How often do you make your mental health a priority?
Whether you are dealing with stress, worrying about your finances or trying to find closure after loss, there are plenty of reasons why you may feel as though you have sidelined your own mental health in the past few months.
However, caring for yourself should never fall at the bottom of your to-do list – it should be a priority.
With that in mind, here are some tips you can use to improve your mental well-being sooner rather than later.
Start your day with some positive affirmations
Starting your day with positive affirmations is a great way to build confidence in yourself (and your children). It can also help you change your outlook on life.
To get started, stand in front of the mirror and repeat three positive things about yourself. To begin with, this may be difficult, but the more you practice this hobby, the better.
Consider counselling
Sometimes we need a little help to work through our problems, as it’s simply not feasible to deal with everything alone. As a result, if you are struggling, you may want to consider therapy or counselling services.
This way, you’ll be able to gain access to a wide range of support and coping mechanisms that can help you work through whatever you may be dealing with.
Despite popular misconception, therapy does not need to be expensive, as there are plenty of affordable services out there, such as those offered by The Three Seas.
Get back into exercise
If you are looking to start taking care of your mental health, it’s time to get involved in exercise again.
This can work wonders for your body and mind, as it can “reduce anxiety, depression, and negative mood and improve self-esteem and cognitive function.”
This may seem a little daunting if you’ve had some time off from working out, but it doesn’t have to be.
Check out your local gyms to see if they have any fun classes on offer, or follow a tutorial at home.
Question your anxious thoughts
Worry and anxiety are common emotions, but it’s crucial that we do not treat them as absolute facts and instead learn to question these thoughts whenever they arise.
For example, whenever you are worrying about something, you should ask yourself if it is a practical worry or a hypothetical one.
If it is the latter, resolve to let it go and start living for today instead of asking yourself “what if”.
Try to get more sleep
Not getting enough sleep can cause mental health problems to worsen as you cannot function at your highest level if you are overtired. However, they can also make it harder to fall asleep as you may find that your mind starts racing each time your head hits the pillow. As such, you should do your best to sleep better where possible. For example, you could try to listen to a soothing meditation tape while drifting off, as this will help you wind down. Alternatively, you could stick to a strict sleep schedule so that your body automatically begins to feel tired at the same time each evening.
Photo by Total Shape on Unsplash
