Why Self-Care Is Essential for Mental Health (Plus Essential Strategies)
By Emily Graham is the creator of Mighty Moms.
The concept of self-care can differ from person to person, but on a fundamental level, it involves taking care of yourself for a better life. While self-care is essential for physical health, it can be particularly crucial for optimal mental health. If you’ve struggled with your mental well-being, practicing self-care can help you stay positive, fulfilled, and happy. Here, AP Family Counseling shares some basic (but often overlooked) self-care strategies that can significantly benefit your mental health.
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Cultivate a Healing Home Environment
Turning your home into a positive and healing place will help relieve any tension you may be feeling. After all, our space affects our mental health intrinsically. For example, a dirty and cluttered space won’t make you feel like getting your life together or regaining productivity. Similarly, suppose your family is complaining or overly critical in your space. In that case, it might be time to inject positivity by cleaning, decluttering, and letting in fresh air. Make your bed every day, decorate your space with items that uplift and excite you, and add lots of green plants to feel good in your space, daily.
Work on Your Nutrition
Did you know that poor nutrition can exacerbate feelings of poor mental health? For example, eating a diet high in processed sugars and fats may make you feel lethargic, lazy, and depressed. Instead of grabbing a soda or bag of chips, try to make healthy swaps like opting for fruit, nuts, or a smoothie. This will keep your hunger levels low while providing you with energy to fuel your day. In addition, Mental Health Foundation writes that prioritizing food high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein will be beneficial to feeling good.
Get Proper Sleep
Most adults need between 7-8 hours of sleep each night. You must get your zzz’s in to feel good the next morning and stay energized and productive throughout your day. If you’ve been struggling with getting good sleep, consider sleep hygiene strategies. For example, take a long bath, read a book, or meditate before bed. These activities help quiet the mind and slow down to ensure you hit the hay at the right time rather than staying up all night.
Dealing with Depression
According to The Hill, one in four Americans deals with depression daily. Seeking help when you’re depressed is essential because the condition can make completing responsibilities and daily tasks difficult. It can also take over your life in an unhealthy and harmful way. Be sure to visit a mental health professional to work out your issues. When visiting a licensed professional, they might prescribe antidepressants as the appropriate treatment by considering current symptoms, pre-existing medical conditions, and medications you’re taking. Depression medications are crucial for many but aren’t suitable for everyone, so a mental health professional will be able to monitor side effects to ensure your health and safety closely.
Set Self-Care Goals
If it’s proving challenging to prioritize your self-care, you may just need some goal-setting to get you started. List out your primary goals as an exercise. Your goals could be that you want to foster and sustain relationships, get out of bed by a specific time each morning, or figure out what your spiritual needs are. Look back on your goals each month and see how you’re doing – you might be surprised at how much progress you’ve made.
It’s easy enough to understand the state of our physical health, which depends on how we feel and if we’re energized or burnt out. With mental health, on the other hand, we often don’t realize we need to be implementing strategies and if they’re working. However, sticking to the essentials and remaining consistent in upholding self-care can go a long way in promoting excellent mental health!
Looking for the right therapy to guide you on your way to healing? AP Family Counseling offers a range of therapy options for navigating family difficulties and issues. Click here to get started today!
