Prioritising your mental health – how can you reduce your risk of mental illness?
The last few years have shown how important people’s mental health is. Now is the time to give your mental health a higher priority, as it can also affect your physical well-being.
Here are some of the ways you can minimise your risk of mental illness.
Give yourself more credit
Try not to be too hard on yourself. If you mess up, don’t be angry with yourself. Don’t criticise yourself for not being good at something. Just take it as a sign that you should try to improve.
Take up a new hobby. Do something you used to enjoy. You could start doing crossword puzzles, plant a small garden, learn a new language or play a musical instrument. Do anything that will keep your mind occupied. This does not mean that you should ignore your problems, but you should not dwell on them too much.
Learn how to deal with stress
You cannot avoid stress. It is part of everyday life. The only thing you can do is learn how to live with stress. Some of the things you can do to make yourself more resilient to stress include
- Doing physical workouts on a weekly basis, such as going to the gym or joining classes in a sport or dancing school
- Taking a mind-body fitness class, such as Yoga
- Learning meditation and meditating on a regular basis
- Taking regular nature walks or following an outdoor sports routine
- Caring for a pet
- Keeping a daily journal about your thoughts, actions and plans
There are many other things you can do to make yourself more stress-resistant, and you should try as many of them as you can.
Break the monotony
Although regular routines make us more efficient, doing the same things day in and day out can be quite stressful. To make your days less monotonous, try doing your usual tasks in a different way. For example, if you’ve been jogging the same route for months, try a different route.
Set realistic goals
There is nothing wrong with setting high goals, but they should not be deliberately out of reach. Setting the bar too high will only make you feel frustrated with yourself, which will only exacerbate any mental anguish you may have.
When setting goals, make sure they are realistic. For example, if you want to lose weight, make sure you give yourself more than enough time. Your new goals need to be achievable, even if it takes some time to reach them.
Get help when you need it
Most people think that seeking professional mental health help is a sign of weakness, but it is not. Knowing when you need help is something that takes a lot of mental strength. It has been proven many times that people who have received professional help have recovered quickly and become more resilient to stress.
Conclusion
These are just some of the most basic things you can do to make yourself more resistant to the effects of stress. If you feel that your thoughts are starting to get out of control, this is a clear sign that you are becoming mentally overwhelmed. There is no better time than now to start taking better care of your mental health.
