Life Skills Training and Development
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close.
Do you know mental health is integral to living a balanced, healthy life? In many ways, mental health is just like physical health – everybody has it, but we need to understand it to take care of it… Good mental health impacts how we feel, behave and think each day. But if you go through a period of poor mental health you might find the ways you are frequently thinking, feeling or reacting become difficult, or even impossible to cope with.
Your mental health is one of the most vital things to pay attention to because if you are not in the right place mentally, you won't be physically either. It ultimately reflects how you feel and how you interact. I still remember how I felt when I asked my students to share their experiences of mental health during my training programs. Students shared their stories of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm etc. Mental health issues may start in childhood, and many students spoke about their history of depression, diagnosed conditions like compulsive disorders and borderline personality. My first conversation about mental health was the hardest or can be said tough. The complete situation left my mind spinning in an inexplicably dark place…
Mental Health
Mental health is a state of successful performance of mental function because it's a vital part of your life, impacting your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. Mental health is essential for personal well-being, family and interpersonal relationships. Equally, it allows you to adapt to changes in your life and cope with adversity. Spending life productively, simultaneously, maintaining flexibility to accept all ups and downs with ease.
While the mental disorder are serious health conditions characterized by alterations in mood, thinking or behavior. Mental health problems affect around one in ten people in any given year. It may contribute to a host of problems like pain, disability or even death.
Health Impact of mental health
Evidence shows that mental health and physical health are indistinguishably linked together. It has been proven that mental health disorders are strongly associated with the risk, occurrence, management, development, and outcome of serious chronic diseases – including hypertension, stroke, diabetes, heart conditions and cancer.
What are the early warning signs of mental health?
As a program director for mental health, I work with some incredible people experiencing a diverse range of symptoms or early warning signs of a problem… I would like to list them for your reference:
How can you improve your mental health day to day?
There are various advents to mental health and mental illness. I strongly believe that everyone can receive help from the use of positive coping skills or treatments. Like meditation, diet/nutrition, devotion, physical movement, devotion or prayer, sleep, hygiene, at one positive social interaction and fun activity.
You know I play a lot! I do it because I understand the neurological benefits and enjoy the feeling. Equally, it helps regulate my sleep, mood, cognition, and behavior. Another good point is practice meditation. Meditation practiced in many forms can have a healing effect on our bodies. My meditation lasts from ten to thirty minutes in a quiet, comfortable place of solitude. It allows our minds to relax and remain focused. For longer meditations, you may listen to some online chakra cleansing or guided meditation videos.
Choose foods that provide steady energy and help your body stay healthy. A healthy diet is one that has enough nutrients, provides the right amount of calories, contains many foods from all basic food groups, and does not have too much of sugar, fat, salt or alcohol.
This might look funny! But for me, it's one of the most influential methods you can ever seek. I have positive affirmations posted all over my walls that consist of quotes, Gita Slokas, and fun statements. Sometimes I use dry erase markers and write new ones on my mirror. I also track my physical movement as regular physical activity is important to both the physical and mental health of every individual. Routine physical activity over long periods can produce long term health benefits. Also, help you stay healthy as you age.
Connect with other individuals, family, and friends. A positive social interaction helps you counteract the negative self-talk and avoid isolation. If I feel isolated, I make plans with a friend to go out and grab something to eat. This aligns with doing a fun activity as well, which can also be a healthy activity that brings you joy. Watch your favorite shows or play some online games or cuddle, which can encourage you with positive actions and positive thinking. This can lead you to a better positive outlook and could prove a bigger help in your journey of recovery.
Take control of stress, by recognizing the source of your stress. However, much of our stress or tension comes from within us. We need to interpret things, understand where your stress originates, including factors like external and internal stressors.
Last but not least, sleep hygiene is decisive for me to stay healthy. I coordinate activities and utilize time management skills and aim to get eight hours of sleep a night. If I am not able to get at least seven hours that night, I plan to take a nap for the next morning. Your mind and body will only feel better if you sleep well. If you find trouble sleeping or waking during the night and being unable to get back to sleep. Here I would suggest a few tips, which could prove helpful:
Mental illness or not, these tools can benefit anyone and assist us in leading a healthy, practical life.
Finally, summing up…
You will have a healthier, blooming body if you take care of your mind. Good mental health helps you enjoy life and cope with problems offering you overall well being and inner strength. But many times, people fail to talk openly about mental health. Stigma causes a person to feel ashamed for something that is out of their control. They start feeling "As if I am only the person high flown with this cerebral ill health?" which prevents them from seeking the help they need. In such conditions, we need to educate ourselves and others and need to raise voices against stigma, every day in every possible manner…