Mental wellbeing is a topic that is commonly brought up these days. This is certainly not a bad thing, because it does look like society is shifting towards a situation where more and more people need assistance and regular treatment for mental difficulties. But it’s also important for a person to understand that a large part of their mental wellbeing is in their own hands and that it isn’t something they should consistently expect others to help them with. There are many things that can be done on a day-to-day basis to ensure that your mind is in a good state, and you also have a responsibility to watch out for any signs that things might be going the wrong way.
Technology and Isolation
Technology is all around us these days, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s pretty much impossible to escape its influence, even if you put conscious effort into trying to avoid it. It’s not a bad thing by default, either. Modern tech has created many new opportunities in various different fields and has made the life of the average person significantly easier. At the same time, though, it can also predispose some people to harmful behaviour. Even worse, they might not realize that anything is wrong, because technology can still fill a major void in their lives otherwise. You have to pay attention to how you’re using things like social media and even your smartphone. If you feel like you’re being drawn away from others and not towards them, then you may have a problem.
Financial Stress
Money can also contribute a lot to everyday stress, and it’s something that many people falsely believe to be outside of their reach when they want to address that situation. The truth is that you can actually do a lot to improve your financial status and avoid falling into even bigger problems in the future, but it takes some conscious effort and a little bit of personal sacrifice. You might have to go through some uncomfortable months until you’re in a stable enough situation. But, once you’re there, you’ll know that all the effort was worth it. Because in the long run, having financial stability is going to be one of the best factors contributing to a positive attitude.
Are You Happy at Work?
On the note of finances, it’s also important to look at your career from another perspective. Are you happy with what you’re doing? Many people realize that they’re following the wrong career path at some point in their lives. And, while many of them decide to just suck it up and continue, others take the risk and attempt to break away from their routine. There is no shortage of options available to you if you decide that it’s time for a career change. From neonatal nursing education to training to work on an oil rig, the sky is the limit, and the most important step is to actually decide that you want to make this change in your life.
The Importance of a Healthy, Strong Body
This is something you’ve probably heard repeated multiple times already, but there’s a good reason for that. It’s a tip that just works, and it’s unfortunately also one that many people tend to underestimate the importance of. This is particularly true in cases like the ones we described in the beginning of this article – isolating yourself from society through heavy use of technology can have some harmful effects on your willingness to take care of yourself, and this includes taking care of yourself physically. It’s easy to fall into a hole of complacency in this regard, too, and you may not even realize when things have gotten bad. But taking the time to go out and stretch a little is going to be one of the most positive changes you can make in your life.
Toxicity
You should also take a look at the people you hang out with most often. Toxicity is a prevalent problem in modern society, and it can creep up on you in surprising ways. It is particularly easy to allow yourself to be toxic when you see this kind of behaviour normalized by others. It’s important to understand that not everyone is like that, even though associating with such people too much can certainly lead to that impression. And it’s even more important to put a conscious effort into removing these people from your life as soon as possible. This also applies to people who used to be important to you but have changed. Everyone changes over time, and it’s not always for the better. Hanging on to those relationships will only leave you hurt in the end, and they won’t realize that anything is even wrong.
Addressing Your Inner Problems
It is true that there are lots of external factors that contribute to your mental wellbeing. But they are also always related to issues within you, and those can sometimes be even more challenging to address properly. That’s because this requires some proper introspection, which not everyone is capable of. It also requires the right approach – when it comes to problems based on emotions for example, it’s not as easy as just saying that you shouldn’t be feeling that way and calling it a day.
You should look into techniques like meditation if you want to get started dealing with your internal issues as easily as possible. It will take time and effort to see results, but once you’ve built up some momentum, it will be very easy to keep going. At some point, meditation will become a habit to you if you do it regularly enough, and that’s not a bad thing at all. It can open your eyes to some important truths in your life and show you the answers to problems you never even thought you had.
An Objective View of Yourself
On the note of meditation, you should use it to gain a deeper understanding of your own self. This is something that many people significantly overestimate themselves about. Many are surprisingly blind to their own problems and never pay any attention to the signs that are all around them. Coming to terms with those problems is also something that takes time and effort though, so don’t expect to see results immediately.
It’s also a good idea to try prioritizing those problems as you uncover them. You might start to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of issues that appear on the horizon at some point, and sorting them into a list according to their impact on your life is a good way to get started addressing them without feeling like you’re drowning.
Track Your Days
That brings us to another important point. Many people have forgotten the good old-fashioned idea of keeping a diary, and that’s unfortunate, because it’s one of the best ways to keep your mind in check on a daily basis. A diary is not just about revisiting old memories. It can also show you some patterns that are not immediately obvious to you otherwise, which can help you figure out how to solve certain problems in your life. And, more importantly, it can also give you a more objective overview of how things are going lately.
That’s crucial to a good mental wellbeing, because it’s too easy to fall into the wrong pattern of thoughts with regards to your performance and fool yourself into thinking that you’re doing worse than you really are. Those thoughts tend to stack up and can take you on a downward spiral that can be very difficult to get out of. But, with the simple act of keeping track of your day-to-day life in a way that you can revise later, such as a diary, you can clearly see that you’re not doing as badly as you might think.
Help Others Out
Many people find a lot of joy in helping others, and some don’t even realize that this applies to them until they’ve given it a try. There are lots of opportunities for that available to you these days, and it’s something you should definitely try to make room for in your schedule if you’ve never given it a go. Try a volunteer program if you need a place to start. Or, if time is an issue, check out some online support forums. It doesn’t necessarily have to be related to mental health, as you can help others in all sorts of ways. Share your skills and knowledge or even just say a kind word for retouchme.
The point is that contributing something positive to the society around you can be a very beneficial factor in the way you feel about yourself, and this is a self-reinforcing loop that can take you on a very nice path in your life. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to get started, and the long-term benefits are not to be underestimated. The only caveat to keep in mind is that you should set some limits and avoid crossing them. Overextending can eventually backfire and contribute to your negative emotions.
Maintain Your Momentum
You may notice that your life goes in swings – when things are down, they continue to go down, and when they’re up, it looks like the whole universe is trying to help you at each step. And that’s not just an illusion. There is a lot to be said about the mental momentum we develop in our daily lives, and this can swing both ways. If you let yourself become complacent with your situation, your mind will continue to adjust to that and your standards will keep going down.
But, on the other hand, if you make it a point to always progress forward, even in small ways, this will reflect strongly on your long-term mental wellbeing. It will make each step easier, and you’ll feel like you’re transitioning from walking to running and maybe even into a full-blown sprint at some point. But remember not to push too far – let the pendulum swing back a little bit every now and then, because burning out is just as bad as allowing yourself to become depressed.
Risks Are Good
One point that some people might not agree on is that risks are a beneficial factor in the average person’s life. Of course, we don’t mean to take absolutely every risk that comes your way and hope for the best. But, in many cases, the potential impact of a negative outcome is grossly overestimated in a person’s head, leading to a mental block that prevents them from taking the leap. The reality is that, when many risks re calculated more accurately, the potential benefits far outweigh the downsides.
This is particularly true when it comes to things like your career, personal relationships, and improvement opportunities. In many of these cases, the bigger potential for regret lies in not taking the leap rather than doing it.
Know What Your Strengths Are
Last but not least, always remember that you have strengths and weaknesses just like any other person. Focusing too much on the latter can lead to many problems in the long run, and it’s something you need to put conscious effort into avoiding. The best way to do that is to focus on the opposite – think about what makes you strong and gives you confidence, and put that under the spotlight in your life. Help people with things that you are knowledgeable about, use those skills in your career, and always keep growing as a person.
A lot of factors come into play when it comes to being happy. Many people never even stop to think about the many sides of happiness in their own lives. And that seems to be a growing trend these days, with the many distractions that we have around us on a constant basis preventing us from focusing on ourselves when it really matters. Don’t allow yourself to fall into that hole, and always pay attention to your mental state on a regular basis.
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