Hugging her teammates, putting on her warm-up jacket and pants, Simone Biles proved to the world that mental health needs as much attendance as other critical issues. Simone left the Tokyo Olympics and did not hesitate to be a torchbearer of the mental health awakening of the world. As the Tokyo Olympics 2020 ended, it granted a lot of medals and recognition, along with the fact that it’s time to deal with the question of mental health. Simone proved that taking a step back and returning for a better win is better than living on the terms of pressure.
We all might have seen positive quotes wrapped up on walls and noble books. Some of us even get some of it tattooed, but the truth is it is more of an affirmation than reality. As Rainer Maria Rilke quotes, ‘The only journey is the journey within, we all must shift our focus on a smooth mental journey.’
When we decide to be the fore lord of our dreams and goals, we often rush to the process so furious that we forget that our mental state is compromised. This is where we need to pause, take a break and start afresh. This is where mental health is compromised and you know what’s the alternative? There’s none. Nothing should be your priority other than mental stability and confined mental health.
What Is Mental Health?
Mental health is the inclusion of psychological, social and emotional well-being and affects how the human body feels and functions. Our mental health defines how we handle different circumstances such as stress, anxiety and much more.
While mental health is the ladder to most of our life decisions, these are the major factors that contribute to mental health:
- Life incidents
- Genes or heredity
- Mental health problems
Signs Of Mental Health Issues
Have you seen people change? We are not talking about outer change or diseases, but a change in one’s behaviour? Well, even if you don’t know, these are signs of distorted mental health. Some of the common signs of mental health are listed below:
- Lesser concentration or less thinking capability
- Mood changes or behaviour changes
- Being paranoid or hallucinating
- Introvert behaviour
- Excessive anger or anxiety
- Depression
- Use of alcohol, drugs or increased smoking habits
- Distorted sleeping problems
- Sexual drive changes
- Changes in eating habits
In case you think mental health is a discussion that can be passed, let me remind you it is a discussion that should be continued forever. Let us then define the ways that can help you take care of your mental health.
- Avoid addictions
Whether you are addicted to drinking or smoking, one thought that should always cross your mind is ‘Quit this’. This is one major step that is the start of improving your mental health. Drinking and smoking habits impact mental health in nothing but negative ways. Smoking and drinking habits cause a medical condition called thiamine deficiency. Deficiency in thiamine is a low thiamine medical condition (vitamin B1), which can lead to beriberi, a serious and chronic form.
In adults, wet beriberi and dry beriberi are two main types. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, which causes quick heart rate, shortness of breath and swelling of the legs. Moreover, a deficiency of thiamine leads to major brain problems including memory problems, eye problems and much more.
If you are a drug addict, you must quit it right now. Drugs can cause low mood, anxiety, paranoia and even delusion. Even mental problems such as schizophrenia are caused because of drugs and filthy addictions.
- Develop new habits
As Gen Z writer Jay Shetty wrote in his book Think Like A Monk, it is always good to develop new habits. Start with making little notes, develop the habit of starting your day with gratitude, and eliminate the things that trigger your mental health. Do you know why these little things are important? It helps you deal with stress, anxiety and depression. Developing new habits makes you more comfortable in dealing with your mental health, which basically helps in dealing with poor mental health.
- Manage stress
Managing stress is one thing, and knowing what triggers your stress is another. The point is to achieve one, and only then deal with the other. You can resolve any issue by writing about it and then dealing with it. When you write about the points that induce stress, you will be better able to deal with the stress. Know what your responsibilities are, know what is happening that is causing you stress, and then sit down to settle those issues. Deal with stress by first dealing with its causes, steadily and slowly.
- Seek help
The most important thing that can lead to developing the solutions to mental illness or mental sickness is to ask for help. The more we talk about mental health, the more help we seek, the more you come closer to winning this war of improved mental health. The first step is to know that you are not feeling good, the more important is to seek help. Talk to your friend, talk to the people you love or consult a therapist.
- Exercise
Exercising has been one of the most proven ways to deal with mental stress. Many experts have suggested that exercising and being active is beneficial for both physical and mental health. These are the benefits of exercise:
- It keeps you more energised.
- It sharpens memory and thinking.
- It builds stronger resilience.
- It helps in dealing with stress.
- It ensures better sleep.
- Take proper meals
If you do not know already, eating habits define your mental health. Taking proper meals and eating healthy food keeps a check on your mental abilities and provides essential nutrients to your body. The lack of protein and mineral deficiency can cause uneven moods or slow down the development of your brain. This might hinder your ability to deal with mental stress or other mental problems. Eating well and exercising well are the two mantras of staying mentally fit.
- Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
Getting a goodnight’s sleep of 8-9 hours is an essential way to have great mental health. Not getting enough sleep makes you dizzy, sleepy and less functional all day. This further leads to deprived working conditions and makes you less productive, which will then become the reason for stress. So, before you go for other signs that are causing mental illness, look at your sleep schedule. Ameliorate the necessity of sleeping well and make it a habit.
There are abundant ways to improve your mental health and finding the right ones should definitely be your goal. The above-mentioned steps will surely help you; nevertheless, there are more:
- Have dark chocolates and caffeine.
- Take a trip down memory lane.
- Engage in fun activities.
- Challenge yourself daily.
- Write down your stress factors.
- Add some more protein, salmon and omega-3 to your diet.
- Write a thank-you note to yourself.
- Forgive yourself for your mistakes.
- Make sure to get enough sunlight and grab as much Vitamin D as you can.
- Take small trips or getaways.
- Practice organic farming or gardening.
- Work on your strengths and weaknesses.
Reading these 12 points, you might observe one thing that’s common in all of them; if not, let me tell you what it is. The single intonation to healthy mental health is happiness. If you want to have the best mental health, try everything that makes you happy.
Ryan and Deci (2000) stated that happiness contributes to well-being and directly reduces mental disorders such as stress depression and anxiety. Stay mentally happy!
Note: This article was originally published by the author here.