Enhancing Mental Well-Being
Your everyday thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by your mental state of mind. It also has an impact on your capacity to manage stress, overcome obstacles, forge connections, and bounce back from life’s disappointments and misfortunes.
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Being in good mental health goes beyond simply not having any mental health issues. Being emotionally or mentally well goes much beyond simply not having anxiety, sadness, or other psychological problems. Mental health is the presence of good traits as opposed to the absence of mental disease.
Those in good mental health possess:
A feeling of satisfaction.
a love of life and the capacity for humor and enjoyment.
the capacity to handle pressure and overcome hardship.
a feeling of direction and significance in their interactions with others as well as in their pursuits.
the ability to adjust to change and pick up new abilities.
a harmony between labor and leisure, idleness and engagement, etc.
the capacity to establish and preserve happy relationships.
self-assurance and elevated self-worth.
There are many ways to take charge of your mental health, starting now, whether your goal is to manage a particular mental health issue, better manage your emotions, or just feel happier and more upbeat.
The connection between mental health and resilience
Being in good mental health does not guarantee that you will never face difficulties or emotional problems. Everybody experiences change, loss, and disappointments. Even if they are typical aspects of life, they can nonetheless lead to tension, worry, and melancholy. However, those in good mental health are more equipped to recover from hardship, trauma, and stress, just as those in good physical health are better able to recover from disease or injury. We refer to this capacity as resilience.
Emotionally and psychologically resilient people are equipped to handle challenging circumstances and have a good attitude. In both good and terrible times, they maintain their productivity, adaptability, and focus. They are also less fearful of unfamiliar situations or an uncertain future because of their resilience. They have faith that a solution will be discovered in due course, even if they are not immediately aware of how an issue will be fixed.
Ways to improve your mental well-being
Anybody can have mental or emotional health issues, and the majority of us will at some point in our lives. Approximately one in five of us may have a diagnosable mental illness this year alone. But even though mental health issues are widespread, a lot of us do little to get better.
We attempt toughing it out by diverting our attention or using drugs, alcohol, or other self-destructive activities as a form of self-medication, ignoring the emotional cues that warn us something is wrong. In an attempt to hide our issues from others, we bottle up our issues. We’re hoping that things will work themselves out in due course. Alternatively, we give up and convince ourselves that this is “just the way we are.”
Why we often disregard the demands of our mental health
Many of us are frequently reluctant—or unable—to treat our mental health issues, even in today’s technologically advanced society. There are several possible causes for this, including:
Certain civilizations see emotional and mental health problems as less real than physical ones. They are seen as an indication of weakness or as our own fault in some way.
Mistakenly, some believe that mental health issues are something that we can “snap out of.” Particularly men frequently prefer to bottle up their emotions rather than ask for assistance.
We are fixated on finding easy fixes for difficult issues in our fast-paced society. Instead of reaching out to people in the real world, for example, we obsessively monitor social media in an attempt to find connection with others. Or we’d prefer to take a drug rather than address the underlying problems in order to elevate our mood and lessen despair.
Many individuals believe that the only alternatives for treating mental and emotional health issues are medicine (which has undesirable side effects) or therapy (which may be time-consuming and costly). The fact is that you can take action to feel better and achieve improved mental and emotional well-being, regardless of your problems. You may begin right now!
Prioritize social interaction, especially in person
You will always require other people’s companionship in order to feel and perform at your best, regardless of how much time you spend working to improve your mental and emotional well-being. Being social beings, humans have an emotional desire for closeness and affirmation from others. We are not designed to live in solitude, much less flourish. Even if our past experiences have left us hesitant and mistrustful of others, our social brains nevertheless yearn for company.
Why is in-person communication so crucial?
While social media and phone conversations have their uses, nothing compares to the stress-relieving and mood-enhancing benefits of spending meaningful time with others in person.
The secret is to engage with a “good listener”—someone you can routinely speak with face-to-face and who will listen to you without passing judgment on your thoughts or emotions. A good listener won’t judge, criticize, or interrupt you; instead, they will pay attention to the emotions that lie beneath your words.
Reaching out won’t make you a burden to others and isn’t a show of weakness. If you confide in someone because you trust them sufficiently, most people will be flattered. There are helpful methods for expanding your support system and making new friends if you don’t feel like you have someone to turn to. Meanwhile, there’s still a lot of value in having face-to-face conversations with friends and others you see in the day, like your neighbors, the folks you see at the grocery store or bus stop, or the person who makes your morning coffee. Establish eye contact and engage in small chat, a polite hello, or a grin.
Suggestions for establishing connections with people
Now call a friend or loved one and make plans to get together. Offer to go for a joint workout or errand run if you both have hectic schedules. Aim to establish it as a regular gathering.
Speak with friends if you don’t think you have someone to call. Be the one to break the ice since a lot of individuals find it awkward to make new acquaintances, just like you. Invite a coworker to lunch, reach out to an old acquaintance, or ask your neighbor to join you for coffee.
Step away from the screen of your computer or TV. Remember that most communication is nonverbal and necessitates face-to-face connection, so don’t sacrifice your in-person relationships for online communication.
Become a collaborator. Join social, professional, or hobby clubs that have regular meetings. These organizations are fantastic places to meet individuals who share your interests.
Never be reluctant to greet people with a smile and a hello. You both stand to gain by establishing a relationship, and you never know where it can go!