Being mentally fit is equally as important as physical health. The problem with mental health is that identification i.e. diagnosis of the problem is difficult. When you have pain in the stomach or if you are suffering from fever, you can diagnose it quickly and take immediate remedial actions. But the case is not similar to mental health. Often, we don’t know if we are fit and active mentally.
Even when a person is mentally fit, we think that we are doing good and hence we don’t take any remedial actions. Not being mentally fit doesn’t mean that the person is eligible to be admitted to a mental hospital. It can also mean that the person is suffering from problems like irritation, too much anger, depression, stress, forgetfulness, insomnia (read here for remedies for lack of sleep), etc problems.
Ensuring mental fitness is necessary for following reasons:
- To enjoy our life to the fullest
- To give our best in our profession / job- To maintain good relations with everyone
- To manage our financials
- To be a good and responsible citizen
and the list goes on. If a person is not mentally fit, he/she may have to face many other mental problems in the near future. Following are some of the useful tips (for everyone) to improve their mental fitness
1. Strong Relationships
No matter how much money and fame you earn, it won’t be an alternative for strong personal relationships. For supporting and enriching your life, try to develop & maintain good relations with the people around you and the people who play a great role in your life, like your family members, girlfriend, best friends and, etc.
Spend quality time with your near and dear ones, make a habit of appreciating others and giving good compliments.
Quality of personal relationships surely has a great role to play in mental well being. Spare time and effort to develop a strong relationship with your girlfriend or boyfriend and best friends. You can start a conversation with some praise lines or any past memories.
Make use of social media platforms, like and comment on their pictures. Social media an incredible platform to stay connected with your mates and family, so you can start a conversation there as well.
You can also make a list of good praise lines for your boyfriend or girlfriend. Make a collection of some good comments for girl picture, so that every time your friends post an Instagram pic or Facebook post you can compliment her to make her feel special. This is how you make your relationship stronger.
2. Time to Relax & Enjoy
According to science, no machine can give 100% efficiency. If that is the case with machines, then what should be the case with humans who have many emotions to cater? So, don’t worry about not being more productive, more efficient in your work. Take time to relax and enjoy. This will surely boost your morale and will give you more reasons to work harder and smarter.
Have some hobbies and leisure activities. Don’t do them just for name sake, put all your efforts, interest in your hobbies or passions. Allow yourself to be more creative and spontaneous. Few of the practical tips include:
– Read books
– Fill up crosswords
– Play with pets
– Take a walk in a local park
– Play some musical instruments
– Sing a song for yourself (even if you are bad at it)
– Dance for yourself (even if you are bad at it)
This list goes on and you have to select those which you will find more interesting and fun.
3. Share Interests
Be friends with those who share common interests with you. This kind of participation will increase your sense of belonging and has a great impact on your mental health. You will learn the enjoyment hidden in sharing common interests. Few of the practical tips are:
– Join a sports club
– Join a dance group
– Participate in singing classes
– Join a book club
– Join evening walking club
Whatever your passion may be. Try to find friends having similar interests and form a group to share your interests.
4. Volunteer to the Society
There is a lot of happiness and satisfaction in serving the society. Try to volunteer by participating in clubs that serve the society, like blood donation camps, community cleaning camps, volunteering at large social gatherings, organizing drinking-water camps in summer, etc.
5. Self Care
Take care of yourself. You should pay attention to the food you take, towards the type of people you meet, towards the care you take for yourself, etc. To be more mentally active, you should be physically fit and active. This enables you to feel good about yourself. Try to write down your feelings in a diary, try to recollect more positive memories, think of more opportunities, etc. Try to maintain a good look, good physique and enjoy a balanced diet.
6. Challenging yourself
Regularly challenge yourself with some new tasks. Try to learn a new skill within a set time. Try to do something new on a particular day. Even if you are doing some routine work, you should challenge yourself to do it 30-minutes earlier than you do daily. Meeting these challenges will help you to build self-confidence and skills. It also gives a sense of achievement, progress, and satisfaction.
7. Managing Stress
Stress is one thing that is going to be here, all through your life. You may have to face different kinds of pressure in different stages of life, and you are not the first one to face it. Learn how to manage stress. Learn how to react to different situations, experience a variety of situations to prepare yourself to face any dire situation, etc. There are so many stress-relieving methods available for us, like meditation, yoga, etc. We just have to practice them regularly.
Yoga asanas can be a great option for you, try practicing some breathing exercise whenever you feel some anxiety and stressed, this really helps. Similarly, you can try our some physical activities like a 20-minute brisk walking, jogging or some gym workouts.
8. Refresh Regularly
Having a good amount of quality sleep is necessary for mental well being. If not, this will cost you very much in the long run. Never allow the feeling of fatigue to take over you. Have some rest when you feel tired. Allow your mind to unwind sometimes. Allow your mind to wander somewhere, do some daydreaming, etc. You can also add ‘do nothing’ task to your to-do lists.
9. Be Here, Be Now
Most of the time we get lost in either past experiences or future preparations. But we don’t enjoy the present moment. For being mentally fit and active, it is necessary that you enjoy the present moment fully. So try to be in the moment with all your senses. Feel the air around you, feel the sunlight falling on your skin, feel the sounds that you hear at the moment, etc. This helps you to feel good about yourself and can help in improving mental health.
10. Asking for Help
Don’t hesitate to seek help from others. Don’t try to be perfectionist, because such a thing doesn’t exist. Remember that every person, to the matter, every living organism on this earth, has some or the other problem. Try to ask help from others to get relief from such problems. Try to ask for spiritual help from religions (read scriptures, listen to sacred things), etc to help you to lead your life in the right manner.
Mental fitness is essential for everyone, everywhere and every time. Make the fullest of this valuable life.