How to Improve Your Mental Health
You can improve your mental health by channeling your emotions through positive thoughts. Mentally healthy individuals demonstrate healthy confidence when faced with the challenges of life and a strong willingness to build lasting relationships with a mutual affection with others.
There are various indicators of good mental health. Among others, a good mood and excitement towards life; a clear disposition towards permanent learning; desire to experiment with new things; and open attitude towards playing; and, a sense of purpose in life.
Enjoying free time by developing pleasant and stimulating hobbies not only widens our world vision, but also connects us with ourselves and our desire to live.
What causes mental health to deteriorate?
Extended isolation and solitude are detrimental, except when our goal is to read a good book, practice meditation exercises, or take time to reflect on something that is really bothering us.
Prolonged states of isolation affect the balance of your emotions and even your physical health unless you are a master of meditating or there are concrete circumstances demanding that you have solitude to finish a task. In all other cases, there is no reason to spend long periods of time alone.
The use of certain substances also causes mental health to deteriorate. We must not abuse medicine, alcohol, or tobacco. It is better to avoid substances that can harm our nervous system or negatively affect our brain.
There are also certain daily habits that do not help us maintain an adequate emotional and mental balance. Watching too much television, even if it is simply out of boredom, is something that stupefies you more than it entertains you. It gives you the illusion of being in touch with others, while at the same time progressively isolating you from them.
How to achieve good mental health
The first thing that you must do is take care of your body. Nothing is more true than the saying “healthy body, healthy mind.” Taking care of yourself means sleeping well, eating right, and doing some kind of physical activity regularly.
Just as important as taking care of your body is enriching the connections you have with the people around you. It is important to have active relationships with family and friends or colleagues, not just out of habit. Spend time with the people who are important to you.
If you experience states of anguish or sadness, it can be helpful to practice some kind of relaxation. It is not a matter of changing your life to become like the Dalai Lama; it is just a matter of introducing routines that will do you great good.
The best thing is doing relaxation exercises that involve your entire body, along with deep, controlled breathing exercises. This brings you into balance and also plays a roll in your ability to develop creative processes.
Reading a good book, writing short essays about your daily life, enjoying a musical piece at a concert, taking pictures of the sunrise, or looking at the starry sky through a telescope are all activities that help you stimulate your emotional intelligence in a big way.
Coming into contact with nature not only lends to your well being, but also creates a state of tranquility and contemplation that is necessary and healthy for your spirit.
Having stimulating hobbies increases your happiness with life and allow you to get to know and interact with people of different ages and different worldviews.
And of course, one of the most important things is being in contact with yourself. Discovering yourself, accepting yourself, trying to improve yourself, and loving yourself. Fundamental tasks that will serve as a support for the rest of our activities and abilities.