8 Things You Can Do to Build Better Mental Health

Mental health is a widely discussed concept in social media, shows, and other places. Terms under the umbrella of mental health are often misinterpreted as there is a lot of uncertainty around the word, “mental health” and how to maintain mental health. Your mental health influences the way you think, feel, and behave in daily life. It also affects your ability to cope with stress, overcome challenges, build relationships, and recover from life’s setbacks and hardships.

Being mentally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues. Rather than the absence of mental health illness, mental health well-being refers to the presence of positive characteristics (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Mental Health Without Well-being

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Managing your feelings and handling everyday challenges is an important part of maintaining your overall well-being, but sometimes this is easier said than done.

Not sure how to take care of mental health? Here are 8 things you can do every day to boost your mental health.

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Start Your Day on a Positive Note

Starting your day on a positive note is as important as showing gratitude, whether it's towards yourself, someone else, or something else. All these can improve your mental health and emotional well-being.

Instead of opening your social media apps as soon as you wake up, take some time to give a compliment or acknowledge yourself. Promoting feelings of self-worth can have a powerful effect on mood, and remembering grateful things or people can fill you with joy and happiness.

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A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy Mind

Thinking about the future can distract your mind from enjoying life and completing the tasks at hand. Rather than thinking about what is going to happen in the future, focus on what is happening right now. Whether it's a sound, smell, taste, or sight, focusing on physical sensations can help quiet your busy mind and keep you in the present moment.

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Making Time for Exercise

Exercising regularly is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, it also supports cognitive function, improving mood and reducing stress and anxiety. That’s why it is recommended to exercise regularly for being physically active.

Exercise induces the release of stress relieving hormone endorphins. The release of other mood regulating hormones dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine are also controlled by exercise. In addition, exercise helps balance adrenaline levels in your body, which can reduce stress (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Physical activity, exercise, and mental disorders: it is time to move on

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Even doing exercise for just 20 minutes a day, can help you cope with stress and improve your overall mental health. It is also a great way to take control of your life during a time of uncertainty.

Eating Brain-Healthy Diet to Support Strong Mental Health

Being one of the busiest organs in your body, brain needs the right kind of fuel to keep it running in a good condition. Eating well-balanced meals rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can help improve your mood and promote cognitive function.

An unhealthy diet disrupts your sleep, energy, and immune system. Conversely, switching to a wholesome diet, low in sugar and rich in healthy fats, can give you more energy, improve your sleep and mood, and help you to look and feel your best.

Include foods such as fatty fish rich in Omega-3s such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and tuna. Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts; avocados; flaxseed, beans, leafy greens; and fresh fruit such as blueberries.

Making Social Connection a Priority

No matter how much time you allot to improving your mental and emotional health, you still need the company of others to feel and function at best. Humans are social creatures with emotional needs for relationships and positive connections to others.

Human social brains crave companionship—even when experience has made us shy and distrustful of others. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness and it will not make you a burden to others. Most people are flattered if you trust them enough to confide in them.

If you do not feel that you have anyone to turn to, there are good ways to build new friendships and improve your support network. Being kind to people, regardless of whether you know them or not, boosts happiness and can build self-esteem.

Additionally, socializing is a easy way to learn new things, remembering about happy times in the past, and serving as a second set of eyes to help find joy in a stressful or frustrating situation.

Setting Goals for Yourself

Everyone derives meaning and purpose in different ways that involve benefiting others, as well as yourself. There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment. Whether it is small or big, achieving a goal can help boost your self-esteem and self-worth. Make sure that goals set are realistic. Make sure you can devote the time and effort needed to achieve the goals you are setting.

Take Sleep Seriously

Lack of sleep can have a huge impact on mood, making people more irritable, as well as reduce their ability to concentrate on the tasks at hand. This means it is important to make sure you're getting enough sleep every single night.

While adults should aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night, it is often unrealistic to expect sleep to come the moment you lay down and close your eyes. Your brain needs time to unwind at the end of the day (3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

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Do Not Be Ashamed to Ask for Help

When stress, sadness or negative feelings are start to pile up, try to confide your feelings to a friend or family member. Sharing your mental health concerns to someone close can help process the feelings more fully, and may help reduce some of the burden. It may also strengthen the bond between yourself and the person. All these things can help improve your mood. Last but not least, always seek help from a certified mental health professional.

References:

1. Mental Health Without Well-being - (https://academic.oup.com/jmp/article/46/6/684/6403772)
2. Physical activity, exercise, and mental disorders: it is time to move on - (https://www.scielo.br/j/trends/a/jCRvs9LQq8ycmLwLysGBRFM/)
3. Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079221001416?via%3Dihub)

Source-Medindia