How to Deal with Mental Health Issues

What is the importance of mental health?

Did you know? 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem and only 1 out of 6 people seek help.

Mental health is one of the most important topics affecting our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health affects us all in certain phases of our lives without us knowing sometimes. It can affect how we think, feel and act.

Top 5 tips to battle mental health issues?

Connecting with others

Maintaining good relationships with others is important. It helps you build a sense of belonging and self-worth and gives you the opportunity to share positive experiences with others. You may think texting someone helps you. However, it has been researched that face-to-face interactions are better to improve mental health issues.

Doing physical exercise

Being physically active helps tackle mental health issues. For example, meditating is an exercise that has helped many people to make themselves feel at ease, relax and reflect on themselves. Even a 30-minute walk around the block enables you to get some fresh air and improve your fitness. Being unfit can be a cause of mental health issues, as you often feel bad being overweight and it has an effect on your physical and mental health.

Using resources available to support your mental health

There are some free apps you can download that can help you select which aerobic exercises you can do. The Mindlessfulness App is useful as you can listen and it can soothe your pain and your stress.

Here is a short video that breaks down how you can improve your mental health issues: https://youtube.com/shorts/T9ppvjNmY5M?feature=share.

There are some beneficial articles that have been published on the Mindless Mag website which touch on mental health issues from different ages. Click on this link: https://www.mindlessmag.com/fashion-and-mental-health-2020

There is an article by the NHS where there is a video clip and some top tips to improve your mental health by the experts at the NHS.

Having a routine

Having a routine has proven to be an effective mechanism to reduce stress leading to better mental health.

Therefore, a timetable or a diary is useful to plan out your weekly plans and things to do. For example, working, exercise, hobbies, and free time. You can also reflect on how your day has been overall and compose a plan for the next day.

Planning and having a routine makes your day more productive and removes the boredom and stress in your life.

Being creative

Trying out something new and creative can distract you from negative thoughts and feelings. Although it might feel daunting trying out something new, it helps divert your attention. Plus, you never know, you might actually enjoy your new hobby or challenge that you have set yourself!

Trying something does not harm you but avoiding something can be a missed opportunity for you to develop and help create a positive mindset. Some activities you can do is join a class such as knitting, drawing, singing, or even reading books. Take initiative and contact your local library and community centre and they will be happy to help.

As Albus Dumbledore once said: "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light."