“We go to the gym to improve our physique, we visit a parlour to look pretty, what do we do to be mentally, and emotionally fit?”
We do not give our mental health or feel much importance. We feel awkward and shy to speak about how we feel because we are afraid of being judged. Sometimes we don’t acknowledge our emotional issues because we don’t even realize that we are going through a rough phase.
But mental, emotional well-being is as important as physical health. It is high time we accept and take care of our emotional well-being.
Mental health is defined as the well-being of our emotional, psychological, and social interactions. It involves how well we handle stressful situations and how good we are at making choices.
Taking care of our mental health is important at every stage of our lives, whether in childhood, teens, or even 50. We are rushing with time, and our life is becoming more stressful day by day.
How Covid-19 Lockdown affect Mental Health
With the COVID19 pandemic, our lives were completely turned upside down. We experienced the worst, which has had an adverse effect on our minds, souls, and mindsets.
There was and still is a lot of struggle going on around us. We witnessed many deaths, people losing their jobs, and many harsh suicides. The reason for death was either COVID, heart attack, or suicide: unnatural death.
The pandemic caused havoc in our minds, and we couldn’t accept things like loss of job, lockdown, losing our dear ones, masks, and abiding by rules. This pandemic caused fear, anger, loss of income, and isolation which triggered mental health problems in people and made us behave differently.
Stress is one other major thing that people experience during this time. People were affected to such an extent that they didn’t think twice before taking their lives. If only we knew how to handle such scenarios and maintain our mental stability, we would have come out stronger.
Keeping the mind and soul happy means you are happy, and it isn’t difficult. Because of our fast life, we tend to neglect this aspect.
Therefore, let’s look at 5 simple steps you can inculcate in your daily life to be happy, and mentally strong:
1. Talk about how you feel
It is okay to feel low. It is okay to feel discouraged, angry, or confused. What is not okay is bottling it all up in your mind. Talk to people about how you feel. Maybe your friend, mom, or anyone whom you’re comfortable with. Talking heals and lightens your soul.
Write down your feelings if you can’t / don’t want to talk. Writing is therapeutic. Maintain a journal or diary where you can pin down how you feel on a daily basis. This way, you’ll feel good, burden-free, and can assess your moods.
2. Exercise or just move
Make exercise or any form of physical activity your best friend. When you move vigorously and release those endorphins, you’ll automatically feel good inside out.
If going to the gym or following a fixed exercise routine bores you, then go in for other forms of physical activity such as yoga, running, pilates, belly dancing, etc.
3. Improve your skillset
Pick up a long-left hobby, or choose a new hobby to develop. Learn a new language or skill that can be added to your resume. It can be anything. Learning keeps the mind active and curious.
Working on a skill set and mastering it gives you a sense of satisfaction. When you achieve this, you feel good about yourself, proud of yourself. You know that you are stronger and bigger than any problem because you have in you the capability of achieving things.
4. Practice Mindfulness
I cannot stress enough how important practising mindfulness in today’s times is. There is no point in pondering the past and no use in being anxious about the future. All we have is now, this very moment, so why not be mindful about how we put this moment to use and make the most of it.
Practising mindfulness during every task you do, be it at work, during dinner, or playing golf, will help improve your focus, and you’ll be able to do the task better and faster. And again, when you do this, you’ll feel good about yourself.
5. Help others
There is no greater happiness than the happiness you receive by putting a smile on someone else’s face. When you put a smile on someone else’s face, you will notice yourself smiling. Help others often whenever possible; this will give you inner fulfilment.
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To wrap it up
If you observe the above points, they are all directed to make you feel good about yourself and give you happiness. All in all, when you feel worthless, lost, or find yourself at a cliff where the road further is unclear, hold on to hope, strengthen your mind, know that there is a happy day after a sad day.
Your emotional, mental well-being is essential and matters more than anything. Push yourself, work hard, but take it when you need a break. You deserve it.
It is okay to talk about how you feel, irrespective of whether you’re male or female. Let’s normalize addressing these issues and ask for help when we need it.
Do incorporate the above steps in your life and say hello to a new you!
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