How to Take Care of Your Mental Health

Here's a hard truth: It is tough out there and the pressures are mounting from every angle – school work finances relationships home health and so much more. On top of that our world has undergone significant changes and turbulence over the last few years.

While times are tough so are we! Even though it's not easy we can still help ourselves. Of course it's great to access professional help but if you can't you can still do many things to make it more manageable. Here are some things you can do to help yourself:

1. Back to basics – eat sleep breathe and drink water

You've seen it all before – but surprisingly we must remember these simple things. Lack of sleep disrupted sleep skipping meals eating nutrient-poor foods holding our breath and not drinking enough water are all too common. The problem is if our body doesn't fuel properly it lacks the energy for concentration coping with challenges and fighting diseases. So do yourself a favour and take care of your physical health because your mental health will benefit too.

You don't need a complete routine change; think of baby steps. For example include a veggie or fruit in every meal put a 5-minute meditation reminder on your phone or place a small journal next to your bed and write your thoughts at the end of the day.

2. NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS – the glue that holds us together

For many people it's easy to isolate and distance themselves from others if they wish. With social media and online presence it's easy to make it seem like "we're there" while we're on our own most of the time.

Withdrawing ourselves for too long rarely has a positive effect. Even if you lack the energy or desire to talk to people reaching out to the right people can make a difference.

People in your environment such as friends family or acquaintances may not know everything or have the perfect advice. Still just talking to them and sharing your thoughts and feelings can be healing as tricky as it may sound.

Think of at least one person you could share your struggles with; who knows it might even bring you closer and help you get through whatever battle you're going through.

3. Tune inwards

It's easy to stay busy and distracted these days. There are always things to do see and catch up on. We live in a loud world – filled with emails social media and news notifications to catch up on. With all that happening and much more it's hard to hear our thoughts and attend to our inner needs and feelings.

However the truth is if we want to help ourselves we need to tune in to hear where the trouble is. We need to identify the situation emotion or whatever else is causing us to feel a certain way. The only way to get there is by turning inwards. So take some time alone and ask yourself what is causing distress.

If we don't become aware of the cause of our struggle – which is often a feeling and work with it it isn't easy to help ourselves.

4. Educate yourself

There are so many self-help books and courses out there. While there's a limit on how much we can do on our own – it doesn't mean we can't do something. Learning about mental health how our inner world works or how relationships work can help us navigate the challenges.

So don't hesitate to look up books in the psychology section and arm yourself with knowledge! 

5. Rest up

Yep even that helps. Our brains aren't built to be in the hyper mode they're in today. Giving your mind or body some rest whether it's a nap time to daydream or walk can be healing to some extent.

Your body and brain need rest to thrive so consider it essential to your well-being plan and program.

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