To improve overall well-being, you can’t just focus on physical health. Mental health also plays a big role in life. Mental health as one’s ability to manage feelings and deal with everyday difficulties.
Some simple steps can be applied to improve the quality of mental health. By making these changes, it is certain that this affects all aspects of life. By maintaining mental health, you feel some of its effects such as an improved mood, build resilience, and help to enjoy life as a whole.
Well, for those of you who find it easy to experience stress or anxiety disorders, here are some simple things that can improve mental health:
Say Positive Things to Yourself
Research shows that the way you think about yourself can have a powerful effect on your psyche. When we view ourselves and our lives negatively, we also feel the negative effects. Conversely, if you get used to using words that make you more positive, then this will make you more optimistic .
Write down things to be grateful for
Gratitude is associated with increased well-being, mental health quality, and happiness. A simple way to increase gratitude is to keep a journal and write down things you are grateful for each day. In general, reflecting on gratitude is also effective, but you need to practice regularly for long-term benefits. Find something to be grateful for and enjoy that feeling in your heart.
Focus on One Thing at a Time
Focusing on a goal is able to release negative or difficult emotions from burdensome past experiences. Start by bringing awareness to even simple things like taking a shower, lunch, or walking home. Paying attention to the physical sensations, sounds, smells, or tastes of this experience helps you to focus. When your thoughts fly to cause you to overthink , then just bring it back to what you are currently doing.
Sport
Your body will release endorphins that help get rid of stress and improve your mood before and after exercise. That’s why exercise is a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression. Look for small ways to increase exercise, such as taking the stairs, or walking to a nearby place. To get the maximum benefit, get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day, and try to do it outdoors. Sun exposure also helps the body produce vitamin D, which increases serotonin levels in the brain.
Eat Good Food
In addition to providing the nutrients you need, eating delicious and healthy foods also nourishes your brain. Carbohydrates (in moderation) increase serotonin, a chemical that has been shown to have a calming effect on mood. Meanwhile, protein-rich foods help you stay alert.
Vegetables and fruits are filled with nutrients that feed every cell of the body, including those that affect mood-regulating brain chemicals. Include foods with Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (found in fish, nuts, and flaxseeds). These nutrients can improve mood and restore structural integrity to brain cells necessary for cognitive function.
Be open to someone
Knowing that you are valued by others is important to help you think more positively. Learn to be open to others, which makes you more able to think positively and get to know yourself better.
Do Something for Others
Research shows that helping others has a beneficial effect on how you feel about yourself. Being helpful and friendly is a good way to build self-esteem. The meaning found in helping others enrich and expand your life.
Rest
At times when all the work feels like too much, step away, and do nothing but the thing that stresses you out even more, at least until you feel a little better. Sometimes the best thing to do is a simple breathing exercise: Close your eyes and take 10 deep breaths. For each inhale, count to four while inhaling, hold for a count of four, and exhale for a count of four. This works well to help you fight stress.
Sleep on Time
A large number of studies have shown that lack of sleep has a significant negative effect on mood. Try to sleep at a regular time each day. Avoid playing gadgets before bedtime and limit caffeinated drinks for the morning.
So from now on, you have a variety of simple positive steps to take care of your mental health. How to maintain mental health as mentioned above is not difficult to do, you just need to apply it gradually and with full patience in applying it in order to get long-term benefits.
Muhammad Aqib