<aside> 💡 Mental Health
(noun)
It includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
</aside>
Being emotionally healthy can promote productivity and effectiveness in activities like work or school. Positive mental health allows people to realize their full potential, cope with the stresses of life, work productively, and make meaningful contributions to the community.
Throughout the years, when you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems including: biological factors (genes or brain chemistry), life experiences (trauma or abuse), and family history of mental health problems. Negative emotions and the feelings of being helpless and hopeless can create something that is called "chronic stress"— it is something that breaks the body's hormone balance; it reduces the brain chemicals required for happiness (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins), and damages the immune system.
<aside> 🌿 Here are some early warning signs that you need to know:
Eating or sleeping too much or too little
Pulling away from people and usual activities
Having low or no energy to do daily tasks
Feeling numb or like nothing matters
Having unexplained aches and pains
Smoking/drinking/using drugs more than usual
Feeling unusually confused
Being violent towards other people
Experiencing severe mood swings
Having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head, hearing voices or believing unreal things
Thinking of harming yourself or others
</aside>
<aside> 🌿 What are some ways to maintain a positive mental health?
Getting a professional help if you need it
Connecting with others
Staying positive as much as you can
Getting physically active
Helping others
Getting enough sleep
Developing coping skills
Positive mental health and academic achievement can also powerfully impact one another! Strong overall mental health, well-being, and resiliency positively impacts students' school performance. If students feel adequately supported and successful in school, this improves their self-esteem and emotional health.
</aside>
Well-being is the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. Studies have discovered that people with higher psychological well-being are more likely to live healthier and longer lives. They are also more likely to enjoy a better quality of life.
Well-being includes having good mental health, high life satisfaction, a sense of meaning or purpose, and ability to manage stress. It’s strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. It emerges from your thoughts, actions, and experiences — most of which you have control over.
There are 5 major types of well-being: emotional, physical, social, workplace, and societal well-being.
<aside> 🌿 HOW TO BOOST YOUR WELL BEING?
Small actions add up. The act of accomplishing even the tiniest task builds momentum and boosts your self-confidence.
According to therapist Kruti Quazi, intentions can be a sound, word, or powerful statements that an individual can repeat throughout the day.
Consider keeping your phone outside your bedroom overnight. This way, you’re not tempted to reach for it when you first open your eyes in the morning. Instead of scrolling through social medias, it is better to practice gratitude instead.
Imani Wilform, MHC-LP, a therapist at Empower Your Mind Therapy in New York City said that to start your day with a dose of positivity, read some encouraging words, like:
— kind texts from friends
— birthday cards from family
— inspirational quotes
— a meaningful passage from a favorite book
Having a mountain of to-dos can make you feel anxious and burnt out, so to make a progress, set a timer and after the timer goes off check in with yourself to see if you’d like to keep going— whether you do or don’t, acknowledge your accomplishment.
Walking is a wonderful way to break up the day — even if you have only a few minutes.
Power naps are an excellent practice when in need to reset in the middle of the day. According to Quazi, naps can boost our energy, stamina, productivity, and mood, as well as reduce stress and anxiety. If a nap isn’t an option, take a few minutes to simply sit back in your chair and close your eyes.
</aside>
<aside> 🌿 HOW TO BOOST YOUR WELL BEING?
When you do something that interests you, you look forward to it, and it will boost your mood.
To help find a hobby you’d enjoy, consider asking yourself these questions:
You can trying doing the following:
<aside> 🌿 “Growing your well-being is a lifelong pursuit, but it is totally worth it.” - Davis, T. S., et al. (2013)
</aside>
Move to...