As the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic slowly subsides in the United States, experts are sounding the alarm of an impending “mental health wave.” The pandemic has upended so many lives and livelihoods that it has resulted in very real trauma in those who were most affected. Once the pandemic settles, people will finally be able to catch a breath and reflect on the negative impact that this pandemic has had on their mental health.
All this highlights the importance of prioritizing our mental health before it is too late. It shouldn’t take a pandemic to jolt us to take our mental health seriously; in fact, there are many simple psychological self-care tips that everyone can practice daily to boost their mental health.
Practicing daily psychological self-care tips allows you to maintain a healthy mind and body throughout the various seasons of your life. In other words, you can make small decisions daily to invest in your long-term mental health, get rid of stress and anxiety and set yourself up to live a happier, healthier life.
Here are a few mental health self-care tips that you can make a habit of practicing on a daily basis:
Practice Mindfulness
“Mindfulness” is the new buzzword, especially in the health and wellness sector.
In reality, mindfulness is a self-calming technique that has existed since antiquity. Why is it gaining popularity again in recent years? It’s because the science is unanimous: mindfulness works. Experts tell us that mindfulness is “very effective in addressing the stress-filled nature of our global world.”
So what exactly is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the “basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”
In other words, mindfulness is about tuning out the stresses and pressures of the external world and being fully present in the moment. It’s about slowing down, taking a deep breath, removing any toxic thoughts or emotions, and feeling fully present; fully alive.
Practicing mindfulness is something that anyone can do at any given time. All you need is a few minutes and a quiet space where you can be alone. Practicing mindfulness is especially important when you’re facing stress at work or at home and feeling that familiar sense of dread or anxiety creep up. Instead of allowing toxic thoughts and emotions to overwhelm you, practicing mindfulness allows you to see things from the right perspective and empowers you to make the best decisions in life.
At Mooditude, we believe in making the practice of mindfulness more accessible to everyone. With our app, you can do a “self check-in” at any given moment, rate how you feel, and explore why you are feeling so. Our app allows you to jot down any of your thoughts so you can reflect on them later.
Take Care Of Your Physical Body
It is worth remembering that our brains are part of our physical bodies, proving conclusively that our mental health is inextricably linked to our physical health. For example, hormones like serotonin and dopamine play a critical role in regulating your mood. Depression and other mental health disorders can be directly caused by physical illnesses, such as thyroid problems.
One of the best ways that we can take care of our physical bodies is to ensure that we get some form of physical exercise a few times a week. Physical exercise has several documented benefits; research tells us that physical activity results in “better health outcomes, including better general and health-related quality of life, better functional capacity and better mood states.”
Studies also demonstrate that exercise has benefits for patients suffering from depression. In fact, “the overwhelming majority of these studies have described a positive benefit associated with exercise involvement.”
In addition, exercise confers long-term benefits for patients with depression. Studies show that “depressed adults who took part in a fitness program displayed significantly greater improvements in depression, anxiety, and self-concept than those in a control group after 12 weeks of training.” More impressively, “the exercise participants also maintained many of these gains through the 12-month follow-up period.”
In other words, committing to some form of physical exercise a few times a week is a great investment in your mental well-being. Exercise can take on many forms – yoga, cycling, jogging, and more. All you need to do is find a form of exercise that you enjoy and that works for you.
Get Enough Rest and Sleep
Oftentimes when we find ourselves in the middle of an assignment at work with a tight deadline, we push ourselves to go on and on without giving ourselves a moment to rest. Some people who describe themselves as “night owls” proudly forgo sleep in order to work.
We live in a society that tells us that being a workaholic is something to aspire to; after all, don’t those that work the hardest tend to get promoted at work? However, occupational therapy research tells us that “a healthy lifestyle reflects the adapted balance between work, play/leisure, self-care and rest activities.” In other words, you simply can’t function at your best without incorporating a healthy amount of rest into your daily life.
There is also an abundance of research that demonstrates the importance of adequate sleep in maintaining optimal mental health. Research tells us that “90% of patients with depression complain about sleep quality.” Another study “provides strong evidence that insomnia is a causal factor in the occurrence of psychotic experiences and other mental health problems.” This means the quality of your sleep and the quality of your mental health are inextricably linked.
In light of all this research, one of the best things you can do to care for your mental health is to ensure that you get adequate rest and sleep. It’s important to take the time to listen to your body. When you get adequate rest and sleep, you’ll have the energy and the drive to better tackle the challenges of the day and go after your dreams.
Conclusion
Regardless of how busy we are, it is important that we spend a bit of time every day to tend to our mental health. Throughout this article, we have seen that mental health self-care isn’t that complicated after all. All it requires is a little effort on your part to prioritize these psychological self-care tips in your everyday life.
Remember – investing in your mental health a little bit day by day ensures that you are at your very best to confront the challenges of life. It allows you to stay sharp in making the best decisions and gives you the reserve to display empathy and kindness to your loved ones. In other words, these mental health self-care tips can go a long way to help you become the best version of yourself – and the world will be better because of it.
Self-care is very important for your mental health. Download Mooditude App today and start building better mental health!
