Mental health is something we all need to take very seriously – it’s not something that can (or should) be swept under the rug and is instead something that needs to be out in the open and looked after as carefully as we might look after our physical health.
The problem is that because of the very nature of mental health, it can sometimes be hard to look at what’s happening in a truly objective way, and it’s very easy to get completely overwhelmed by everything going on around us. One thing that can certainly help with this is to learn how to take control of your mental health. If you can do this, it will be easier to look after it in the right way. It’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s definitely worthwhile, so read on to find out what steps you can take next.
Be Self Aware
The first step to taking control of your own mental health is to be as self-aware as possible. In other words, you need to understand your own emotions, thoughts, and perhaps especially any triggers that make your mental health less than one hundred percent at times.
When you’re able to pay attention to your emotional and mental state, all of this becomes easier, but getting to that stage is the tricky part. One thing that a lot of people find helpful is journaling, which means writing down everything you think and feel, making a note of your emotions, making a list of the positive and negative things that happened during the day, and so on. When you read back through what you’ve written, you’ll be able to see patterns forming that will make you much more self-aware.
Get Professional Help
Sometimes it’s just not possible – or helpful – to try to go about taking control of your mental health by yourself. In fact, for some people, this might be the worst thing they could do as it might lead them down all kinds of wrong pathways.
If that’s the case for you and you’re not sure if doing it all by yourself is going to work for you, don’t worry; there’s plenty of professional help out there, and that’s the next step to take. You might go to therapy, for example, which is something a lot of people find helps them unburden themselves and get guidance about what to do next. Others might need something more specific, so they’ll choose something like the best sexual assault prevention program so they can be in control after learning what to do. Whatever it is you feel is best, there’s absolutely no shame in getting help; that’s exactly what it’s there for.
Stay Physically Active
Did you know that regular physical activity can have a huge impact on your mental health and how in control you can be? It’s true, and although it’s surprising, once you start, you’ll soon see that it really can give you the power you’re looking for in your life.
When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which are natural mood boosters. So if you can aim for around 30 minutes of exercise as many days of the week as possible, you’ll get a good dose of endorphins which will make you feel great, but more than that, they’ll make your mind a lot clearer. That means you can take control of any situation better and improve your mental health.
