier.
3. Practice Self-Love
From relationships to giving 100% to our work, we almost forget about ourselves. Although we are not saying that these do not have any personal gain, you sometimes need to think purely intrinsically.
Experts have noted that intrinsic motivation is always long-term. When inspiration is from within, your need to achieve them becomes stronger. One such method to build this resilience is taking care of yourself.
Take time out for hobbies, having a long bath, or reading your favorite book. You must use some neo-contemporary holistic treatments if it is a weekly affair. Yoga, Renewed Light therapy, art or music therapy, aroma therapy. These will help you practice self-love and recharge at the same time.
4. Appeal To Your Natural Senses
Get back to your roots, and try something simple like mindfulness. Although, in the world of high stimulation through the internet, it is more difficult to be attuned to your natural senses. So, you might face a little difficulty at the start, and with time being mindful will be easier.
Making decisions without having your emotions overflowing will be easier once you master them. There will be less lashing out and more introspection, which is overall good for your mental health.
You do not always have to try meditation to start appealing to your senses (although it is the most well-known one). You can get the same results with daily walks. However, you cannot have earphones on. Start with tuning to what you can hear, see, and feel. The wind, the smell of earth (especially if it has rained), the birds chirping, or the night sounds.
These will help increase your overall concentration.
5. Do Not Compromise Sleep
We often think being more productive throughout the day will make us feel better. However, there is a difference between contributing 100% to work and plainly showing that you are busy. At the end of the day, you cannot achieve functionality throughout the day without the right recharge.
Therefore, if you want to get your work done in a good headspace, compromising your sleep is not a way. Try to get at least a 7-hour sleep every day to give your full potential towards any work.
6. Find A Goal
There is a difference between living your life, and simply surviving. The difference is as simple as finding a lifelong goal to keep going. For some, this is a tangible goal, but tangible goals will likely falter.
Finding a goal is about feeling useful in this world and ensuring that you do not fall into the melancholy of existential crisis. Some people find a goal in doing charitable work, traveling and meeting new people, or reading more books yearly.
It cannot be easy, but you have to find a goal. Something different from your regular temptation. For example, spending more quality time with all your relationships or doing good deeds helps you sleep better at night.
Mental Health Wellness Is Overall
Some other small ways you can take care of yourself every day. Especially at the end of the day when you must de-stress from the day’s work.
Set Boundaries: Learn to say no and manage time to avoid burnout and overwhelming commitments.
Limit Screen Time: Reduce excessive exposure to digital devices for a healthier mind.
Challenge Negative Thoughts: Develop positive thinking patterns and self-compassion.
Engage in Hobbies: Pursue activities that you enjoy.
