Ongoing mental health check-ins are critical for a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Mental health has been viewed for many many years as a sign of weakness. I have no idea how that even got started. It is extremely important to work through things as soon as they arise and not to hold on to them. Bottling emotions up is just a recipe for disaster.
Our mental health needs to be maintained and nurtured throughout our lives. Look at it as if you were maintaining a car. The better maintenance you do on a car the better the overall life. Of course, there can be unexpected issues that will arise but the more you do the better you will fair.
Please don’t view your mental health as a sign of weakness. If you are having issues and you aren’t sure how to get through please get help. Get the help you need before it’s too late.
Here are some tips on how to keep yourself in check:
(no special order, but all are important)
1. Talk about how you feel– if you have a close personal friend or confidant, it’s good to get things out. A good practice is of course being there for those individuals as well. No one likes a one-sided deal.
2. Exercise– it is recommended to get at least 20 to 30 minutes of exercise per day. You can take walks in a park or around your neighborhood. Get a membership to a gym or do something in your home.
3. Surround yourself with good people– the more good people we have in our circle the better. Happy people radiate goodness, so pass it on.
4. Take care of yourself– good and healthy habits are always best. Take care of your physical health, your hygiene, and your mental health.
5. Take breaks– it’s important for you to take breaks from things that may be too much for you. Step back and get fresh air. The more you keep exposing yourself to certain stressful situations the more it wears on you.
6. Minimize being critical of yourself– pay attention to your words about yourself and try to recognize patterns. You may be doing more harm to your mental health the more you criticize yourself. Forgive yourself, learn and move on.
7. Remove toxic people from your life– this one can be tough for some people but you need to realize that all of the chaos that comes from those people just makes you feel horrible over time. It’s your health and happiness that’s at stake in the long run.
8. Get proper rest– you know what your world is all about so make sure you do the necessary steps to get the good sleep you need. This one is tough for many but if you don’t do it now it will catch up with you in the long run. I promise you that this is true in fact. I am dealing with this now personally and I am making the strides to better it. It may not always be your choice, it could be something health-wise that may be preventing good rest. Insomnia and sleep apnea are big ones.
9. Balanced diet– make sure you eat the healthiest meals that you can. A lot of foods that we eat wear us down and it contributes to poor habits. Eat right, get good natural energy, and feel good.
10. Keep up with hobbies– if you have cool hobbies make sure that you keep at them. If you don’t get some new ones. Do as many feel-good things as you can.
11. Smile– do this as often as you can and send them to others. It just feels good.
12. Seek therapy– if you are having a hard time, please seek professional help. If they aren’t helping you feel better, consider getting a different one.
13. Meditation– do some good mindfulness and try to stay grounded and centered. It will go a long way throughout your day.
14. Learn something new– try to take in as much cool information that you can.
15. Watch your mouth– pay attention to the things that you speak. You would be surprised how things come out and could be doing us more harm than good.
16. Minimize chaos– stop listening to those crazy people. Stay away from those people that have lots of drama baggage.
Conclusion
Take the time to understand how you feel. Be mindful of what you are exposed to on the daily. Don’t be afraid to fire your friends and family that are weighing you down.
