Moving from Mental Health to Mental Wellbeing in these 9 Ways
How does one improve mental health? We give you 9 ways to manage your mental wellbeing.
How does one improve mental health? We give you 9 ways to manage your mental wellbeing.
Mental health is critical for one’s well-being and is also directly related to physical health. A person’s frame of mind is connected to the quality of relations we develop in personal and professional life. Mental health is also a widely misunderstood subject with a stigma attached to those who seek support. However, in recent years, there has been a wave of change to the way people perceive the importance of mental health and the need to work on mental wellbeing.
World Mental Health Day (10th October 2020), is celebrated to increase awareness and erase the stigma that surrounds it.
According to surveys, mental health disorders are widespread across the globe. Many cases are often never detected or resolved which makes it difficult to understand the spread of mental health disorders the world over. Global data by WHO (World Health Organization) outlines suicide as the second leading cause of death for age groups 15-29 on a global level.
Strengthening mental health thus is a primary concern. According to WHO, depression itself will be the second-largest disease worldwide this year.
Poor mental health affects a person physically. It also derails one’s personal and professional life. There is a need to focus on mental wellbeing activities and professional care.
People are now being aware of the need to have a balance in their psychological, emotional, and social well-being
While the general perception is changing the world over, there are many ways one can fight mental illness. Globally, the world has woken to many ways to lead a happier life. The importance of World Mental Health Day is increasing all over. This means the world is finally ready to make the move from worrying about mental health to focusing on habits to improve mental health.
People are now being aware of the need to have a balance in their psychological, emotional, and social well-being. Balanced mental wellbeing helps one display confidence in self, have better decision-making abilities, and manage emotions in challenging environments.
Globally, there are different ways through which people seek to improve their mental wellness. We’ll take a look.
Professional counselors assist their clients to guide them towards strengthening their minds using sound techniques and strategies. A counselor listens to the problem and helps the client discover solutions to emotional issues. Counselors are non-judgmental in their approach and move clients towards clarity. They are trained to resolve past traumas and deep-rooted issues through clinical methods. Counselors do not advise or sort problems. Rather, they strengthen a person to deepen their trust in self to improve mental health.
Also known as “talk therapy”, psychotherapy aims to resolve internal emotional issues and mental illnesses that often stop a person from living a life they truly desire. Psychotherapists often urge a person to revisit past experiences and get a deeper understanding of its connection with the current problems. A client becomes highly self-aware while understanding their own emotions and issues. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Interpersonal Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, Psychoanalysis, Supportive Therapy, and more are all a part of psychotherapy. Psychiatrists, and psychologists, as well as professional and licensed counselors, therapists for relationship or marriage, and more use psychotherapy as a base to resolve the client’s emotional issues.
This alternative type of medicine for mental illness is often combined with modern treatments. Hypnotherapy is useful for all types of mental illnesses particularly addiction issues, changing belief systems, curing fears and phobias, detaching from painful past or trauma, and more. Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis as a tool to get a client to a space of clarity. A certified hypnotherapist induces a deep state of relaxation in a client that improves focus and uses suggestibility to install new thought patterns that add value to a client’s life. A client who is open to hypnotherapy soon finds themselves breaking away from patterns that do not serve a purpose in their life.
This alternative form of healing is about the transfer of energy from the palms of the Reiki Practitioner to the client. Although traced to Japan as its place of origin, Reiki is used the world over and often combined with medical treatments. Reiki healing works to relieve pain, anxiety, stress, depression, worry, and more. Reiki healing is safe for many types of mental health issues without any side-effects.
Yoga refers to “Union” and is often considered as a form of exercise globally. Yoga is the union of the “body and mind”. Yoga is a combination of asanas (Postures), breathwork, and mental exercises that originated in ancient India. Although Yoga is considered as an exercise in the western world, the aim is to calm the senses with a greater sense of reality. Yoga also encourages us to let go and hold no expectations while doing the asana. The goal of Yoga is liberation; a concept that is highly important to build mental health. This is beneficial for anyone suffering from mental issues as it brings inner peace while elevating greater presence and wisdom. This is a great combination of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that need to be followed with discipline.
Daily mindfulness practice strengthens the mind to be aware of negative thought processes and realign them for a better mental wellbeing
A person’s mental health is connected to spiritual and physical health. Chakra (Sanskrit word) denotes a wheel and represents an individual’s energy points. Hinduism as well as Buddhism texts mention the chakra points. In Hinduism, there are 7 chakra points which are the Sahasrara Chakra (Crown), Ajna (Brow), Vishuddha Chakra (Throat), Anahata Chakra (Heart), Manipura Chakra (Navel), Swadhisthana Chakra (Sacral), and Muladhara Chakra (Root). An imbalance in the energy of these organs which controls the health of one’s hormones, tissues, and other functions needs Chakra Healing. A medical condition such as hypertension or an emotional condition such as depression is all connected to specific chakras. Chakra meditation, aromatherapy, color therapy, Chakra sadhana, and such techniques are often used to clear negative energy in the body and elevate mental wellbeing.
NLP is popular in different countries and was highly popular in the late 70s and 80s in the US. The co-founders of NLP; Richard Bandler and John Grinder, developed the language of the brain that enhances the way a person communicates with oneself. The popularity of NLP grew and many practitioners spread the teachings in different parts of the world. NLP helps one create major changes in self by removing self-limiting beliefs, increasing confidence, understanding one’s emotions, enhancing relationships, and more. It is useful to manage mental wellbeing as any person who understands this deep connection with the subconscious mind can create new thought patterns in life.
Coaching brings the client’s attention to the present moment and plays an important role to manage mental health. Unlike other forms of therapy or healing, coaching is action-oriented. It gets an individual to work on forming goals with a deeper sense of accountability towards self. Coaching improves mental wellbeing as it increases one’s ability to change the mind game through the tools and techniques as learned from the coach. Coaching helps a person to tone down the inner critical voice while creating clarity in thought that leads to action. Coaching is excellent to build leadership qualities and works to unlock a person’s hidden potential. This gives an individual the power into his/her own hands to move away from thoughts that do not serve any purpose and create a successful life.
Mindfulness has immense benefits for one’s psychological and physical health. It’s no wonder that Mindfulness has gained popularity worldwide as a spiritual practice. Mindfulness raises awareness of the breath and mind while working towards developing one’s thinking powers, emotional sensitivity, communication with self and others, and more. A person learns to be in the moment in a non-judgmental manner. Daily mindfulness practice strengthens the mind to be aware of negative thought processes and realign them for a better mental wellbeing. A person develops a higher sense of focus while learning to give importance to thoughts that add value to life.
Apart from the methods mentioned above, art, dance, music, visualization techniques, and more are mental wellbeing activities to improve mental health.
We hope our World Mental Health Day awareness blog has given you new ways to build mental strength. Questions? Write to [email protected]. You can also share your worries in our Confession Box. It’s anonymous. If you’re passionate about our cause, you can donate your time or money to support our initiatives or join us as a volunteer.
