7 WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

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Halloo,

It is very important to maintain robust mental health, especially in this trying time of COVID-19. Coping with life responsibilities is not easy, if care is not taken things can get out of hands quite quickly and every aspect of our lives will be affected not just mental health.

How then do we protect our mental health?

There are really simple things you can do that will safeguard your mental health and make your life easier. There are also things you can simply avoid to protect your mental health, they may look innocent enough but very destructive to your mental health.

HAVE A LOOK AT THESE 7 WAYS YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

1. Avoid stress

You can eat as healthy as you want, spend the whole day exercising if you wish but if you don’t walk away or avoid stressful situations you are going to destroy your mental health.

Some issues are never going to be resolved no matter how much of a peacemaker you consider yourself to be. Learn to walk away to protect yourself and your mental health. Too much stress can increase the risk of developing symptoms of depression. “

Most of us do not realize the level of anxiety we are exposing ourselves to. Some situations are so toxic that being around them even though they are not directly connected with you leads to sleep deprivation. When you don’t sleep properly your ability to regulate negative emotions is reduced and this will lead to anxiety.

Do you know someone that makes feel self-conscious after spending time with them? Do you know someone who does nothing but undermine your efforts? Stop spending time with them. Don’t feel guilty about it, you are just being kind to yourself. It is stressful to keep fighting feelings of dissatisfaction after such people’s opinions.

2. Get Up

For some of us staying stationary is very enjoyable. Don’t let this be you. Get up and move around, no matter how slowly, just keep moving. It is important for physical and mental health.

Exercise as much as possible daily, it is a major mood booster. Moving around also reduces the usage of electronic devices.

I am able to think better when I am walking outside than when I am seated. I am able to find solutions to some of my problems or worries while walking.

3. Drop your phone

Excessive use of your phone is an addiction. An addiction that has the potential of destroying your mental health. If you want to protect your health do limit your daily usage of your phones.

Constantly checking for updates, or texting is not healthy for you. You are leading yourself towards depression and anxiety. Your connection with real people suffers too.

Social isolation is a new danger. We are all connected online but with no real friendship. Meet up with people and have real conversations, leaving your phones out of sight. I promise you it is very rewarding.

4. Talk to people

Instead of sending a text to someone why not call? Talking to people in real life is more beneficial to our mental health than texts or emails.

Isolation and loneliness are really bad for our mental health. To curb this we need to make more effort to engage physically with people. Arrange to meet up. Go for coffee. Sit down and have real conversations.

5. Use Social Media Moderately

People like me can never condemn social media. I use it to build my small business and to improve my writing skill. I have met and seen some other achievers who were able to make a huge impact through social media. Read my blog post on it here.

I am not blind to the dangers of social media and really worry about the negative impact, especially on vulnerable people. That is why I think using social media in moderation is important.

Sometimes I go on social media and get confronted with disturbing images, I always block people who share this. People don’t really share the good news as much as they share bad news. We can’t entirely avoid this but we could limit it. This type of news affects your mood negatively and can impact your mental health.

Even for those who use social media mindfully, moderation is still very important in order to protect our mental health. We are still exposed to comparison, jealousy, and whatnot.

6. Over dependence

Please don’t hang your happiness on another person, it is a sure way of destroying your mental health. I understand if the presence of someone in your life makes you happy but do not be over-dependent on this. Find other sources of happiness. Nobody is perfect, this person may end up disappointing you. Even if they don’t, depending too much on one particular person is not healthy for you or the person.

7. Practice Moderation

There are so many beneficial things we can do to protect our mental health. But please remember to practice moderation in everything. Too much of anything is never good.

Healthy eating is a major mood booster and provides the necessary fuel for daily functioning. Eat in moderation with focus so you can appreciate the taste and also recognize when you are full.

Work is good for us. We earn a living and also achieve a sense of purpose. Don’t overwork though. Overworking can lead to fatigue, burnout, low productivity, and stress. All these will destroy our mental health. Learn to take a break occasionally.

Exercise and workout are good for mental health. Care must be taken not to overdo it. Listen to your body and give yourself a break when necessary. Slow and steady wins the race. If you workout till you are physically exhausted it will lead to pains and stress which will ultimately damage your mental health.

Don’t over pamper yourself by staying in your comfort zone, challenge yourself. At the same time don’t be harsh with yourself. We can be our own harshest critic. Give yourself time to learn and grow. Take each mistake as a learning curve. Your mental health will thank you for it.

Also, be kind to yourself. Don’t bully yourself. Don’t talk down to yourself. Think how forgiving you are when someone made a mistake, do the same to yourself. You may find this hard to believe but it really impacts on your self-confidence and worth.

Remember if our mind is healthy our body will most likely be healthy too. Protect your mental health as best as you can. Don’t wait until things get out of hand before protecting yourself. So, please go outside and be active as often as you can, and make effort to talk to people in real life than texting or chatting on social media. Just my 2 cents.

Stay with me,

Ruka

Thanks a lot for reading. Please, your contributions to this post will be appreciated in the comment section below. Help by clicking like, and share with your friends. Also, don’t forget to join other subscribers to receive notifications of new posts by email. I appreciate it.

Stay with me,

Ruka

Stay with me,

Ruka

About Post Author

Ruka

My name is Ruka. Born and bred in Nigeria. Now living in Ireland. I am a Woman, Feminist, Wife, Mother, Muslim, Black, and African. I am an Entrepreneur who also works in Finance Administration. I am a Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Warrior. I love writing and hope to make a name for myself doing it.

rukaganiyu5@gmail.com

https://www.rukasplace.com

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