Mental health and wellbeing can be a tricky business. We might feel great on some days and overwhelmed on other days. Some of us might be on various pills to help you feel better and healthier. But how much do we have it all together?
Do you feel that being overworked, stressed, or even underestimated can cause your mental health to deteriorate? Or that you have to put in a lot of work and energy to feel fine again?
If you are like us, then the answer to these questions would be a yes!
So what should we do to overcome these challenges? That is a million-dollar question, right?
Well, Lucky for you readers, over the years our experts have found some strategies that have helped deal with struggles and challenges before they become a pain in the neck. These strategies have helped individuals stay positive and over the years, have helped in improving overall wellbeing.
So let us take a look at some of these strategies that we at Transform Happily believe will help you with consistent practice.
- Perception shift
We as humans by default think of all the things that we do not have or all the things that have gone wrong. There might be a million good things that are in your life but your heart and mind will be stuck on that one thing that you have not received yet.
A voluntary and conscious shift in this thought process is very essential. Consciously force yourself to think of all the blessings you have had in your life. Think of all the good memories you have shared with your family members as well as your friends or even your pets. Pick any happy memory and remember it in detail; the time of the day, the people involved, the emotions you felt, the physical symptoms you felt, and so on.
A perception shift can also arise in aspects where we again consciously rephrase our problems into constructive solutions. For example;
If we worry too much about having so much on our plate and we are constantly anxious about how we are going to manage them, we can have a perception shift where we focus more on the solution and lesser on the problem. In this case, you might say “ I need to take out the time to prioritize all the tasks I have in hand. Once I prioritize it, I will tackle it one by one.”
- Gratitude practices
Another strategy we can use to constantly remind ourselves of the good in our lives is to maintain a gratitude journal. We can write in that diary at the end of every day. We can answer questions like “what was I most grateful for throughout the day?”. Even if we have had a bad day, we can make sure to mention that we were grateful for being safe and healthy throughout the day. We can express our gratitude for the people in our lives who might have done small or big things for us throughout the day, be it those who share food with us or even those who cook food for us regularly. At times we can even write thank you notes to those special people as well as to ourselves for taking care of ourselves and for not giving up.
When you consciously take out the time to think of all the good stuff in your life, you will not have as much time to think of all the bad stuff.
- Staying connected
For most individuals, being around the right people always makes them feel better than they would if they were alone. Spending time with your family and friends, even if it is virtual can be of key importance. These meaningful relationships help us maintain a positive attitude, give us space for personal as well as interpersonal growth, and can also result in positive self-esteem influences.
- Be physically healthy
It is also important for us to remain physically fit. Physical fitness does influence your mental health, just as mental health influences your physical health. They both go hand in hand. You can not have holistic wellbeing unless both these aspects are kept in check. Maintaining a good rich diet, regular exercise that suits your activity level, and a good 8 hours of sleep throughout the day (or as directed by the physician or life coach) are three important physical health aspects that need to be dealt with. Even a small walk or a healthy meal can make you feel good and brighten your mood.
- Focus greatly on your coping skills
The toughest and trickiest aspect of it all is to develop appropriate coping skills to help us deal with stressful situations, criticism, sadness, negativity, and so on. These situations can often cause us to spiral down even if we have great physical health and social connections.
Here, you need to voluntarily question yourself. What is it that triggers you, what are the emotions that I feel during this situation, how do I respond to these situations, who are the people I want to be with or avoid during this situation and why is that so, among other questions.
One such way of feeling lighter and eventually better, is by journaling your emotions, your feelings, making notes of triggers and emotions, what makes you feel good, and so on. You can also write about your negative experiences and the roller coaster of emotions that followed.
Awareness is the first step to healing yourself.
- Get help!
Seek professional help when you feel you are no longer in control or anytime you feel the need for it. Understand precaution is always better than cure. It is better to seek help sooner than later. The later you seek help the longer it will possibly take for you to overcome your challenges. In our society, accepting that you need help takes immense courage and is often the toughest part of the path of recovery and positive wellbeing. Professionals are not only unbiased but they can help you in ways your loved ones might not be able to.
Note from our psychologist: All our clients are always so desperate to see immediate results of the session, to which I simply say, these challenges did not build up overnight, so you can not find peace with it overnight as well. You need to be consistent with your effort and daily practice them to see noticeable results within years, months, or even weeks sometimes. These noticeable shifts depend on various aspects like the intensity of your challenges, your willingness as well as motivation to set foot on the right path, consistently practicing all the strategies, and being aware that there might good days and bad days but your lows are not going to define you. Everyone is different and we respond differently to all these strategies, what works best for your friend might not have any influence on you. Thus, your mental health journey must be your journey alone, without comparison, competition, and criticism. Pave paths that work best for you.
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