Mental health care is just to take care of our emotions and mental health. Here’s what you need to know.
Mental Health is all about our entire mind and our mind affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. The state of our mental health often reflects on our mood, thinking, and behavior. Sometimes can affect our physical health too.
The truth is that a lot of people are beginning to know the importance of caring for their mental health, and that’s fantastic (except for my country Nigeria).
The importance of treating your mental health as you would your physical health is becoming an accepted idea. And it’s becoming less shameful to talk openly about therapy and mental illness.
But without having a care routine for your mental health, you can easily neglect your mental health, and easily prioritize less important things.
But, let’s face it: when we do you take the time to treat yourself to a foot bath or take a break to meditate. There’s never enough time.
Simple mental health care You need for yourself
Here I’ll share some of the tips helping me stay safe during the healing days. Just so you know, being consistent makes the difference to any routine.
Making simple changes to how you live doesn’t need to cost a fortune or take up loads of time, anyone can follow this advice.
Practice Journaling
If you need a mental decluttering routine, you’ll need to start journaling. Pick a pen and a notebook and write down all of your thoughts. Whenever you feel like sharing something, whether it’s good or bad, pen it down. Listen to your thoughts and write them.
It’ll distress your mind, improve your memory and make you feel better.
At some point, journal-keeping helped me say all I couldn’t say to anyone else (my poor staggering low self-esteem).
It has improved my sleep because I felt calmer and more relaxed after writing down my thoughts and the stress of the day.
Take a mental-health-free day
No matter how much you get busy, sometimes you have to get away from it. And there is nothing at all wrong with that.
So whenever the strain is beginning to show, you haven’t been able to concentrate, think clearly, or manage your emotions effectively. Call it to quit, and take a day off to rejuvenate.
Meditation
This is one of the tips I recommend that has guided me whenever I feel nervous or get anxious.
The idea is whenever you find you’re in a place of panic or desperate need of some mental safety; you can close your eyes and immerse yourself in this world you built. You’ll immediately feel safe, calmer, and relaxed.
If you don’t know where to start, just sit quietly and take up a breathing exercise, slowly achieve a focus, for two minutes, then you are good to go.
Positive affirmation
A time will be when you’ll feel lonely and fragile; you’ll need to come up with a few positive affirmations to use as personal mantras.
You should choose affirmations that define your state of mind to help boost your self-esteem, motivate you to stay strong, or put you in an enlightened space spiritually.
I find it particularly helpful to see and say these phrases every day.
I helped myself to rewrite all negative, cruel abusive words said to me to something soothing and positive.
So when someone calls me a ‘loser’, I tell myself I’m gradually winning. This one is easy. and it’s super effective, you should try it.
Whenever you find yourself needing to, read the phrase aloud. The more you see it and say it, the more your brain absorbs it. You’ll begin to believe it and the more you find the courage you need to be at peace and in charge of yourself.
Get physical
I’m not a fitness nerd, but 5mins rope jumps and stretches help me a lot. Just like exercise is good for the body, it’s also good for your mental health. Because it relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood at a go.
Laugh
My mum usually says that “ a good laugh a day keeps you away from the doctor”. Laughter has a unique way of changing your mood instantly. You become happier and very optimistic because your body goes to produce endorphins (happiness hormones). It also helps to reduce stress putting you in a calmer state of mind.
Connect with someone you love
Chatting with friends who understand or who going through similar things can be very comforting and enlightening. Tell your friend how they can help you (like visiting when you’re depressed and in need of motivation to leave the house). Plan self-care dates together to go to the spa, do homemade face masks, and watch a soothing movie together.
Sleep
I know sleep could be a waste of time especially when you have a pile of work to do but underestimate the power of a good, refreshing nap.
Sleep is as important to our health as eating, drinking, and breathing. It allows our bodies to repair themselves and our brains to consolidate our memories and process information. So take a nap.
Sleep isn’t a magic reset button for your moods, but it can make a huge difference when you’re not getting enough.
Connect with nature
Just taking out time to connect with nature, or even viewing scenes of nature can reduce negative emotions and increases pleasant feelings. It allows you some time to be yourself without feeling afraid. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally but also physically.
You can start by going outside during your lunch break and eating at a picnic table. Or keeping plants in your house or on your work desk. And when you can’t out to go outside, having photographs of nature inside your cubicle can keep you connected with nature.
Track your symptoms
When you’re struggling to understand the things you’re feeling within you, it can be useful to write down your symptoms and track them based on the environment and events that affected your mood. By getting to know and understand yourself and your mental health better, you can take care of yourself much more easily.
Aside from your mood, you can also track your current life occasions and changes that influenced your mood, sleep patterns, and anxiety during each day. It could be progress or disagreement at work, preparing for a move, or struggling with financial issues just about anything that triggered your stress or happy mood.
Find what changes the frequency for you
When I feel stuck, I try to find an activity or sensation that will distract and snap me out of it or “change the frequency” of my feelings at that particular time.
I make a playlist of songs that make me feel relaxed when I feel anxious or fragile. But for you, it can be just about anything; a smell you like or it can be a cold bath. So, you just have to find what shifts you back into a good place when you’re struggling with yourself and stick to it.
Just for you to create the life you’ve always wanted, you should start making your mental health come first, don’t wait till you’re ill to call it a mental health free-day, but always look out for those minor signs that your body is shedding out to you and get the help you need for yourself.
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