Good ways to maintain and monitor mental health are to exercise regularly, keep a journal, and do therapy, even if you feel mentally healthy.
Mental health awareness month has been observed in the United States since 1949, and our treatment center, as well as the rest of the Flagstaff community, must continue to help people struggling to shake the stigma of mental health treatment. This means doing anything you can to shine a spotlight on helpful mental health tips and treatments.
Whether or not you are dealing with a mental health condition, it is important to take care of and identify whether you might be struggling. The reality is that deteriorating mental health can sneak up on us. A person may feel like they are doing fine one day and then it may feel like they suddenly can’t get out of bed. Very rarely do conditions such as anxiety just pop up out of nowhere. They are usually responses to difficult things building up. Mental health must be monitored, just like physical health. If there was increasingly noticeable pain in your leg, you would not just ignore it. You would get it checked out. You should feel the same way about your mental health and monitor it. Normalize getting help for mental health like you would a broken bone. Treatment is vital.
Good ways to maintain and monitor mental health are to exercise regularly, keep a journal, and do therapy, even if you feel mentally healthy.
Daily journaling is a great opportunity to write down your experiences that day and how you feel. When journaling, you should monitor your daily motivation. If you start to notice consecutive days, a whole week, or even a whole month go by where you monitor feeling negative, that might be a sign to get help or seek out a trusted friend or family member. Be honest about how you feel. Don’t leave deteriorating mental health unaddressed. A journal can also help confirm a good mental state. Consecutive days or months of feeling good are also worth monitoring, especially if you have a history of depression or another mental health condition.
Exercise and daily self-care seem like obvious things to do, but many people will let this slip by the wayside if they are busy or not feeling great. Daily physical movement leads to an improved mental state. Exercise does not have to be strenuous; you just need to get moving. It is important that you practice self-care. This means doing things such as eating healthy foods and regularly brushing your teeth and bathing. This seems obvious, but when you are not in a healthy mental state, people will neglect basic self-care.
It is important for people to do therapy sessions if they have the resources to do so. Therapy is beneficial for those dealing with mental health conditions, but they are also helpful for everyone else. Even if you are perfectly healthy, you will have stresses or events that occur in your life that therapy can help you process.
Finally, it is important for everyone to maintain a strong support system. Good friends and family will help you maintain a happy life while also being able to help you if you are struggling. It is important to note that people should maintain a support system that is comfortable for them. An extrovert may need a large and frequent support system, while an introvert may only need a few close friends and family and limited social interaction.
Take Mental Health Awareness Month as an opportunity to remind the community and those close to you that taking care of your mental health is just as vital as taking care of your physical health. Remind people to shrug off the stigma of not talking about how they are doing and seek help if you or they need it. FBN
By Laini Roberts
Laini Roberts is a Clinical Therapist at Back2Basics Outdoor Adventure Recovery. She has been working within the Social Work profession for five years in a variety of settings. She has experience working with individuals, groups, families and parent coaching. She is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), as well as being a Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist. Laini completed her bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Psychology at Bethany College and her master’s degree in Social Work with an emphasis on mental health and substance misuse from The Ohio State University.