Mental health is as equally important as the physical well-being when we speak of its overall components. They affect, and even complement, each other. It is medically proven that one who may have been diagnosed with cancer becomes discouraged and depressed, thus, suffering psychological and emotional setbacks as a result.
In the same vein, people who are clinically afflicted with depression have higher risk of acquiring cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. So, it is important to balance these two overall health components, meaning, the mental and physical health.
This pandemic has targeted not just our physical health, but our mental resolve as well. For instance, since COVID-19 is a deadly disease, a death of someone, whom we know as healthy, is already traumatic and emotionally disturbing.
Because of this, our anxiety level may increase the moment we learn that we have been exposed to someone who tested positive. Similarly, while in quarantine, the idea of isolation itself already takes a toll on our mental comfort.
Thus, it is best to decipher ways in order to maintain equilibrium between our physical and psychological archetype and relief. While we may be physically restricted in terms of outside mobility, we can indulge in ways and routines that can promote mental stability.
It is true that our body is the reflection of our lifestyle. When we have come up with activities as means to alleviate our stress, we should do them regularly and routinely. To maintain these mind health regimens, we have to add into them the improvement of our daily lifestyle.
Common instances of mental health routines that we can devise are being physically active, avoiding alcoholic substances and dangerous drugs, stopping the cravings to smoke, prioritizing sleep and relaxation, and most importantly, eating healthy foods.
Thus, for us to battle these emotional or psychological woes, we have to maintain mental health routines which could help us reduce the anxiety we are experiencing in this challenging times.
Mind regimen may help keep your anxiety low
Anxiety is a mental condition and a neurotic aberration which primarily affects our emotions in dealing with daily stresses, tensions, and pressures.
However, if this emotion becomes constant, irrational, and could affect one person’s functional ability, anxiety may turn into a psychotic disorder, which, of course, we do not want.
Anxiety disorders, if not cured, can become a severe abnormality. Thus, a person may need to see a mental health specialist if he has a serious anxiety disorder already.
He may opt to seek the professional help of either a psychiatrist, who is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions or a psychologist, who can, as well, determine the severity of one suffering from an anxiety problems, thereby, subsequently offering counseling sessions.
However, by maintaining a mental health routine, a better alternative in seeing medical doctors, to prevent your anxiety disorder in becoming a severe one, will be an effective preventive measure for all of us.
The author so believes that if one person has a good psychological coping mechanisms and patterns (such as worthwhile activities to keep the mind active), this could certainly help in doing away with the unwarranted emotions caused by anxiety, as a consequence of one’s stress or bad physical habits.
We just have to relax our mind, and you should also take a break from the source of your stress.
1] Unplug yourself from your computer or cellphone
2] Get out and feel the breeze of fresh air and
3] Look at the clear blue skies
These activities may, in their little ways, help your anxiety level low. These may assist you to ease up the tension a little bit, if the same feels to be insurmountable.
Manage your daily stress
Anxiety is not the only thing that a mental health routine can help prevent, reduce, or alleviate. This coping mechanism can also diminish a person’s stress levels.
Unwanted Stress
Nowadays, while it is true that stress is the main source of anxiety, if that is the case, we must combat the same, through our innate psychological prowess.
Stress could be the result of a poor balance among work-life, family-life, or school-life. Take note that students, at these trying times, can also feel the stress, if not being engulfed by it.
If these are the sources of stress, then, we might tend to improve our habits to balance equally our lives vis-à-vis our work or academics, taking also into consideration the undeniable support of the family, even though at times the latter also contributes to foment and create a stressful environment.
Considering that, in today’s situation, the threat of acquiring COVID-19 may be inevitable and it really adds up to our tensions and anxiety, yet, as we work or study at home, we can still manage well this challenging situation.
Healthy sleeping promotes well-being
We must prioritize sleep. This is so important not only to students, but to the employees and for us most individuals as well. Research shows that a person’s 8-hour sleep can boost immunity.
If one person has better sleep, he has a better mood once he wakes up the next morning. Sleep can likewise increase productivity.
So, if we manage to handle this challenging situation adding up to our stress, by simply having enough hours of sleep then we can no longer stress ourselves to the forthcoming work or academic loads.
Build Strong, Healthy Habits
As we continuously intimate, mental health is equally important as physical health. Necessarily though, mental health routines can also be beneficial not only to your psychological framework but to your bodily fitness as well.
These two components are tied. In view of this, when our mental health fails, it affects our physical abilities. On the other hand, if our physical health declines, it affects our mental state.
Consequently, we should try to improve our lifestyle i we want an optimum fitness, both in mind and in body.
Start by keeping yourself physically active. Exercise every morning to energize your body for the day ahead. By keeping yourself physically active, your body burns calories faster helping your body in good shape.
Harmful Alcohols
Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages as the same target and damage our liver. It bears stressing that the liver plays an important role in our overall body’s digestion and filtration.
In addition, excessive intake of alcoholic drinks could develop chronic diseases and other serious health problems, including, but not limited to cancer, stroke, heart diseases, liver cirrhosis, and high-blood pressure.
Do not take dangerous drugs as it targets our brain and mainly affect its cognitive functions. These will eventually damage the brain cells, which may lead to mental health problems.
Try Avoiding Tobacco or Cigarettes
You must stop smoking as well. Cigarettes are composed of numerous harmful chemicals that when they enter your body can cause harm to several vital organ of your body.
Research shows that cigarette smoking reduces your life expectancy. Also, you are not only putting yourself in danger but as well the persons surrounding you when they inhale your second-hand smoke and second-hand smoke is much dangerous.
Instead, indulge in healthy diets and foods
Most important of all, eat healthy foods. You must complete your everyday meals. Starting from healthy breakfast to snack to lunch until you eat your dinner. Eat vegetables and fruits more often as these are naturally produced and therefore naturally and orgnically healthy.
Let me quote in English the homily of a priest, the author has listened to, as regards eating healthy foods: “Those foods that have not face are nutritious and healthy. Those foods that have face are not healthy, they contribute fats.”
Reflecting on this, foods that have face pertain to meat and poultry, that when consumed improperly and without balance, can really add up cholesterol to our bodies and can affect our physical health.
Concluding Perspective
Everyday in our lives, we are embattled. We may face numerous and several life challenges, which are otherwise of different degrees in terms of difficulty.
However, since we are thinking specie or in scientific parlance, a “homo sapien“, by our thinking will power, we can face head on any challenge, be it psychological, mental, emotional, and even physical.
The sheer will of the mind is more powerful the the muscles of the body because only the mind can dictate what our body can do and must do.
Consequently, the above mental techniques are indeed thought processes that we can imbibe and put into operation for our body to obey. These are mental calisthenics that only us, humans, can effectively perform.
Now, the parting words, kindly do not underestimate your will power and the prowess of your mind. For this, you will ever know that such resolve can be an effective way to curb emotional and psychological challenges in life.
