Being healthy doesn’t always mean not having any physical ailment. You could be very healthy and physically fit but still experience sadness more than happiness, mental fatigue, and irritation and many such things.
Psychological health is the condition of your mind and emotions. It is as important as your physical well-being because your mind channels energy to your body. This means that if your mind is sad, no matter how healthy you are, nothing will feel good.
Let’s look at some symptoms of psychological distress –
• Irritable mood – it can include facing difficulties with sleeping, lack of concentration, low energy, loss of interest in things, anxiety, etc.
• Changes in behaviour – short temper, making sudden shifts between being happy and sad, indulging in more arguments with people, among other things.
• Social interaction – withdrawing from people, or being overly interactive in order to drown out one’s own thoughts and anxiety in public places.
• Drop in grades and staying behind all the deadlines, losing interest in even the most favourite chore, feeling the need to just sit doing nothing for hours on end.
If you’re feeling any such things, it could your mind’s way of alerting you about its illness. There is nothing to worry about because if there is a problem, there is also a solution to it.
Let’s look at some easy ways in which you can boost your mental health quotient-
• Look after your basic needs – we all have two very basic needs as human beings: eating and sleeping. If you haven’t given your body enough food or sleep it can start to feel lethargic and moody. Let’s compare it to a car for better understanding. No matter how fancy and new the car is, if you don’t put petrol and keep its battery charged, it won’t deliver its best.
• Don’t compare – we are all different people, unique in our own ways. There may be so many things you’re not good at that your friends excel at, but there must also be just as many things where you are better than them. If you keep comparing yourself to others you will never find happiness. You must understand that no one is better than anyone because everyone is so different.
• Know your strengths and weaknesses – you are your biggest critic and biggest fan. It is very important for you to know your own positive and negative points. This helps you because then you know the areas in which you can push yourself to achieve excellence and those in which you can take baby steps to improve. A quote by Einstein can explain this point better, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
• Don’t forget to laugh – laughter is the best medicine and nobody can disagree. Even if you have to force yourself to laugh, the activity releases chemicals inside your brain that calm it down and fill it with positivity.
• Connect with others – nothing can lift your spirits better than other people. If you are feeling too low, go out and meet some friends, meet new people. Even if it is for a short time, they can make you forget all your woes.
• Get active – an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. If you sit idle for too long, your mind gets an opportunity to dwell on negative thoughts. By keeping it busy for long, it not only becomes sharp but also stays healthy.
• Don’t lose hope – this is one of the most important things you must remember. Life is not a smooth road; it is a rollercoaster ride. When you are experiencing upswings it won’t look so bad but it is when you are down below that you must remember to not lose hope. Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but enjoy the smooth ride after words. Don’t stay on the road bumps too long.
• Gratitude – Being grateful for every little thing in your life goes a long way in keeping you mentally and emotionally stable, a simple Thank you to the universe for a pleasant day, food to eat, Family support, friend circle, a job etcetera brings in a sense of peace and joy which has the ability to multiply when we are grateful.
Only because your mind and emotions don’t hurt physically or leave scars doesn’t mean they don’t need your attention. You need to look after yourself both physically and mentally because these aspects of well-being are very strongly interconnected.
Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit – the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well-being. – Greg Anderson
