Mental health is about the way you think and feel and your ability to deal with ups and downs in your daily life.

Being mentally healthy doesn’t just mean that you don’t have a mental health problem.

If you ever find yourself struggling to give your 100% to your family, workplace, community or among friends. It’s time to bring your attention to your emotional wellbeing.

Mental health today has various names viz. Emotional health or wellbeing.

It’s something that concerns each one of us, as we all have moments when we feel down, stressed or frightened about something. Most of the time those feelings pass, but sometimes they may develop into a more serious ones, and this could happen to any one of us.

As I keep repeating, everyone’s mental health capacity varies and from time to time. While a few may bounce back from a setback, but some of us may feel weighed down by it for a long time. It may always not stay the same and change as circumstances changes, as we sail through various stages of your lives.

The stigmas attached to mental health problems doesn’t make it easier for everyone going through it, people still are very uncomfortable discussing about it. But it’s important to know that it’s absolutely essential and healthy to express how and what we’re feeling.

This also is my sole purpose of creating this group as “Mental health needs more unashamed conversation and you really don’t need to suffer in silence”

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3151207548273160/?ref=share

Please do share if something bothers you!

Talking/ writing/ sharing/ discussing about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled. Expressing your feelings is in no way a sign of weakness; it’s part of taking charge of your wellbeing and doing what you can to stay healthy.

Talking can be a way to cope with a problem you’ve been carrying around in your head for a long time. Feeling listened and understood can help you feel more supported. And it works both ways – If you open up, it may encourage others to do the same and thus you’ll be helping others too.

It’s not always easy to describe how you’re feeling. If you can’t think of one word, use loads and you may aim to express

What does it feel like inside your head?

What does it make you feel like doing?

If not comfortable, you don’t need to have a big conversation about your wellbeing or write big paragraphs.

It may come to you when these conversations develop naturally and you feel like sharing something at that point in time – maybe when you’re doing something alone or with somebody. If it feels awkward at first, give it time. Make talking about your feelings something that you do often and regularly.

Also look after yourself physically to feel better mentally,

💚 Exercise every day – exercise boosts the ‘happy chemicals’ in the brain and improves mood. Even walking for a few minutes each day has been proven to be extremely helpful.

💚 Breathing Exercise – Starting and ending your day with atleast 5 mins of your focus on your breathing is your body and mind’s favourite treat, you treat them with these 5 minutes of focus on breathing sitting/ lying down in a comfortable position and feel the difference in yourself each day.

💚 Getting enough sleep – Feeling unsettled makes it difficult to get a proper good night’s sleep, but there are some steps you can take to help. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, avoid napping if you can, and keep the distractions and electronics such as the TV and mobile phone away from you in those hours, instead do your breathing exercise of focusing on your slow inhalation (at the count of 4) and exhalation of breath (at the count of 8).

💚 Eat healthy and don’t overeat – Foods that are rich in folic acid (such as leafy greens, eggs, legumes, citrus fruits, nuts and seeds) and omega-3 acids (such as Sea food, Tofu, nuts and seeds) can help to ease the mood swings. Sticking to a routine and eating in controlled portions will really help.

💚 Vitamin D, Iron, B12 supplements – You will be surprised what difference these can make on how energetic you end up feeling. If feeling low and struggling with energy levels do check with your doctor on how these supplements can help you with your daily fatigue.

💚 Look after your appearance and hygiene – these things might not seem important if you are feeling low. However, small things like having a nice shower, getting dressed, and doing your hair can make a huge difference to how you feel

💚 Avoid toxic substances like Alcohol, drugs or smoking – you may feel the urge to take them to deal with your fear or loneliness, or out of unhealthy habit but the effect of it is only temporary. And when the effect wears off, you only feel worse because of the way these substances have affected your brain and the rest of your body. Toxic substances can never be a good way to manage difficult feelings. We all know how wrong this can go for long-term repercussions and how they can make you feel a lot worse.

💚 Connect with people – Speak to a family member, a friend or someone your trust about how you are feeling – it is often the case that a problem shared is a problem halved. If you don’t want to talk face-to-face, call them or send them a text/email to get things off your chest

💚 Get yourself ‘out there’ – try joining some form of group or club, based on something you enjoy or something you’ve always wanted to try. For example, join a book club, a sports team or try volunteering. This will help you to get out of the house, meet new people and increase your motivation and confidence. It can also help to break negative thought patterns

💚 Practise positivity – Try and write or think three positive things about your life every night before going to sleep and reflect on these when you wake up in the morning

💚 Discover what makes you feel happy – these can be places, people, pets, hobbies or any activities. Then try to include as many of these things as possible in your daily life. You could even write these things down or place pictures of around and refer to your list whenever you’re feeling low, as a reminder of the positive things in your life

💚 Treat yourself every day – take time out to do things you enjoy, such as a listening to your favourite music, watch a movie, light some candles, read what you like, eat one of your favourite food as part of the balanced diet.

💚 Don’t beat yourself up – if you don’t manage to do the things you planned to, don’t be too hard on yourself, or tell yourself you’re a failure. It’s very important to be kind to yourself. Be gentle with yourself.

💚 Declutter your space: Physically as well as Mentally – Get rid of everything that you don’t need anymore.

Physically, if you haven’t used something in a long time, you clearly don’t need it! Give it to charity, or someone who you think will benefit out of it. The more you have to wade through at home or look at, the more likely you are to feel drained and stressed.

Similarly, declutter your mind by focusing on the present and happy memories and close the door for negative stories of the past that upsets or makes you feel sad. Open your mind to new possibilities and a hopeful future. As someone posted earlier in our FB group “the greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”

Last but not the least – Ask for help! 💚

None of us are superhuman. We all sometimes get tired or get overwhelmed by how we feel or when things don’t go to plan.

If things are getting too much for you and you feel you can’t cope, ask for help. Your family or friends may be able to offer practical help, advice or a listening ear. Remember we are here to help too, to listen to you 🤗💚

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