How To Raise Awareness And Ways To Improve Your Daily Life
Did you know that January is mental wellness month? This is a great time to raise awareness about mental health and seek treatment if needed. Per the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience mental illness in a given year. That’s a lot of people!
In this blog post, we will discuss seven ways that you can celebrate and recognize mental wellness month. We’ll get into more detail about each below.
1) Acknowledge the challenges you’ve faced during the day, week, and month.
2) Speak with friends, family, or your online social network about reducing the stigma of mental health and seeking treatment.
3) Seek or learn a new hobby that reduces stress and makes you happy.
4) Focus on gratitude for all the good things happening in your life.
5) Practice self-care with activities like reducing screen time, meditating, and spending quality time with loved ones.
6) Eat right and exercise regularly. These are all crucial to mental health.
7) Don’t hesitate to reach out for assistance or professional help from a licensed therapist or counselor.
Mental Wellness Should Be An All-year Priority
During Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s important to remember that mental wellness should be observed year-round. Mental health affects each one of us, and it’s essential to take the necessary steps to put your mental well-being at the forefront of everyday life. This month is the perfect chance for you to aim your focus on the many, many ways we can improve our mental wellness and support our friends, loved ones, and even professional acquaintances in the process.
1. Acknowledge Your Challenges
Taking the time to recognize and reflect on the difficulties you face in life can help you better understand yourself and your emotions. While some days may be more difficult than others, acknowledging your struggles is a strong way to empower yourself and find balance in life. It’s important to note that no matter what kind of difficulty you face, there are always ways to cope with these challenges and seek professional help if needed.
2. Reduce Stigma
One of the most detrimental effects of experiencing a mental health issue or mental illness is the long-standing stigma that can sometimes surround it. Unfortunately, this has caused many people who grapple with mental health issues to feel shy, embarrassed, or sometimes even ashamed about seeking a professional’s help.
By taking part in important conversations about reducing stigma, we can encourage people experiencing mental health issues to speak more openly about their experiences without fear of judgment or being criticized.
We can also provide support to those near and far by raising awareness through social media and other public activities. These activities highlight valuable stories related to mental health and the effects on those who are experiencing or living with it.
3. Try Something Completely New
Trying something new is an exciting way to help reduce stress, push your barriers, and potentially give yourself a new sense of joy or calm.
Whether it’s starting a new hobby like painting miniatures or cooking Thai food, taking an online photography course, or testing out a different style of exercise, such as pilates or hot yoga, these are all incredible methods of giving your mind a little vacation from its daily stressors.
Not only is trying something new fun and stress-reducing, but it’s also good for your brain to experience new things!
4. Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude helps us appreciate what we actually have rather than worrying about the long list of things we don’t have. This is something that is especially critical when it comes to staying positive and managing our mental health. Taking just a few brief moments out of your morning or evening to appreciate all the good, kind people, unforgettable places, and irreplaceable moments in your life can help you deal with psychological distress in more wholesome ways and nurture your overall sense of happiness.
Related Article: 4 Ways CBD Supports Your Mental Health
5. Self-Care
Self-care needs to be one of your highest priorities when it comes to observing mental wellness month. It means doing restorative things for ourselves without feeling guilty. It’s about taking time for ourselves – even if it’s something as simple as an extra hour of sleep or an afternoon spent reading a book you’ve been putting off.
You’ll be surprised at how small acts like these can make a world of difference in your daily, weekly, and monthly mental wellness. In our busy society, it may seem challenging but reducing screen time by limiting your use of phones, tablets, and TV is a crucial step in taking care of yourself – both physically and mentally.
Meditating when possible (even if just for several minutes) and spending quality time with loved ones are also both excellent forms of practicing self-care. Research even shows that human touch and hugging can reduce cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and may even lower blood pressure!
6. Eat Right & Exercise Regularly
Eating right doesn’t mean going on a restrictive, strict, and difficult-to-maintain diet. Rather, eating healthy, homecooked meals regularly throughout the week provides us with the essential macronutrients and micronutrients that aid in maintaining great physical and mental health.
Regular exercise has been proven countless times throughout the years as a very effective way of dealing with depression, anxiety, anger management, chronic stress, and low energy. If you haven’t already started incorporating exercise, or at least some form of physical activity, into your daily routine, then now would certainly be an excellent opportunity to try it out.
7. Reach Out For Assistance Or Professional Help If Needed
Last but perhaps most importantly, it’s crucial that you reach out for assistance or professional help if needed. Mental Health professionals such as counselors, therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists all specialize in helping those experiencing emotional distress get back their lives.
These experts provide invaluable guidance, which often makes all the difference during challenging times. If left alone, mental health problems often get more serious, so don’t hesitate to seek out help if you or someone close to you is going through a rough spot in life. Early intervention is key to suicide prevention.
Celebrating and recognizing Mental Wellness Month should be seen as an opportunity rather than an obligation, allowing us all time and space to focus and revitalize ourselves. It helps reduce any feelings of anxiety and depression we may have been bottling up or trying to ignore until the time is convenient for our busy schedule. Remember that healing takes time but looking after our mental health is one of the most worthwhile endeavors of all.
We Encourage You To Visit Danu, Our Wellness Center In Bedford, Texas
At Danu Wellness Center, we care deeply about our community’s wellness. That’s why we offer an extraordinary selection of CBD and hemp-derived THC products, including tinctures, topicals, capsules, vape cartridges, gummies, and more.
On top of that, we provide responsibly-sourced aromatherapy and essential oil products to help bring natural balance, relaxation, and mental health into your life. Plus, our selection of nourishing herbal teas, tisanes, and wellness supplements gives you plenty of options for bettering your daily nutritional wellness.
We invite you to come to chat with Danu at our wellness center in Bedford, Texas and experience the difference for yourself.