Talking about your mental well-being can often be a taboo subject, as people see ‘mental health’ and ‘mental illness’ as synonymous. This is not the case and we should be opening up the conversation to help increase understanding. Effectively managing your mental health as you would your physical health can go a long way in helping you to stay well.
With this in mind, here are 4 tips for looking after your mental health:
Look After Your Physical Health
You’ve heard the phrase ‘healthy body; healthy mind’, well it’s true. One of the best ways you can stay healthy mentally is to look after your physical health.
Make sure that you exercise as this releases endorphins and helps our brains to function better. Keeping a healthy diet can help improve our moods. If you do this, you’ll be well on your way to building up both your mental and physical health. It is also important that you make sure you get enough sleep, as tiredness and lethargy can be large contributors to deteriorating mental health.
Value Yourself
Of course, this is easier said than done, but thinking negatively of yourself can be unhealthy. In order to stay mentally healthy, it is important that you treat yourself with respect.
Some of the ways to achieve this include avoiding self-criticism and making time for your hobbies. Self-criticism is often not helpful in any situation, nor is it healthy. Always try to see the positives in any negative situation, and don’t spend too much time dwelling on any mistakes you may have made.
Be sure to make some time for you. You need to be looked after just as much as anyone else, and one of the ways you can do this is to make time for your hobbies. Ensuring that you participate in things that you enjoy can be very beneficial to achieving good mental health.
Help Others
As well as looking after yourself, it can be very beneficial to also help others. Spending time volunteering to help others can boost your self-confidence and self worth. It is also a great way to meet new people, and forming positive social relations is also a great way to stay mentally healthy.
Set Realistic Goals
We all have different motivations in life, whether they be academic, career-based, or something else. In order to achieve your goals, it is important for them to be realistic and to not overschedule.
It can be incredibly disheartening when you feel like you are not progressing quickly towards your goals. If you set smaller, more realistic goals, you will be able to see the progress you are making. This will help boost your confidence as well as your drive and positivity towards your ultimate goal.
Altruist Enterprises are a passionate and caring provider of Resilience, Stress Management and Mental Health Awareness training to organisations nationally. Find out more about our mental health training courses.