5 TIPS YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
One thing I valued more than anything growing up was understanding the importance of my health.
My initial thoughts were generic: Eat right & exercise often
It didn't hit till 3 years ago that I would have to come face to face with my mental health. Like any 20 something year old, we come across several changes that we have to own up to. I put a lot on my plate, and I realized I bit off more than I can chew. My anxiety developed when all these changes happened at one time.
For a while, I didn't realize that I had developed an anxiety disorder. I just generally thought these were normal feelings to have especially with my new lifestyle. I didn't want to have to deal with prescribed medications. I even turned to practicing yoga to help me with it. Although it extremely helped, I wanted to do more throughout the day to help my mental health.
I wanted to write this post to spread the importance of Mental Health.
YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH
I read this article on CNN about a woman who took sick days for her mental health. It hit home for me because I was actually denied using sick time because of my anxiety. I literally cried because it added more anxiety for me. I thought this was a courageous act this woman did, and it was even more amazing that the CEO commended her for this. "Sick" is not just Physical, it could be mental as well.
5 tips you can do for your mental health
1. AFFIRMATIONS - Start off the day with a positive intention and stick to it. For example, "I'm in control of my emotions. I choose to be happy than to waste time being sad or upset about the small things"
2. TREAT YO SELF - with your time. Sometimes we get wrapped up in meetings, taking care of family, keeping up with your social life and social MEDIA. Unplug for an hour or two and do something you enjoy (I seriously find cleaning and organizing therapeutic).
3. TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY - Stress can physically harm you slowly but surely. It could lead to heavy tension in your neck. Stress can lead to "stress eating," which means eating anything and everything to compensate the stress. 1 hour of your day is 4% of your day! Use this to get moving.
4. REFLECT AND EXECUTE - Find out what's really stressing you out. List them all out and reflect on what you can change about it to better yourself, then DO IT. Unfortunately, it could be cutting certain people from your life or bad habits. Just know that it'll be good for you in the long run!
5. SEEK A PROFESSIONAL - It's not as dramatic as one may think. You can go to your doctor once a year for a physical check up, why not see a doctor for a mental check up? They can further explain how mental health can lead to physical problems. I'm personally not about prescription drugs, but they can definitely educate you on other possible solutions as well!
I hope this helps you as I use these tips myself. It's not an easy journey, but we can be corny as fuck and do this together :)
Blessings,
M