Life is full of ups and downs. In the midst of all that you have to face, you have to show up to work, take care of your health, earn money, keep up with friends, be committed and responsible with your partner, and manage losses at work or projects, among other challenges. .
How do you take care of your mental health in the midst of all this? There are tips in this article to guide you.
What is mental health?
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects the way we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions. Mental health is important at all stages of life, from childhood and adolescence to adulthood.
This defined in mental health.gov as a concept that has to do with our emotional, psychological and social well-being.
In other words, this concept affects the way we think, feel and act. It also influences how we handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions.
It is difficult to detect that something is wrong with your mental health, compared to your body. When you have a headache, you can spot it quickly and use medication, right? But with your mental health, it’s not easy to determine if your mental health is in place or not.
How do you protect your mental health?
1. Order your mind
Imagine what it would be like if your room was full of clothes, shoes, books and other things. You wouldn’t be able to move without tripping.
This is how it could be in your mind. If your mind is cluttered, it will be hard not to take steps without stumbling or becoming overwhelmed. There will be a lack of flow in your thoughts and actions. A wise man once said that your energy goes where your attention goes. His energy could run out quickly because his attention is on so many things at once.
Clearing your mind means separating the irrelevant from the relevant and discarding the irrelevant.
You’ll know you need to tidy up when you find yourself being unproductive, thinking excessively about problems without making progress. You also find yourself putting off tasks until you finally don’t get them done.
Also, it creates to-do lists full of irrelevant and unrealistic goals. You find yourself holding on to painful events from the past. You also indulge in thinking about pleasing other people besides yourself, and you end up being unhappy. You also give people gifts and money when you’re not up to the task, hoping to be in their good books.
How does it clear?
You clear by identifying those overwhelming negative emotions and thoughts that you wouldn’t normally admit are there.
Identify your stressors and treat them accordingly. Set SMART goals Set your priorities right. Don’t multitask if there are other ways to get your work done.
Daily your thoughts can also help clear your mind. Take a break from whatever is stressing you out.
2. Set limits
According to Pietje S. Kobus, a writer, setting limits could mean the following.
- End a phone call if the person on the other end of the call continues to yell at you.
- Refuse an offer if you can’t do it.
- Express that you feel uncomfortable with a conversation.
- Request time to think about a topic.
- Not responding to work emails over the weekend.
Here are some ways to set limits to keep your mental health in check.
3. Take a long break
When you find yourself feeling overwhelmed and seem to be missing out, take a break. Guess what? The world will not end if you decide to take a break for a while. You should do this for yourself. It’s called self-care.
4. Learn to understand yourself
Protect your mental health by seeking to understand yourself instead of making other people your greatest source of happiness. Learn to make friends with yourself and get comfortable being friends with yourself. This is one way to protect your mental health.
Putting your happiness in the hands of others will mean enrolling yourself in unhappiness. Everyone has their own life to live, and in the lives of the people around you and in the world in general, you are not the main character. In other words, the world doesn’t just revolve around you.
Be friends with yourself and seek to be comfortable with yourself. Everyone has their lives to live and their problems to deal with. They can’t always be there for you.
5. Seek support from people you trust
This is another way to protect your mental health. Seek help from people if you are lost and cannot show up for certain things in your life. Why stress when there are always people to turn to to help ease the load?
6. Do things that make you happy
Learn new recipes, listen to your favorite podcast, read a book, start a YouTube channel, write a book, play games and start a club. It could be anything, really!
7. Stay away from social media
This right here is an important way to protect your mental health. Everybody has something to say. Everyone has their grain of sand to give. Information doesn’t leave you the same, so you might want to stay away from social media where everyone has an opinion on something.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
