Do you know it’s mental health month? According to the American Psychological Association, mental health is "the way your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect your life. Having good mental health helps you make better decisions and deal with daily stressors at home, at work, and in your family."
What does this have to do with you? I can’t imagine a better time to take your mental health temperature. Or think of it as a mental health self-exam, or self study.
I’m challenging you to examine where you stand in a number of areas identified by Robert Walsh as therapeutic lifestyle factors. These factors represent all the things you know you ought to do to feel better about yourself and function better in the world. Walsh has found that changes in these factors improve well-being and optimize cognitive functioning. These factors include, not surprisingly:
*Regular exercise
*Healthy diet (lot of vegetables, fruit and fish)
*Spending time in nature
*Serving your community
*Having healthy relationships
*Engaging in recreation and relaxation
*Active spiritual life
On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you stand in each area? Pick one area and deciding on one small change. It could be walking for 10 minutes 3 days a week, eating veggies with dinner daily, calling a friend once a week…you get the idea. Choose one thing and practice it regularly. Try more if you can. Do it for your mental health.
1 comment:
Thank you for such wonderful and interesting article.
Mental Health Coach
Post a Comment