Mental Health and Stress Management

In today’s fast paced world, taking care of your mental health is so important. Modern life can be overwhelming due to constant deadlines and social pressure. When the body aches we go to the doctor to cure it. We need to take care of our mental health also.

Mental health is the emotional balance, positive thinking and inner peace. Illness of mental health affects how we think, act, and feel in our daily life. When mental health is stable we feel comfortable and can challenge any problem easily with courage and confidence. But when it’s disturbed, even small talk can feel impossible.

Common Mental Health Struggles

Some of the common mental health struggles include:

Anxiety

It means feeling very worried, nervous or very scared about something that might happen even if there’s no real danger. Like we are going to give a paper or interview and we learned everything about paper but we still continuously think about paper that what is gonna happen? If something bad could happen. You think about the issue very exaggeratedly and this causes you to feel overwhelmed and stressed.

Depression

It is a mental health condition in which a person feels hopeless, sad and uninterested in daily life for a long period of time. It affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves and can lead to physical problems like tiredness, trouble sleeping and loss of appetite. Simply it is a feeling of being sad and low for a long time not for just two or four days. It makes it hard to enjoy daily activities.

Stress Related Issues

Stress causes sleep problems, mood swings, fatigue, and can even lead to suicidal thoughts.

Understanding Stress

Stress is a natural part of life and most people experience it. But it depends on your body how it responds to it. If stress is getting too much and is affecting your mental and physical health, it becomes dangerous. The causes can be academic and work pressure. Mostly teenage students suffer from it.

Financial causes are also a reason that may lead to stress in elders, same as conflict in relationships between couples which can burst out as depression.

“It is not stress that kills us; it is our reaction to it.” — Hans Selye

Tips for Stress Management

Following some tips can help us to deal with the stress:

• Exercise regularly: Go for a walk in the morning or whenever you get time. Just a 10 minute walk can bring a big difference in your life.
• Practice Meditation: Give your time for meditation and do prayer that will reduce stress and anxiety.
• Sleep well: Take a nap properly and complete your night’s sleep. Don’t stay too long at nights while using mobiles.
• Eat balanced meals: Eat properly whether it is your breakfast or your lunch. Add vegetables, fruits, pulses in your diet.
• Talk about it: Talk to someone who hears you and tell them about your condition. If the condition isn’t getting correct then go to a psychiatrist for a proper checkup.
• Engage in hobbies: Set your daily life with different hobbies which will make you busy for the day and this will ease your condition.

Research

According to Harvard Medical School (2020) study, deep breathing and mindfulness exercises can lower the body’s cortisol level (the hormone linked with stress).

Quote to Remember

“You don’t have to control your thoughts; you just have to stop letting them control you.” — Dan Millman

This reminds us that when we try to control our thoughts, it makes the condition worse but if we start to observe them calmly and try to sort them out then it gets reduced.

Final Thoughts

Taking care of your mental health is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. The more you care for your inner peace the more you bloom and glow from outside. Always remember a healthy mind leads us to a healthy life. So pause, breathe and give yourself the kindness you deserve.