Mental health is very essential in our lives. Our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing is imperatively important as it is needed in daily lives. From waking up to interaction with other people daily, our mental well being affects and is affected through perceptions and behaviours. whilst mental disorders such as anxiety disorder, personality disorders and other psychotic disorders range from mild to severe, one thing for sure is practicing and adopting healthy lifestyles helps to improve mental health significantly.
"Mental ill-health is the global epidemic of our modern age and prevention and early intervention are key areas in public mental health" Dr Jed Boardman, Snr lecturer in social psychiatry. Identifying and accepting mental health conditions such as stress or anxieties and learning how to deal with them is difficult process for people especially when they lack support hence the severity mental health stigma poses to such people. Mental health stigma is having a negative perception of someone suffering from mental health, making them feel judged or ashamed for their condition. Professor Jennifer Newton who is professor specializing in mental health in London metropolitan university argues in her book "Preventing mental ill-health" that the stigmatisation sometimes stirs from low income and low social statuses which forces people to ignore and deny existing mental health issues. whilst higher income families have the resources to cope, hence find it relatively easy to deal with mental health issues in relations to economics and clinicals, the same cannot be said for lower income families.
Daily healthy practices for good mental health.
Engage yourself in positive things around you and appreciate them.
Engaging and focusing on the positive things in your life such as family, pets ,friends and other things that keep you happy will help take your mind off stressful and depressive events. talking bout things you like around people you helps you reflect on meaningful thing in your life and keep you cheerful and happy.
Movement and exercises.
whilst it is very important to rest adequately, it is equally important to exercise your body. according to research performed in the university of Nebraska, it was found that exercises help in improving sleep and mood whilst reducing tiredness which cause mental alertness and also lower cholesterol levels. exercises also help ultimately improve self-esteem and cognitive functions.
Experience and embrace your emotions.
Things do not always go the we want them to be in life, which is why it is very important to understand and express what we are feeling in moments. Accepting and acknowledging our feelings help us to change them and lessen the intensity of those feelings. Accepting and labelling our emotions also help us communicate how we are feeling to others.
Adapting adequate responses to stress.
find certain and quick solutions to help deal with stress events. it could be breathing, focusing on one thing at a time or even listening to music. identifying things that help you deal with stress effectively are very important.
Good eating habits
it is very important to adopt good eating habits such as eating balanced diets, chewing slowly without hastily choking down food.
Learning new skills
learning a new skill or activities also help to immensely improve your mental health according to Dr Michael Day, a clinical psychologist, learning new skills such as projects, courses or even new hobbies play significant roles in finding meaning to life, building new connection with others and boosting self confidence.
Mental health is very essential in our live and must therefore not be ignored. whilst it is important to know oneself, it is equally important to know that not all perception one has about himself or herself is true. mental conditions should be acknowledged by everyone without stigmatisations and help others to deal with it though encouragements and motivations. in order to cope and ultimately avoid mental conditions, it very important to practice certain life styles like having a schedule. exercising and resting adequately, embracing positivity and understanding your emotions ,adapting ways to respond to stress, good eating habits and finally learning new skills.