Mental health is important. It plays a vital role in how you feel, perform, and make decisions. But what happens when you’re no longer in control of how you feel and perform? We often come across phases in our lives where we are unable to cope with what happens in our surroundings or how we react to them.
So, you should work on reducing anxiety, depression and stress from your life. Each day, we perform a lot of tasks that allow us to learn and enhance wellness.
If you are mentally fit, you are able to do things right, make better decisions, sleep peacefully, and feel good. So, the question is—how to boost your mental health. The answer is simple—change your habits. Let’s discuss five easy ways that will surely help you enhance your mental health and achieve your goals quickly.
Read Books
Reading is really helpful. The most important benefit is it keeps you busy, thus helping the mind to ban the entry of negative thoughts. So, you will feel more optimistic and end excessive worrying.
Additionally, reading books helps you increase your knowledge in certain areas. This allows you to boost confidence and follow the right path to achieve your life goals.
According to a study of 96 depression patients conducted in 2013, reading helped in improving the symptoms. However, participants who didn’t receive bibliotherapy (therapy that involves reading) reported no changes.
For beginners, it’s good to start with investing 1-2 hours weekly. Initially, it may be difficult for you to build focus, but the habit will eventually settle. And, once you develop interest, you can increase the time gradually. You can invest in books that interest you, whether they’re related to entertainment, inspiration, and how to.
Clean Your Home
Home is a place where you relax and enjoy time with your family. Just imagine stepping into a clean home vs dirty one. Definitely, you will love to move into the clean one.
Doing chores gives you a sense of satisfaction. You are able to focus on work, boost creativity and productivity. Additionally, thinking that you have done something good boosts your mood automatically.
However, doing some simple things can help you get rid of clutter easily. For example, when you wake up, fold the blanket, set the bedsheet, put aside the clothes. It will consume no more than a minute. And, you will be able to reduce day long stress.
Moreover, get off unwanted things—throw them, sell them, or donate them. This will free up your space and reduce your headache of cleaning and organizing them.
Reduce Stress
Stress is a common mental health condition that can affect all corners of a patient’s life. However, many are unable to diagnose it. Work with your therapist to learn what triggers stress and effective treatment options available for you.
Research says stress is linked to severe mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, etc. Moreover, it can lead to negative feelings, fatigue, muscle pain, and weight gain.
Regular exercise can help in reducing stress and boosting overall mental wellness. Science says that when you exercise, the body releases dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These are neurotransmitters that improve mood.
Additionally, limiting smartphone use can help you improve sleep, thus reducing stress. Social media has both positive and negative impacts. It’s good to limit using it.
Limit Medications
Check your medicine cabinet, and consider removing as many medications as you can. Although medications can provide you relief for the short-term, their long-term effects are unknown. Medical experts believe that chronic use of some drugs can result in mental health issues such as aggression, hallucinations, depression, and paranoia.
So, what’s the solution then? Replace medications with natural treatments. Use herbs. For example, garlic contains amazing compounds that can help in improving the immune system and mental health. Additionally, cannabis is proven helpful for boosting mental health. It contains cannabinoids that stimulate the body’s endocannabinoid system, thus boosting mood, reducing stress, etc.
Remember, don’t mix herbs with medications. For instance, cannabis may interact with certain OTC medications and antidepressants to cause negative effects.
Gardening
Gardening is a great hobby. In addition to helping you utilize your free time, it provides psychological benefits. In fact, caring for plants and interacting with nature can help maintain a sense of well-being.
Science says that human beings feel more optimistic and satisfied when surrounded by plants. A survey conducted at 4 San Francisco Bay Area hospitals reported that spending time in a garden helped 79 percent of patients promote relaxation and calmness. Additionally, 19 percent of the participants felt more positive while 25 percent of them felt stronger and refreshed.
Additionally, gardening has various physical benefits as well. These include improving activity levels, air quality, encouraging healthy eating, and reducing risks of illness.
So, start your natural mood-booster, i.e. a small garden today. In your garden, you can grow a wide range of plants including herbs, vegetables, and fruits.
Key TakeawaysMental health conditions such as stress, anxiety, and depression are common among Americans. Since these can lead to a lack of concentration, sleep problems, and mood swings, it’s necessary to take the right steps for managing them. Research says that adopting certain habits can help in managing these illnesses, thus boosting mental health. For instance, cleaning your home makes you feel satisfied that you have done something good and helps you improve focus, productivity, and creativity levels. Exercising boosts mood by releasing dopamine and serotonin. Other changes that you can inculcate in your lifestyle can be gardening, exercising, reading books, and more. If none of these changes help improve your overall mental health, you can consult a mental health professional at a clinic like Steady Care Medical and get the professional help that you deserve.