Just as you need a healthy body to function in your day-to-day lives, you need a healthy mind as well. Mental health is equally important as your physical health, as it can make or ruin your day, month, or even life, in very severe cases. Sadly, the problem with most people is that they do not realize the long-term effects of being emotionally drained or mentally tired until it’s too late. According to studies carried out by government bodies and organizations, around 47 million American adults experience mental health issues. If this isn’t an alarming fact, then imagine the mental health issues kids and teenagers will experience because of their parents.
So, now that we’ve identified the problem, how do we fix it? Well, one thing’s for sure and it is that something like this isn’t solved in a day. Just like when a person falls ill and it takes them some time to bounce back with some precautions like particular diet, medicines, etc., mental health works in the same way. You need to work on yourself for a while before you can completely be cured. And how you can do that, we will see here.
What Can You Do to Overcome These Issues?
Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do to overcome mental issues and bring some sort of semblance and peace to your life.
Thought Record Worksheet
If you’re wondering what this is, this is a worksheet where you record your thoughts when you are feeling stressed, sad, depressed, etc. In addition to the thoughts, you also record the event that took place, which caused you to have such thoughts. Then, once you’re done recording that, you can sit down and think about whether your thoughts are validated for that particular situation or not.
If yes, then good, but if no, then why? This will help you to clear your head and think from a calmer perspective. Usually, this is also what psychologists ask you and so, it gives you a clear picture of why you felt what you felt.
While this is something you can do on a piece of paper as well, you can find worksheets online, which you can download and use for this purpose. It is up to your preference whether you choose a journal for this, a worksheet online, an app, or the like. If you want a worksheet, however, just search for “Thought record worksheet” and you can pick one from the results.
Daily Mood Tracker
The daily mood tracker is best for people with anger management issues, however, it’s not just restricted to them and can be used by anyone that wants to keep track of their mood. Abrupt changes in mood are also a sign of mental illness and so, this mood tracker will help the person realize and record the changes and the reasons for changes in their mood. In a way, this is helpful for the person as it can help them recognize certain triggers and work to avoid them or better control their mood around them.
Just like for the thought record worksheet, daily mood trackers are also available as apps, journals, etc. You can make your own journal and make a chart there or just download an app or a worksheet to fill in. To get access to the app and the worksheets, you will need to make sure you have a good ISP that is reliable so, your personal information isn’t shared with anyone or exposed. Xfinity Internet is a reliable and secure internet option for many people in the U.S.
The Feeling Wheel
The feeling wheel has 72 feelings overall, which are divided into 6 groups. The overall groups are Angry, Sad, Scared, Joyful, Powerful, and Peaceful. It is shaped like a wheel and helps people to identify their feelings with more accuracy. This is especially useful as people can better validate and confirm their emotions than if they don’t know what they’re feeling. There are also special circumstances or occasions when a person cannot express their feelings accurately. In this case, the feeling wheel plays a big role as it helps them learn and identify their own feelings.
Self-Care Checkup
Therapists give this worksheet to their clients at the end of the sessions so that clients can be aware of what self-care activities they are practicing. While these may involve something as simple and common as sleeping, exercising, and eating well, these are often neglected the most during stressful times or days. So, in this manner, the therapist and the client are both aware of which activities are being neglected and which aren’t. Of course, you don’t need a therapist to do this, you can still do this without one. Whether you do it in a journal, or you download a worksheet for it, it is a good practice to do this every day or at least every 2-3 days.
Causes of Mental Health Issues
After the activities, let’s talk a bit about the possible reasons for mental health issues.
- Stress
Stress about your work, stress about your family, stress about poor financial conditions, or literally anything else. There are many reasons and causes of stress in one’s life, unfortunately. And while sometimes, you can handle it, other times, it can get too much. One thing you should always remember is that one person’s breaking point may not always be your breaking point as well. So, don’t think that your stress or your emotions are invalidated, just because your friend or your brother/sister is going through much worse.
- Genetics
Oftentimes, we fail to realize that genetics play a very big role when it comes to medical issues. Depression, anxiety issues, and other mental illnesses can be hereditary and passed down from generation to generation. So, while you might think there is no reason for you to feel so intensely about any particular situation, you should seek help whenever needed right away.
- Hormonal changes
There is a lot that goes on in our bodies and we never seem to realize that. Whether it’s during puberty or any other time when you’re feeling pressurized about something, your body is undergoing a lot of emotions. When you are undergoing intense hormonal changes, it is normal to feel hopelessness or intense anger, or anything else really. So, instead of being angry about why you feel a certain way, it is better to accept that it’s just a temporary phase and move on from it.
Conclusion
Mental health should never be taken lightly. While it is something people are usually embarrassed to talk about, there is nothing shameful about it. If anything, businesses, schools, and everyone should encourage and initiate conversations about mental health as it is a serious issue. Given the recent conditions and the lockdown because of Coronavirus, people have started realizing the importance of this issue and seeking help whenever needed.
This is exactly how it should be and people should not only be aware of the importance of mental health themselves, but they should also educate the younger generation as children are very sensitive to everything around them and can easily get affected by environmental stress factors or hormonal changes.
Well, this brings our article to an end! We hope you have gotten much to learn from this.
