1. Making a Commitment to Your Positive Mental Health

    October 15, 2013

    Making a Commitment to Your Positive Mental Health

    by Kari Lloyd

    No matter what your current life circumstances are, it is essential to maintain your mental health. After all, many of mental health problems can be caused by issues from your past, and this makes it imperative to consciously take steps to improve your overall sense of well-being. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do to gain control over your mental health, and placing an emphasis on these techniques will make it much easier to remain positive during every aspect of your life.

    Six Tips for Improving Your Mental Health

    1) Counseling – Everyone needs to talk about their problems, and it is not always beneficial enough to discuss everything with a friend. Instead, you can utilize the services of a trained counselor to work through all of your issues in a safe environment. As an added bonus, a counselor can introduce you to coping techniques that will make it easier to deal with all of the aspects of your daily life that cause you to feel stressed out or depressed.

    2) Exercise – One of the best ways to achieve and maintain a more upbeat outlook on life is to exercise on a regular basis. Although it can be difficult to get motivated to work out if you are feeling depressed, you will quickly begin to experience the positive mental benefits that accompany even the most simplistic exercise routine. Therefore, even if you do not feel up to it, you should force yourself to take a walk at least three or four times a week in order to help regulate your mood.

    3) Socialize – Anyone who has ever dealt with depression knows how easy it is to lose touch with your friends and loved ones. However, allowing yourself to become socially disconnected is a huge mistake that will only exacerbate your depression. In order to avoid this problem, you should make social commitments at least once a week to ensure that you get out of the house on a regular basis.

    4) Express Yourself Creatively – Whether you are interested in drawing, writing, making music or scrapbooking, you should definitely enable yourself to release your emotions through a creative outlet. This will give you a positive way to channel your negative emotions, and it will also help you improve your self-esteem.

    5) Make a Promise To Yourself – You might have heard of couples making promises to care and support each other with rings, so why not make the same commitment to yourself? A promise ring or small token can motivate to remember that you’re important to and keep you focused when you feel you’re going off the tracks.

    6) Join a Support Group – If you are dealing with a specific issue such as a serious illness or abuse, you should consider joining a support group. This will give you another opportunity to express your feelings in a safe environment, and it can also be very comforting to speak with other people who have had the same experiences.

    As long as you remain committed to improving your mental health, you should begin seeing positive results relatively quickly. Keep in mind that you are still going to have ups and downs, but you should be able to manage them more effectively by giving yourself at least one proven outlet for dealing with your feelings.

    Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22498741@N02/2425844539