You would be surprised at how many people are constantly exposed to stress! Did you know that even infants can experience stress? Think about it - when a baby cries, they usually want or need something whether it be attention, food or a diaper change. If their cries are ignored, they may experience stress because their needs are delayed. Adults, on the other hand, can experience stress in a variety of ways that usually stem from the results of day-to-day activities. Triggers like demands at work, family problems and social conflict can throw just about anyone into a downward spiral.
Knowing your triggers, however, can help you take the step towards ensuring mental health! Some of your distractions or concerns are easily dealt with while others require extra steps to resolve. The best way to ensure mental health is to recognize that it is extremely important. Most people would ignore signs and symptoms of mental distress because they are used to believing that it's 'all in your head.' All too often, people do not recognize the problems until they have already affected them in a negative way.
One of the best sources of information regarding the state of your mental health is you, yourself. You know your limits and what you go through everyday. You can also recognize the factors that affect your mental health when you encounter them. To make sure you take care of your mental health you should learn to identify situations, events and people that are stressful to you so you will know how best to manage them when you need to.
Once you recognize your stress triggers and the things that challenge your mental health, there are certain steps you need to take. Here are some tips that should help you along the way:
Assess your mental health on a regular basis. Try to assess at what point your state of mind is at its best and then try to be aware of when you dip below that level. The point here is to take note of 'trends' in your emotional well-being. Have you been feeling happy and satisfied lately or are you generally depressed and have been for some time?
Set aside time to focus on your mental wellness everyday. Often, taking a few short breaks to relax everyday can do a lot for your mental wellness. Recognize that it is normal for people to have concerns and worries but that what you need to focus on are real solutions. To do this effectively, you need to make a conscious effort to manage your mental wellness.
Choose the most effective ways to manage your negative thoughts. People have different ways of dealing with stress and unpleasant emotions. When these thoughts enter your head, learn to recognize them and then interrupt the flow. Think of more pleasant things or distract yourself by taking part in more productive activities. These thoughts will probably appear from time to time but the key is to prevent them from dominating your mind.
Learn to prioritize. Most of the time, the stress that affects your mental health is caused by an overwhelming sense of being behind at work, at home and financially. Make a conscious effort to prioritize your life. Even if you have a list of 20 things to do in one day, for example, being able to complete seven of them before lunch hour can help reduce pressure.
Challenge your mind. The mind can get a bit rusty when it focuses on only one or two things. Learn to tread on unfamiliar ground and challenge yourself. Learn a new skill, for example, such as playing an instrument or learning a mind-stimulating game like chess. Unfamiliar things make the mind work harder because there is new information to process.
Go easy on yourself. If your mind wants to take a break, then go ahead and let it rest. Your mental wellness rests on how well you can listen to what your mind is telling you!
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