As someone with a mental illness, it’s important for me to focus on things that will help me get and stay well. Because of this, I’ve accumulated a variety of techniques to improve my mental wellness. Though vital for someone suffering from a mental illness, mental wellness is important for everyone. It can help you live a richer, fuller life, and be happy in your job and home. Without further ado, I’d like to share my top five tips for mental wellness.
1. Find Your Passion
This is an all-encompassing phrase. Hobbies are extremely important, especially stress-relieving hobbies. Personally my hobby is bird photography, which is extremely tension-relieving since it’s primarily done in nature. Choose a hobby that you have an interest in, that you can afford, and that brings you happiness. But passion is more than just a hobby, it can also mean finding your dream job, a job that you actually enjoy, and that doesn’t stress you. An impossible dream? Maybe, but one way to improve happiness.
2. Eat Right
We all know we need to eat right for our bodies, but it’s not just our bodies that are affected by poor nutrition. Our mind is a complex computer that needs a balanced diet to function properly. Slacking off dietarily can result in poor health and an unhappy person overall. Feed your brain and chances are you’ll begin to feel happier and more well-balanced in no time.
3. Work it Off
I’ve found exercise to be a great way to work off stress. It allows us to release our frustrations and stresses in a mentally and physically healthy way. I try to work out at least 3 times a week to keep my mind and body healthy. Working out does more than that, though, it can actually make you happier! When we work out, the body releases endorphins, and endorphins boost our mood.
4. Get a Good Nights Sleep
When I first developed a mental illness I had basically no sleep schedule. I’d go to bed at 4 am and wake up at 6 am for school. I was an absolute wreck. Then I began to notice that the more sleep I got, the fewer symptoms I had, and the happier I was! Now I get a solid 8 hours in every day and have never felt better. Sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our brain and body. It gives our body time to rest and repair, and our brains time to process everything that’s happened during the day and relax.
5. Meditate on it
Meditation is not something I’ve personally tried, but one I’ve heard raved about. However, after much research and countless testimonials I can say that I highly recommend trying meditation as a path to mental wellness. Meditation is a way of calming and focusing the mind, and is practiced in Buddhism, but also recreationally by those outside the religion.
That’s all I have for you, I hope you take heed of at least some of these points; I believe all are valid paths to increasing mental wellness. My name is The Beast, and I suffer from prodromal schizophrenia, the early stages of the disease. I run a blog with another author over at https://exploremindfulness.wordpress.com/ , where I write about all aspects of mental health. Feel free to check us out!