By Rutendo Mubvumbi
Individual mental health influences how you think, feel and behave in your daily life. How you cope with stress, overcome challenges, relationship goals and plan depends on the level at which your mind is set. Most people think having a strong mental health is the absence of mental problems but that is false. Being mentally and emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety and other psychological issues. Having perfect mental health means having a sense of happiness generated positively, a zest for living, smiling and the ability to laugh and have fun, the ability to deal with stress and bounce back at negative influences just to mention a few. Above all, having self confidence and high self-esteem is the major key to having good mental well-being.
In cases of faced with bad times, one should learn to cope with lose, sadness, anxiety etc head on. Bottling up emotions and feelings results in depression and stress. These are all normal parts of life but just as physically fit people are able to survive illness and injury, so can people with strong mental health survive trauma and stress. This is called being resilient, having tools for coping with difficult situations and maintaining a positive outcome. Anyone can suffer from mental illness and the good news is you don’t have to worry.
There are practices you can adopt to elevate your mood and energy, boost your peace of mind:
- Regularly meet with loved ones you value, don’t isolate yourself
- Make new friends and acquaintances, lots of people feel just as uncomfortable as you so be the first to send a hie
- Join support groups such as volunteer groups to keep you distracted.
- Keep a good physical well-being as it also connects with the brain.
- Eat brain healthy diets
- Venture into hobbies you prefer etc. Crafts
- Get enough sleep
- Above all, don’t be afraid to smile.
Whether you’re looking to cope with a specific mental health problem, handle your emotions better or simply feel positive, there are plenty of ways to achieve and take control of your mental health. Start today!!!!