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How to improve mental health? If you’re struggling with mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, there are plenty of things you can do to both treat these conditions and prevent them from affecting your life. Learn how to improve your mental health and have a better life with these 7 tips.
Stay Away From Negativity
Negativity is one of our worst enemies when it comes to mental health, so we should work hard to stay away from it. Negativity can breed in a variety of places, including within ourselves and in our relationships with others. If you’re looking to improve your mental health, consider taking steps to limit negativity’s role in your life. For example, if your workplace or social circle seems like toxic grounds for pessimism, take precautions against being drawn into it yourself. Similarly, try not to let people who are overly negative influence you—and if they do (after all, everyone has a bad day now and then), limit how much time you spend around them. Stay away from negativity and you’ll have better mental health at home and at work.
Be Kind To Yourself
When we’re going through hard times or struggling with issues, it’s easy to fall into self-loathing. But hating on yourself will never improve your mental health. If you want to improve mental health and take care of your emotional needs, try being kinder toward yourself, like you would be toward a friend who’s having a rough time. Remember: you don’t have to be perfect! This means showing love and acceptance when things are rough, which makes it easier to learn from past mistakes and move forward with positivity. When in doubt, ask yourself how you’d treat your best friend in that moment. More often than not, you’ll realize they’d give themselves more compassion and understanding than they currently are.
Take Care Of Yourself Physically
One easy and underutilized way to improve your mental health is to take care of yourself physically. If you’re stressed out, depressed, or overworked, getting enough sleep, exercising, eating well (or better), and taking time off from work can help improve your mental outlook and even keep future problems at bay. For example, sleep deprivation alone can cause depression in some people—so make sure you get enough rest! Also remember that stress itself causes anxiety and depression; managing it early on can have lasting effects on your mental health.
Focus On What You Have Not What You Don’t
When you’re feeling down, it’s easy to become fixated on what you don’t have. You may compare yourself to others who seem happier, more successful or more attractive. But when you do that, you start to ignore all of your personal positives and strengths—the very things that will get you through life and make it worthwhile. Constantly focusing on what is missing from your life can cause feelings of inadequacy, which can lead to other mental health issues like depression or anxiety. To improve your mental health, focus on what you have rather than worrying about what you lack—you’ll end up feeling happier and better equipped to deal with challenges that come your way.
Also Read – How to Use a Meditation Pillow
Watch Comedy Shows Instead of Tragic Ones
Most of us have some kind of method for unwinding after a stressful day. We watch TV, surf social media, or drink alcohol. But if you’re looking to improve your mental health, these might not be the best options. In fact, research suggests watching comedies is much more likely to improve your mood than seeing dramas or scary movies. While it may seem counterintuitive, it all comes down to laughing versus crying—literally. When you watch sad things on screen (or read about them), your brain releases oxytocin and endorphins (chemical relatives of opium), triggering feelings of love and compassion which can make you feel empathetic toward characters in movies or shows—but that may also leave you feeling glum afterward.
Forget Perfection And Embrace Good Enough
In today’s society, where quick-fix ideas and plans for success are touted as gospel, it can be hard not to fall into perfectionism. Perfectionism is an unnecessary form of self-imposed stress that is sure to take a toll on your mental health over time. Just remember: Good enough always is. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with life, try cutting yourself some slack by getting back to basics and letting go of unrealistic expectations. You’ll find that good enough really is good enough—and it will also improve your mental health in no time.
Reduce Your Stress Load
The faster you can unload your stress ball, the better. It’s better for your mental health—and it might just improve your physical health, too. One large-scale study, published in ScienceDirect, found that reducing stress is tied to longer life and a decreased risk of heart disease and stroke. Researchers examined data from 48 studies on people who were exposed to stressful situations (like being assaulted or undergoing surgery) and found that those who effectively released their stress had lower heart rate variability in recovery than those who didn’t.
