When you think of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, often your physical health is the first thing to comes to mind. This means eating a well-balanced diet and incorporating regular exercise into your daily routine. But it’s important to understand that your mental health is equally as important as your physical health. In fact, your mental health and well-being can actually impact your physical health in a variety of ways. Fostering your mental health with improve your life in a numerous ways and help stabilize your physical health. Read on to find out how.
Remove Negativity
Negativity majorly impacts your self-esteem and mental health. Negativity can come in many different forms including the people you associate yourself with and your own inner thoughts. Constant negativity will result in low self-esteem, depression, isolation, and self-deprecation. That being said, how can you work towards eliminating negativity from your life?
First, examine your relationships objectively. Are the relationships serving you or are they draining you? Do certain people make you feel good about yourself and your life choices or do they knock you down? Anyone that isn’t there to better your life or breathe positivity into it needs to go!
When it comes to self-talk, you need to practice replacing any negative thoughts with positive ones. As soon as your inner voice starts pulling you down – telling you that you’re not good enough or pointing out your flaws, you need to give yourself a pep talk. Push your negative thoughts out and if you can, replace them with something positive and encouraging. This is all part of practicing self-love.
Do the Things You Love
Self-love and self-care are both extremely important for maintaining a healthy mental state. Without taking time from your hectic and stressful schedule, you may experience a mental overload. Too much stress can have disastrous effects on the body – including heart and breathing complications, weight gain, and interrupted sleep. One way to combat stress is to make time for the things you enjoy.
Is there a certain hobby you’d like to take up again? Or does meeting with friends and family for lunch or dinners help you relax? Make a short list of the things that make you happiest and feel most like yourself. Then figure out a way to incorporate these things into your routine. It doesn’t need to be every day, but often enough that it helps keep your stress levels in check.
Exercise
Exercise isn’t only beneficial to your physical health. Physical activity can greatly improve your overall mood and feelings of accomplishment while also improving your sleep and memory. When you exercise, your brain releases feel good chemicals known as endorphins that help elicit feelings of relaxation and happiness. Interestingly enough, this release can actually become as addictive as some narcotics – including morphine, heroin, and nicotine. But in healthy doses, exercise is a great way to improve your mental health. This is especially true if you take your workout routine outdoors. Fresh air is also proven to help improve your overall mood and also have some pretty significant health benefits. These include a stronger immune system and improved oxygen supply.
Establish a Routine
We already know that children respond well to a structured routine and schedule. But why is that? It’s because a consistent and reliable routine elicits feelings of safety and security. It also helps get your body in a schedule, which means you’ll sleep and function better. When you’re getting enough sleep and accomplishing tasks in your personal and professional life, you’ll see a drastic boost in your mental health and self-perception.
Establishing a routine means trying to go to bed and get up around the same time each time. Eat your meals at the same time everyday whenever possible. If you’re having a hard time keeping to your schedule, make a list. Try to stick to it as best you can. It will help you reach your goals and leave you feeling productive and confident, which are all key elements in establishing a positive self-image and a healthy state of mind.
Keep a Journal
Journaling offers countless benefits, including a release for pent-up frustrations and emotions, especially those you may not feel comfortable discussing issues with someone else. Your journal is a safe place for your private thoughts and feelings. Journaling is a healthy way to let go of things that may be plaguing you. Holding these feelings in can result in resent and emotional distress. Over time, this may cause an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and could lead to emotional eating and weight gain. Mindfulness is another positive effect of journaling. Writing your thoughts down help you to organize them and identify potential triggers. It also brings these triggers to light, allowing you to examine them and become more aware of their origins.
Remember, your mental health is equally as important as your physical. In fact, countless mental conditions can have a negative impact on your physical well-being. Don’t be fooled into thinking as long as you eat well and exercise, you’ll live a healthy life. Although these two factors are incredibly important, in order to live a well-balanced life, you need to monitor and maintain a healthy, positive mental state as well.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
