You might be hearing about mental health more than ever, and that’s a good thing. More celebrities and movies are openly discussing the idea of mental health, and more parents are more worried than ever about the effect that technology has on their children’s’ mental health. As if that wasn’t enough to be concerned, a United Nations envoy, Dr. Dainius Puras, has released a report stating that socioeconomic conditions are also contributing to the overall mental health crisis in a global context.
There are all sorts of different ways to tend to your mental health, and some of them might be more obvious than others. It might sound obvious or intuitive to maintain an emotional support system so that you can vent and confide with people that you care about. However, sometimes it takes just a few actions to adjust the way that you protect your mental health. Here are some useful tips to protecting your mental health this summer.
Be Realistic
Source: Her Campus
We can often become so preoccupied with a goal that it completely consumes us. For example, one might obsess over a potential business deal to the point where their marriage suffers, they act more distant to their children, or they simply lose touch with close friendships that they have cultivated for years. You may want your startup to hit $1 million in sales, or your app to have 100,000 downloads, but it often is a process that takes a certain amount of time and energy to set in motion.
It can be invigorating to undertake new ventures, but there is nothing wrong with being realistic. It can be tempting to set certain milestones that inspire us, but that inspiration can soon turn to resentment if we fall short of these expectations. If you are able to temper these expectations, it can help your overall mental health tremendously. We should recognize that we will not be able to fulfill all of our goals, all of the time, on the schedule that we desire, and accepting that inevitability can help our overall mental and emotional state.
Exercise As Much As You Can
Source: The List
According to swaggermagazine.com, there are all sorts of people concerned about their “summer body”, especially since human beings now take pictures of themselves more than any other time during the history of civilization. However, it’s not always about how much we can lift, how toned our abs are, or how muscular we can get. Exercise is extremely important when it comes to mental health, and can go a long way to making sure that you think better and experience less stress.
If your professional obligations don’t allow you to have much time; you’ll have to improvise and adjust the way that you live your life. The next time you are on a business call, make sure that you are actively walking so you can at least have your blood flowing while you are thinking and talking. You should also consider making the gym part of your overall routine, so that you can regularly make sure that you are releasing endorphins, as well.
Do Something Different
Source: Twitter
There is nothing wrong with a little variety to spice things up. Often times, life can become overbearing and overwhelming thanks to a concrete routine. Why not attempt to switch things up? This might apply to your love life with your wife, your approach to dating, going out, and so much more.
You might grab a drink with some old friends at the same bar, but there’s nothing wrong with switching things up so that you all can explore a new neighborhood. If you can afford it, consider taking a spontaneous trip over the summer so that you can take advantage of some nice weather. It doesn’t matter if it’s listening to new podcasts, cooking with new recipes, or trying out a new hobby; you can truly boost your mental health with the right variety of activities that you haven’t considered before.
