Your Personal Mental Health Fitness Guide for 2019
Text by Kinjal Pandya
While maintaining one’s physical health has received its due importance in the last few years, the time is now to also address the elephant in the room – Mental Health.
A study reported in WHO, conducted for the NCMH (National Care Of Medical Health), states that at least 6.5 per cent of the Indian population suffers from some form of serious mental disorder, with no discernible rural-urban differences. This means India needs to raise awareness about mental health than ever before and act upon it.
Just like physical health, ensuring a healthy mind is a process that requires lifestyle changes. Here are some simple, yet powerful ways that can help us in getting mentally fit and happier.
1. Exercise Regularly
If the focus of getting physically healthy and active is yet to happen, here’s another reason for us to get started. According to Psychology Today, exercise is well known to stimulate the body to produce endorphins and enkephalins – the body’s natural feel-good hormones which can make problems seem more manageable. So put on your walking shoes and start with as little as 20 minutes of walking from today.
2. Eat foods that improve mental health
There are various foods that boost your mental health. The general rule of thumb is to eat a wide variety of food in its organic form. Foods like fruits, nuts and green vegetables help in keeping mental health well as per Angela Dailey, a therapist and a member of American Society for Nutrition. So ensure you pack your dose of nutrition for work, daily.
3. Form reliable relationships
We can’t deny that digital advancement has reduced human interaction for us. But forming relationships is the foundation of our existence. So let’s get more social in reality. Visit new places, meet new people or reconnect with the old ones. Spend time with family and create human bonds by sharing, laughing and being together.
4. Write how you feel
“Journaling can act as a freewheeling mechanism wherein one can write whatever comes to mind without the fear of being judged. It is one of the most powerful modes of psychotherapy too. Writing about daily life provides one with an avenue to record mundane things of life as well as one’s thoughts, feelings and emotions. It is quite healing to be able to write about anything that happens during the day. It can help one realise that life is not really as serious as one is taking it to be,” says Meenakshi Gupta, an Ahmedabad based Psychotherapist.
5. Solve puzzles
One of the best ways to keep mentally fit is by solving puzzles. It keeps your brain active and stimulated. Since they are easily available on your phone, you can solve them at any time – during breaks or commute time. This develops a problem-solving attitude and lets just accept it, they are fun to solve!
6. Give yourself some ME-TIME
One tip that takes care of your daily mental rejuvenation is giving self some me-time. Choose a time either in the mornings before the day takes over or in the night before you go to sleep. For at least ten minutes simply introspect – how you feel, react and spend your time daily. This helps in raising awareness about self-behaviour and aligns one with truer self.
So let 2019 be the year of mental fitness and happier state of being for you.
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