A new year comes with new challenges, new opportunities, and taking care of your mental health should be everyone’s New Year’s resolution. Say goodbye to 2021, a year the pandemic taught us even more about the importance of mental health. In 2022, start your day with regular exercise, physical activity is not to lose weight but to lift your mood and enhance the feeling of happiness created by your brain when you exercise. While staying active, don’t forget to take care of your diet. Eating nutritious, balanced foods is essential. It is true that when people say that you feel what you eat, it means that your mood is also affected by the amount of food you eat. Keeping yourself hydrated is highly recommended. Develop a healthy sleep pattern. Ideally, 6-8 hours of sleep is enough, but sleep quality is also important. To improve sleep quality, make sure you avoid screen use 2 hours before bed and give yourself 30-40 minutes before bed for self-care aka me time . This time is for you to enjoy self-care activities or things that are relaxing and therapeutic. Some people like to take care of their hair and skin, some want to read a soothing book, some will listen to podcasts or soothing music, meditate or write in a journal. This year, another important goal is to improve our social and emotional support. This comes from our relationships, our family members, friends and associates. Since we are social creatures, we need to socialize, and because of the pandemic, very little of that has happened. So feel free to communicate online or in person and regularly remember pandemic precautions with friends and family. Share your feelings, emotions, and thoughts with them while actively listening to others. Develop new skills and challenge your abilities, but at the same time relax and enjoy your hobbies. Doing what you are passionate about will reduce stress, dissatisfaction levels and improve your mood, and in the long run will enhance your mental health. Set realistic, feasible and achievable goals. Design your short-term goals in such a way that it will help you achieve your long-term goals. Focus on productivity but don’t get overwhelmed by working too much or pushing your limits. Take breaks when needed. During your time off, do things that make you happy. Focus on your strengths, not your limitations. Start a journal if you haven’t already written a few words or pages of gratitude. Track your progress and achievements through a diary. Avoid using illegal drugs and alcohol. Manage uncertainty by living in the present, taking each day as it comes, and focusing on the things you can control. Mindfulness and meditation can be wonderful tools. Although we cannot control everything that happens to us, we can control our reaction to the situation we are facing and our attitude towards it. We can empower ourselves by living mindfully. Good mental health does not mean we only have happy thoughts. Sad or unpleasant things are part of life. Problems are also part of life. Good mental health means looking at the situation for what it really is; Practice healthy thinking. We all need to take time to slow down and relax. It’s an important part of managing stress and enjoying our lives. When we don’t take time to slow down, stress can increase until we feel too overwhelmed to do anything. When we relax, it becomes easier for us to see problems and solutions more clearly. It’s easier to manage difficult feelings and easier to see the brighter picture of situations. It’s easier to focus on what’s happening now instead of worrying about the past or the future. You can achieve this through yoga, meditation, exercise and tai chi, some popular activities. Let’s finally normalize seeking professional help from a mental health professional by 2022 and end the stigma around mental health so it’s accessible to all. mental health services. This article is written by Sana Rubiyana, Consulting Psychologist, Fortis Lafemme Hospital, Richmond Road, Bangalore.
