You have heard this numerous times already from your doctor, your trainer, perhaps even your mother: your mental health necessarily, and without exception, affects your bodily well-being. Each of us knows a classic “type A” personality within our social circle: the one who never seems to get enough rest, always looks drawn and tired, no matter how long or short their workday? This piece seeks to educate you regarding the critical importance of psychological health. Whether you already feel burnt out, or are just seeking tips to boost your current regiment, the following information will be a tremendous asset.
We don’t often have time to stop and consider the number of stressors we encounter in a given day. Are you aware that children, even at infancy, can experience stress? Picture this: a baby cries because one of its immediate needs – food, thirst, cleaning or comfort – isn’t being met. The longer it takes you to respond to your baby’s cries, the more insistent and pervasive becomes their wailing. What is this if not stressful for the child? Adults, more emotionally mature and better able to provide for their immediate needs, typically experience the more day-to-stress of living: a hectic work schedule, family turmoil and other interpersonal difficulties.
Everyone experiences different stress triggers and a varying threshold of what might be considered “healthy” for them. Educating yourself about what types of situations cause you to experience stress, is the first step toward protecting your mental well-being. With all the demands on our time, it is easy to forget to take care of our psyche, but we must avoid this habit. Too often we ignore the warning signs that we are headed for stress overload. By the time we do prioritize our mental health, it is typically long after we have allowed ourselves to become physically affected by our problems.
It may seem counterintuitive, but you are the best resource for examining your mental health; identifying destructive patterns and knowing when to ask for help. You must be able to distinguish between your normal stress limits and situations that could potentially overwhelm.
Once you have identified your stress triggers (it may sound silly, but keeping a list can help), you must have viable coping strategies in place. Here are few useful tips:
Check in with yourself at least once a day. Attempt to determine when your psychological well-being is at its high point, but also be aware when you feel yourself become overwhelmed. The goal of this exercise is to identify patterns as they relate to your emotional well-being. It may sound unbelievable, but many of us are not sure whether we are happy or sad at a given time. Like any subject, it takes study and practice to gain expertise.
This is easier said than done for many of us, but carve out a sliver of your time each day to focus on your psyche. Perhaps a few minutes of relaxed breathing will do the trick, a short walk, or a phone call with an old friend. It is OK, even normal, to experience varying levels of stress. They key to mental health is to take time to relax, reflect and come up with solutions.
Find the best way to manage negative thoughts. Remember there is no set blueprint. Recognize darker images once they enter your mind, and develop strategies for redirecting them. If you cannot will these negative thoughts away, find a healthy and productive way to distract yourself.
Organize. In many cases, stress is brought about by our own failures to prioritize work, family and personal goals. We allow ourselves to get bogged down in the mundane, which ups our anxiety levels. Keep a daily to-do list if necessary to help you determine what must be done when. Feelings of control, however real or imagined, can go a long way toward reducing stress.
Keep your mind as mentally fit as your body. Like any muscle, the brain needs exercise to keep it vigorous and nimble. Play Sodoku or try your hand at the crossword puzzle in the Sunday paper. Challenge yourself. Attempting new tasks causes the brain to work harder to get a handle on the process.
Above all, listen to yourself. If you feel overloaded and your brain wants a rest, by all means, give it one!
