Foundations of Mental Health
Want to have better mental and emotional health? There are places we can start! Mental health and wellbeing are greatly impacted by the way we treat ourselves and our body. It’s usually a good idea to start here. To check in with how we are caring for ourselves on this foundational level before moving onto some of the deeper, inner work.
Mental health and wellbeing encompasses your psychological and social wellbeing. It goes far beyond your mental (your ability to process information, managing interactions with others, the types of thoughts you have, and your ability to make decisions) and emotional health (your ability to identify, manage, and regulate your emotions). It’s about the social, psychological, and physical factors that contribute to your well-being, contentment, and happiness. It’s about our ability to maintain positive relationships with others, experience personal mastery, have autonomy in and over our lives, develop feelings of purpose and meaning in life, and continue your personal growth journey.
Here are health habits that create a foundation of support for your mental health:
Get Quality Sleep: aim to get AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep per night for adults and 8 hours for teens—I’ll be honest, it’s ideal to be aiming for more (though each person will have a sweet spot as far as how many hours they should be sleeping), but we gotta start somewhere! Nearly 40% of adults get less than the minimum 7 hours of sleep and over 75% of high school students get less than the minimum 8 hours of sleep….
Eat Nutritious Food: Food is fuel for your body and brain. Eating anything will always be better than eating nothing. And, this is likely an area many of us can improve. Mood boosting foods can help us manage the stresses we face. While other foods can negatively impact our mood, anxiety, and stress levels.
Move Your Body: You don’t have to go to the gym, lift heavy, or be a “runner” to get the mental health benefits. Exercise is great, but you can do it on your won terms, too. Walking, slow and steady yoga, impromptu dance-sessions, stretching regularly, gardening, cleaning, progressive muscle relaxation all count and can help boost your mental wellbeing. Its about getting your blood flowing and more oxygen to your wholel body.
Get Outside: Sunlight—and the vitamin-D it provides—and being in nature with fresh air can have profound impacts on our attitude and mood.
Connect with Friends/Loved-Ones: One of the best things you can do for your overall health and wellbeing is build strong social relationships. Spending time with and enjoying the company of others, especially close friends and loved-ones boosts all aspects of health, strengthens our immune system, boosts our mood, and creates more increases resilience. Even small interactions of friendliness with other people—you don’t have to even know them—can boost your mood.
Take Breaks from Social Media: Social media has been shown to increase feelings of low self-worth, anxiety, and depression. It promotes unhealthy comparisons and inaccurate perspectives. Even when we “know better” that people only show (and even exaggerate) highlight moments, we are still negatively impacted by all the images and messages we receive.
Take Breaks In General: Take time to relax and rest. Give your mind and body the opportunity to unwind. There are times when we just need to take it easy. A lot of us are so focused on constantly being productive we are driving ourselves deeper and deeper into stress, anxiety, and depression. Relaxation and rest rejuvenate us so that we can better handle the things life throws at us.
The foundations are simple, but not always easy. I’m sure you’ve heard them all before, too. But a lot of us find ways to dismiss them because we’re too busy and don’t have the time, don’t have the energy, and/or we don’t like how we feel when we do them. There are so many things that get in our way.
We can help get ourselves (or loved ones) on board, by shifting the way we think and talk about our time, energy, and priorities. We all know there are a ridiculous number of things that get in the way of us showing up for ourselves. When we question if we have time to get outside or have the energy to move our body, for example, changing our answer from “I don’t have time” or “I don’t have the energy” to “It’s not a priority to me,” can help us realize that’s not actually the choice we want or need to make.
It is important that we start our slow and steadily. It would be difficult to shift from doing next to none of these things to doing all of them. Instead, try including 1 or 2 and seeing how it feels. You can steadily incorporate others as time goes on and you establish healthier habits.
These foundational elements can help you bolster your mental health. Or, when not taken care of, they can create or worsen mental health struggles. By reflecting on your own habits and making the changes that ultimately support your mental health and wellbeing, you can greatly improve the quality of every aspect of your life.
These strategies aren’t going to “cure” any mental health condition. They are tools to support your mental health and wellbeing overall. It is also important to consider working with a professionally trained therapist. Especially if you are dealing with anxiety, depression, or are dealing with a recent shift in mood or behavior. A trained therapist can help you improve your mental health. There are many things outside of our control that can contribute to our mental health struggles or wellbeing. By adding these habits, you can support greater wellness in your own life.
This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the nuances of and is not a replacement for individual therapy.