How To Put Mental Health And Wellness First

Mental health is one of the most important things in life, along with physical, financial, and social health. They all work together in a network to form overall health, which can dictate your happiness, illness, and more. Mental health refers to the health of your brain and how you feel the majority of the time. If you have poor mental health, you may experience things like:

• Unhappiness and decreased enjoyment
• You no longer enjoy things you used to
• Family conflict
• Difficulty forming and keeping relationships
• Problems with drugs or alcohol
• Repeatedly missing work or school
• Legal or financial problems
• Social isolation

The more severe your poor mental health, the more likely you are to experience the full spectrum of side effects listed above. There are many mental disorders that can affect your mental health, resulting in these side effects. Those disorders include:

• Anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, or specific paralyzing phobias
• Mood disorders: such as depression, bipolar disorder, and cyclothymic disorder
• Psychotic disorders: such as schizophrenia or other disorders that cause hallucinations or delusions
• Eating disorders: such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorders
• Personality disorders: such as antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.

There are many different types of disorders that affect one’s mental health, so it’s important to speak with a doctor if you believe that you’re experiencing one. You can experience feelings of depression and anxiety without having a disorder. No matter what you’re struggling with, it’s important to put your mental health first and work towards feeling better every day.

Work on Self-Acceptance

One of the first steps you should take toward feeling better, even on your worst days, is self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is incredibly important and can help you feel better. First and foremost, you are the person that you are. No matter how much you may want them to, your mental illnesses aren’t going to go away. Accepting them is the first step toward growth and a necessary one at that.

Once you begin to accept yourself for who you are, it’ll be easier to treat your mental illness and live with it. Instead of rejecting yourself and your illnesses, you’ll instead feel better knowing that you’re putting in the effort and working on yourself.

Get Active

Working out or getting active is a great way to get kick those depressing or anxious thoughts. Many people state that going for a walk outside or hitting the gym in the morning helps them have a more productive day.

Exercise is also known for being great at reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood. It can also help to improve your self-esteem, social withdrawal, and cognitive function. Vitamin D is also a great way to improve your mood and kick your depression, so take a walk outside to double down on your good day.

For help getting active, try apps Levels. Using an application to track your workouts is a great idea, especially for those who rely on routines and rewards in order to be their most productive selves.

Eat Healthier

Eating healthier is also a great way to put your mental health front and center. Foods fuel our bodies, so eating more fruits, vegetables, and proteins can actually help you feel better. If you’re consuming a lot of sugar, fats, and fried foods, you may feel more run down and sluggish. Eating healthily can also help to improve your self-esteem, making you feel better about your body, which can, in turn, boost your mood.

Eating healthy can also save you money, especially if you’re the kind of person who orders a lot of take-out and delivery when their mental health is in a bad place. Figuring out a good food schedule can help to add some routine into your life while also helping to boost your mental health.

Get Up Early

If you’ve googled, “how to become a morning person,” you wouldn’t be the only one. Studies show that getting up early is a great way to kickstart your day. When you sleep in, you may feel like you’ve wasted some of your day, which is never a good feeling to have. To ensure you get maximum sunshine and maximum productivity in each day, put your mental health first by learning how to be a morning person.

Be Grateful

Many people follow the advice, “be grateful for what you have, or you won’t progress.” If you start each day taking stock of what you have, whether it’s a good job, a partner you love, or a great friend, you may feel happier. Acknowledging what you have is much better and more fulfilling than acknowledging what your life is lacking. After taking stock of what you have each morning, make small, achievable goals for the things you’re lacking in life.

By doing this, you’ll not only be reminded of all the things you do have, but you’ll have some semblance of a plan when it comes to the things you’re longing for.

Put Yourself First

We’ve been told since we were little that being selfish is bad, that you should never be selfish. However, that’s not necessarily the case. When you’re always selfless, always putting other people first, you may begin to lose some of yourself. If you’re always giving pieces of yourself away, it may feel like no one can give you that same level of care back.

Therefore, it’s important to be selfish sometimes. Put yourself first, or do something that makes you happy. Self-care is incredibly important, especially when you have poor mental health. If you don’t spend time taking care of yourself, you may end falling apart even more.

Speak to a Therapist

One of the best ways to treat your mental health is to talk to someone about what’s bothering you. Talking to a therapist is a great way to get an external opinion on the things you’re struggling with, as well as advice on how to cope with what you’re going through. Unfortunately, therapists are too expensive for a lot of people, as they aren’t always covered under insurance plans.

Getting together with a friend who you trust is a good way to get things off your chest. It can be mutually beneficial, and you may feel better after speaking to someone you know will listen. When we’re depressed or anxious, it may feel like no one is listening, but having someone to talk to can help negate that feeling.

Try Medication

You may also want to consider trying medication if you’ve been diagnosed with a mental disorder. If you don’t have a healthcare provider near you, YANA mental health clinic is a great online option for treating depression and anxiety.

Medication isn’t for everyone, but it does really help some people. There are some side effects associated with these types of medications, and it can take a bit to find the right one for your body, but ultimately, they do help a lot of people.

Don’t Stop Growing

With all of that knowledge, you’re well on your way to putting your mental health and wellness first. But don’t forget that healing isn’t linear. Continue working on yourself every day. You may have hard days sometimes, but power through. Your mental health will thank you.