Taking care of your mental wellbeing is not plain sailing. Not many people are ready to accept that they might struggle with various mental illnesses. But it would help if you remember that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, as you are certainly not alone. About 1 in 4 adults have a diagnosable mental health disorder every year. Dealing with daily stresses and responsibilities can take a toll on your wellbeing, but when you take control of your mental health, you can make the right changes. Here are eight ways to work on your mental wellbeing and get your life back on track.

1. Take care of your body

8 Tips To Regain Control Over Your Mental Wellbeing | Uncustomary

It’s a known fact that exercise is vital for your physical health. But it is just as important for your mental health. Exercise, especially out in the open, in the fresh air, and around nature, can positively affect your mental health. Additionally, when you exercise, you release endorphins, the happy hormone. Endorphins help improve your mood and reduce your anxiety and stress. So, while your body might be sore from a grueling workout, you will feel ten times better than you did earlier. Endorphins also help you retain memory, and you can learn new things faster and better. 

Try as much as possible to exercise regularly, even if it’s just for a brisk walk in your neighborhood or playing sports with your friends and family. It can help you put yourself out there, meet some new people, and give your body and mind a sense of purpose. 

2. Evaluate your situation

Once you realize your mental well-being is at stake, you must evaluate your current situation. That’s a good way of finding out what could be the source of your stress, anxiety, or depression. Perhaps you’re not in a job that you enjoy. Or you may be engaging with people who put you down or stress you out. Identifying what could be bothering you would help you create a solid plan to fix the problem. That might mean making certain changes that would be difficult. It could involve quitting your job or switching to the one you would enjoy, cutting off some friends or other relationships, or even moving to a new location entirely. Anything that would make you feel better and more confident in yourself and your abilities. 

3. Face your fears

Fear is one of the most powerful and crippling emotions. It can prevent you from taking on a new challenge or even doubt yourself, adversely affecting your mental and physical health. Due to this, making a choice to face your fears is easier said than done. But it isn’t impossible! The truth is, it takes a lot of resilience and perseverance to tackle your fear. Yet, purposefully avoiding situations that scare you would only tighten its hold on you and cause you to miss out on opportunities.  

To face your fears head-on, you must accept that there will be difficult moments you cannot avoid. Therefore, you should prepare yourself and develop a healthy coping mechanism when these issues arise. One way to do this is through writing. You can also consider talking to a trusted friend or family member for advice on how to overcome it or for support. 

4. Sleep well

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It may seem strange, but long hours of sleep don’t guarantee good sleep or good health. Actually, spending almost all your time sleeping isn’t good for your mental health. You need to get the right kind of sleep to be in better shape. There is a close link between good sleep and your mental health. Spending sleepless nights overthinking will only make matters worse. 

You have to develop a good wind-down routine before you sleep. That way, your brain will also prepare itself for sleep and not give room for overthinking. You could have a nice bath, meditate or turn off your devices hours before you sleep. Your ambiance also plays a huge role in helping you sleep better. So, make sure you sleep in a neat room with good lighting that makes you feel safe and comfortable. 

5. Talk about your feelings

Talking to other people about your feelings is not an easy task. It leaves you vulnerable, and you might not want to consider yourself a burden on someone else with other real-life problems. But it is a great way to be in more control of your mental health. Ensure that you talk to people that you can trust. By being open, you might be surprised to find that people have similar problems, and you can support each other on your mental health journey. Even if they do not, you will receive sound and honest advice to help you feel better. 

If you feel talking to a friend or family might be too close to home, you can also talk to a professional for their unbiased advice and opinions. Today, access to therapists and other mental health professionals has improved drastically. You can even talk to a licensed therapist on several online platforms. Some of these resources can even offer you a promo code since therapy can be expensive. 

6. Learn how to unwind

Sadly, you cannot escape stress. Between juggling work, family life, other relationships, and interactions, you will get stressed at some point. When left unchecked, stress can affect your emotional, physical, and mental well-being. To avoid stress from overtaking your life, you can try various activities to help you unwind. Firstly, stressful events will happen. Instead of spiraling, try to envision the brighter picture or remain as calm as possible. Simple things like laughing or smiling can help ease your stress and free your mind from overworking. You can turn to your favorite hobby when you’re stressed or start a new one, so keep this in mind. 

7. Set realistic goals 

Goals are a great way to stay determined and ambitious. They can motivate you to pursue new interests or to achieve a major milestone in your life, such as starting a family or getting the promotion of your dreams. You can even have smaller goals like going to the gym or trying something new every year. There is nothing wrong with having goals. But when unrealistic, they can affect your mental health for the worse. The best way to ensure you are accomplishing things is by setting short-term goals or by breaking your long-term goals into mini accomplishments to motivate you better. 

8. Have a nutritional diet

8 Tips To Regain Control Over Your Mental Wellbeing | Uncustomary

What you consume can affect your mental health in many surprising ways. Studies show that junk food has strong links to depression and anxiety. When you avoid them and have healthier alternatives like vegetables, fruits, and proteins, it fuels your brain to release hormones like serotonin that can improve your mental health. You must also reduce your alcohol consumption or stop altogether. If you suffer from mental health issues, it can be easy to start depending on alcohol to lessen your symptoms and make you feel like everything’s alright. But too much alcohol can affect the brain’s chemical balance and worsen your condition, so you want to avoid depending on it. 

Dealing with mental health issues can be a tough time for many people, but you can use this article as a chance to take better control of your mental health. It would be best to set some time apart to reflect on what is most important to you and which areas you need to improve in your life. You will start to see the changes once you do so.