Things are tough right now. It may feel harder than ever to express how exactly you are feeling. But sometimes — you just have to ask yourself “Hey, are u ok?”
What is Mental Health?
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood, and something that impacts everyone. Mental health determines our ability to relate to others, perform day-to-day tasks and responsibilities, and enjoy favorite people and activities in our lives.
What Mental Health is “NOT”?
Imaginary
Something to “get over”
Something to fear
Fast Facts on Mental Health
1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year
1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year
17% of youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24
The most important thing to remember is that “You Are Not Alone.” For more data on mental health visit www.nami.org/mhstats
A Self-check of Your Mental Health
Ask yourself the following ten questions: take your time, be honest, and don’t be hard on yourself.
How are you feeling today, really? Physically and mentally.
What’s taking up most of your headspace right now?
What was your last full meal, and have you been drinking enough water?
How have you been sleeping?
What have you been doing for exercise?
What did you do today that made you feel good?
What’s something you can do today that would be good for you?
What’s something you’re looking forward to in the next few days?
What’s something we can do together this week, even if we’re apart?
What are you grateful for right now?
This self-assessment tool was created by Mental Health America, to learn more visit https://screening.mhanational.org/content/just-checking-friends
Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health
Self-care is a common way to take care of your mental health, as well as your physical and emotional health. The World Health Organization defines self-care as: “the ability of individuals, families, and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” Self-care is checking in with yourself and asking yourself how you’re doing and what you need. GR8NESS, an online community dedicated to helping you on your journey with self-care, offers“90 Self-Care Activities to Start in 2021.”
Some examples are:
Dance a little. Turn up the volume at work or home and dance to your favorite tunes – no judgment.
Drink more water. Perhaps the easiest self-care activity to try this year.
Exercise more often. You don’t have to enlist for a marathon or hit the CrossFit arena to make this happen. Any form of exercise will count; even thirty minutes of walking will do.
Drink some tea. Beyond being antioxidative and highly beneficial for our health, tea is another way to ramp up our water intake.
Paint your nails. Yes, self-care is also painting your nails and giving yourself a face mask.
Sleep more. We take sleep for granted. This year do your best to sleep at least seven hours a night and improve your sleeping habits.
Go outside. A few minutes outdoors can bring your stress levels down.
Eat something you love. An instant way to pick your mood up is by eating something you enjoy.
Have a morning routine. What we do when we wake up can impact the rest of our day. .
Call a friend. Self-care doesn’t have to be elaborate or too thoughtful. Sometimes, calling a friend is all you need to care for your social self.
While these are great for some self-care doesn’t look the same for everyone. Healthline, a health and wellness website, has a great resource for creating your own self-care checklist so that it is specific and actionable for you, learn more at https://www.healthline.com/health/self-care-checklist
If you or someone you know needs more professional help Bridges is able to offer mental health care and treatment for the whole family, children and adults. As the state-designated Local Mental Health Authority for Milford, Orange and West Haven, Bridges offers recovery-focused services to support individuals; learn more www.bridgesct.org/
Psychology Today offers a searchable database of local clinicians, learn more at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/ct/milford
Additional Resources
Join Action For Happiness’s 10 Day Happiness Challenge Common Signs of Mental Illness in Teens and Adults New App to Help Those With Severe Mental Illness Make a Crisis Plan Interested in Becoming Trained Mental Health First Aid? Learn More