The pandemic, the economy, and the state of the world can all be stressful topics that trigger anxiety and depression. Yet, the stigma surrounding mental illness can make reaching out for help seem daunting. You may feel exhausted, stressed, or emotionally irrational, but it’s important to remember you still deserve help.
You’ve survived a global pandemic. It’s okay to admit if it affected your mental health. We all have different traumas in life, and you are worthy of care. Prioritize your mental health before a point of crisis. Be gentle with yourself in the process of mental growth, but also set goals and hold yourself accountable. Taking a proactive approach to your mental health is an important but challenging task. Use these three tips to take charge of your mental health.
You can also incorporate mindfulness by practicing gratitude and self-love. You can train your brain to believe statements and support yourself. You could write five things that you are grateful for and five things you like about yourself. This will be difficult in the beginning, but it can positively change your way of thinking. This type of tool can help train your way of thinking about yourself and your life. You can also utilize supplementation in your everyday use, just to improve your overall progress, it would be great to use CBD since it has proven health benefit’s for human mind, to get it even easier you can see online medical Marijuana card.
1. Speak With a Licensed Professional
Speak to a licensed professional about your mental health. You can visit your regular physician or a specialist, but it is important to talk to a professional. You can even schedule an online doctor’s visit to avoid the anxiety of visiting in person. This is a great option if the doctor’s office makes you feel uncomfortable. Therapy and prescribed medication can help you take charge of your mental health.
Therapy can be a freeing experience from all that has been weighing you down. A therapist can help you find patterns and possible triggers. They will also show you tools that can help when you feel overwhelmed by emotions. Overwhelming emotions often stem from something much deeper. And a therapist will help you reach the root cause of your problems and work from there. They can also help you analyze healthy and unhealthy habits that you have formed.
2. Eliminate Unhealthy Habits
Many unhealthy habits not only affect your physical health, but they can negatively affect your mental health as well. Substance abuse and sleep hygiene are two of the most common unhealthy habits that can have harmful effects on mental health.
Cutting out substances like alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs is challenging, but your mental health will greatly benefit. People often use these items to self-medicate, but they only exacerbate the problem. Many of these substances can drastically change a person’s mood, and some even cause drug-induced psychosis. Though you may feel that substances help your mental health short-term, they can do serious damage long-term. Another issue with drug use is that if you begin taking medications for your mental health, there could be negative drug interactions.
Sleep is another aspect of your life that can be difficult to manage, but it is still within your control. For the sake of your mental health, you have to stop dismissing the importance of sleep hygiene. You need to meet your body’s basic needs in order to function. If you want to improve your mental health, start by getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep. It can help improve your memory, mood, and it’s easier to cope with stress when you aren’t sleep-deprived.
3. Create Healthy Habits
Eliminating unhealthy habits is a step in the right direction, but you have to replace them with healthy options. As mentioned earlier, mental and physical health closely affect one another. Be sure to eat food that is good for you and fuels your body. Aim to incorporate more exercise. When you exercise your body releases endorphins, which increase your sense of well-being and improve brain function.
If you’re struggling with your emotions, you should get in the habit of tracking your mood. This can help you when discussing a treatment plan with a medical professional. Mobile mood trackers are an option you can download. With these, you input daily moods, and the app tracks your mood over a longer period of time. This tool can help your physician decide if you need a change in medication or coping tools.
Mediation and grounding techniques are other healthy habits that you may find beneficial. Grounding techniques are a coping tool that helps regulate mood and reduce anxiety. They focus on being in the present instead of worrying about the past or future. This helps distract you from any distressing emotions and focus on the present moment both mentally and physically.
4. Find Support Mechanisms
Finding support is one of the most important steps when it comes to staying accountable to change. Support can come from people in your life, medical professionals, and even tools that you find useful. Facing your mental health is difficult to do alone. Surround yourself with those that you know will support you and keep you in check. Then, don’t forget to use your support system. Reach out to people if you feel like you’re starting to spiral.
You can also incorporate mindfulness by practicing gratitude and self-love. You can train your brain to believe statements and support yourself. You could write five things that you are grateful for and five things you like about yourself. This will be difficult in the beginning, but it can positively change your way of thinking. This type of tool can help train your way of thinking about yourself and your life.
Challenge negative thoughts by taking away their power. For example, if you have the thought “I am a failure,” reframe it. Ask yourself why you feel like you’re failing. Reframe the thought to “I can succeed with help” and then to “I will succeed.” You may feel like a failure because you need help, but you want to take away any power negative thoughts have.
The most important thing to remember while you’re on your mental health journey is that you aren’t alone. Many people experience mental health challenges, and there are people who can help. Speak with a professional, whether it’s a doctor or therapist, and strengthen your support system. You are strong enough to take control of your mental health, but it starts with you.
