Mental Health Awareness Month May 2024 - Improve your Mental Well-being

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What is Mental Well-being

Mental well-being is a general description, the same as physical well-being. Our mental well-being may be good one day and not so good another, in the same way as our physical well-being. We may jump out of bed with enthusiasm for a fat burning cardio session or we may struggle to walk to the car? We work our bodies into a fitness regime whether it feels raring to go or not. This improves our physical well-being regardless of how our body feels from day to day.

Our mental well-being works in the same manner. Some days we feel great, some days we feel very low, but each day we must work on our minds in the same way we work on our bodies. You could have a strong and healthy mental well-being but this does not mean that you are happy and joyous every day? It does mean however that you have the right tools and management skills to deal with the days that find you struggling to cope with daily challenges. Poor mental well-being will make each day hard to deal with and a struggle to cope with your normal daily life.

It is important to find what works for you. It will not help or benefit your mental health if you use tools that make you feel worse. What may work for some will not always work for others.


How to Improve your Mental Well-being

Mindfulness

Try using 'Mindfulness' and bringing your attention to the present moment. This can be practised at any time, anywhere, whether you are working, at home or lying in bed. It's all about slowing down and activating your senses, just taking notice of the here and now. This will focus your mind on the present moment and away from any other thoughts, stress or worry.

Our thoughts can sometimes dictate our mood and by implementing mindfulness into our daily routine we can distract our thought patterns into something more meaningful and pleasant. There are times when we are really anxious or upset. The more we try to avoid this troublesome line of thinking the more our mind returns to these upsetting thoughts. The premise of mindfulness is to draw our attention and focus on what is happening now and away from past upsets or future concerns with techniques such as:

Noticing the breath: 

In times of stress and worry, try to focus on the breath. Notice each inhalation and exhalation and try to slow the breathing down. Take a deep inhale and fully exhale, releasing the breath. Notice the breath entering the body and leaving the body. Feel the air as it comes in through the nostrils and into the lungs and notice as it leaves the body, the feeling of warmth as it exits out through the nostrils. Try placing your hands on your belly and feel the rise and fall of your tummy as you breathe deeply. Sometimes it helps to count the breath to stay focused and not allow the mind to wander. Mindful and relaxing breathing can help you focus your attention and draw your thoughts away from any stress and anxiety.

Noticing what is happening around you:

We all tend to spend part of our day in 'auto-pilot' mode. Perhaps you wake up at the same time every day, have the same routine and drive the same route to work? It's only natural to switch off and just plod through the daily schedule. Try to notice what is occurring around you. If you have the same T.V. or radio station on each morning, focus your attention on the words being spoken or the tune that is playing. If you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam, look around you. Use your senses to look, smell and hear all that is happening around you. Just stop for a moment and be present.

Notice how your thoughts come and go:

Take a moment to listen to your thoughts. Every day our minds are swamped with 1000's of thoughts. In fact it is estimated we have around 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day. Many of these thoughts are negative and have a devastating impact on our mental health. If we take a moment to listen to these thoughts, just listen with no analysis or judgement and allow these thoughts to come and go. Try not to dwell on them just let them pass by. If a niggling thought returns, just allow it to do so and then let it go. By not focusing on a negative thought and allowing it to drift past or by letting it go turns this barrage of negativity into something that can be dealt with in a positive and calming way.

Realign your physical, spiritual and mental well-being

It's so important to look at your well-being as a whole. It is not just about being fit and strong or eating wholefoods and maintaining your weight. Your well-being incorporates all aspects of health, the body, the mind and the soul.

Regular exercise, a good diet and a calm mind will boost our wellness and help us live a fruitful and meaningful life. We also need to connect whether this is socially, as a volunteer, as a group or within nature. As humans we need to be connected. Connection gives you a sense of belonging, builds relationships and is essential for our emotional and mental well-being.

We are all aware that exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet and reducing stress and anxiety are essential for our well-being. By creating new habits and slowly introducing them into our daily routine will enhance our wellness and create much needed self-care. By slowing down and giving yourself just a little time during your busy day to be creative, active and connected will help re-align and boost your well-being. Try my Free course for Health and Well-being

Make your own personal self-care toolbox

Make your own self-care toolbox. Fill it with all the things that comfort you, relax you and make you happy. You could add things such as photographs, a favourite magazine or book, your favourite CD, stress balls, crafts you enjoy such as colouring, a blanket, your favourite poem, affirmations, quotes, comfort toys or objects, colourful pebbles, a meditation triangle, crystals or your favourite film DVD.

Sometimes you will need your self-care toolbox when you are away from home. Make yourself a digital toolbox that you can store on your phone or computer. You can add the same things in digital format, such as links to your favourite music, articles, films etc: links to quotes, poems and affirmations, photos of your favourite things (meditation triangle, crystals, pebbles) and you can even Colour online

Keep Hydrated

Hydration is vital for physical and mental health. Dehydration has been shown to increase the symptoms of anxiety and depression among other mental health issues. The current guidelines indicate that your consumption of liquids should be 6 - 8 cups/glasses per day. This may include water, sugar free squash, low fat milk, tea and coffee. 

Drinking water enhances mood and in a 2014 study it was noticed that those who drank more water than their usual consumption felt a lot more happiness in their days than normal, a more restful sleep and a decrease in symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Give yourself time for relaxation and self nurturing

We live in such a stressful world and the word 'relax' conjures up thoughts of social media time, drinking with friends or staying home watching T.V. The word relax actually means:
 
" to become or cause someone to become calm and comfortable and not be worried or nervous or to become or cause a muscle or the body to become less tight"

As you can see from the description above, our interpretation of a relaxing evening isn't quite what we believe it to be. By relaxing and nurturing ourselves we should be helping our minds and bodies become calm, less anxious and our muscles to become less tense. We should indulge ourselves in some really relaxing activities such as :

Be creative

Be creative and focus your mind on something you enjoy as a hobby or past time. You may enjoy arts and crafts, photography, gardening, yoga, writing .... the list is endless. Unfortunately, we tend to look at our creative side as something we can do when we have time, whereas we should do the opposite and make some time in our day/week to get creative. Creativity can help reduce stress after a hectic day and improve your mental health. A hobby you enjoy will decrease stress levels and give your energy a boost at the same time. Creativity can also reduce anxiety levels and enhance our positive emotions in a productive way.

Another way to get creative is to learn a new craft or skill. There are many online learning platforms that provide a service for students. Sometimes the courses are free and many are available at reduced prices to encourage learning skills New Skills Academy,  Future Learn,  Udemy

©HealthyForeverFitnessMotivation

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