Your mental health is just as important as your physical well-being. Alas, we live in a time when it seems as if our mental health is under more stress than ever before. From global pandemics to economic instability and increasing smartphone use, it can feel as if the modern world is set up to challenge our mental well-being.
And that view is supported by the data, which shows that the number of people living with mental health conditions is on the rise, especially depression and anxiety. With that said, it’s important to remember that depression and other mental health conditions are both preventable and treatable. In this post, we’ll run through some of the characteristics and habits that researchers often observe in mentally healthy people, which can serve as a foundation for improving your own mental well-being.
They Know It’s An Investment
Life is difficult, and it’s not possible to assume that you’ll go through life without experiencing challenges, difficulties, and stressful moments. When they happen, it’s often the person’s resilience that determines how they’re able to respond. Mentally healthy people don’t take their mental health for granted. Instead, they proactively invest in it, in much the same way that people go to the gym to invest in their physical well-being.
Ultimately, some people get lucky and can maintain their mental health at all times without making an effort, but that’s not the case for the majority of people. By taking your mental well-being seriously, you’ll be going a long way towards keeping it in check.
They Recognize How They’re Feeling
Mentally healthy people tend to have a reasonable level of self-awareness, which they can use to recognize how they’re thinking and feeling. Most mental health conditions start out as minor before progressing; self-aware people identify when their mental health may be beginning to decline and take proactive steps to put themselves on the pathway towards recovery.
This could involve being aware of the signs and symptoms of depression/anxiety/other mental health conditions, or it might involve simply being aware of their own baseline of happiness and noticing when it’s not at that level. Noticing potential mental health issues is key to early intervention.
They Know When To Seek Help
Individuals can do a lot to support and improve their mental well-being, but they can’t do everything. There are times when professional support is required. For instance, when a person’s usual self-care strategy is no longer having the same impact, or when the individual goes through a difficult period and is unsure of how to navigate the situation.
In this day and age, there’s no shortage of options available for people looking to get professional help. There are online mental health counseling services that can connect you with a licensed online therapist from the comfort of your own home, or you can look up therapists that offer face-to-face consultations in your local area. People with good mental health often book an appointment with a therapist as soon as they recognize that they’re having difficulties, so that they can quickly get back to their best.
They Make Time For Exercise
It’s easy to place exercise towards the bottom of the priorities list, especially if you’re not naturally interested in being in shape. But if you ask mentally well people what they attribute their mental health to, you’ll find that many of them say that exercise is key to their overall well-being. Indeed, take a trip to a gym, and you’ll likely find that a significant percentage of the people are there not because they wish to improve their physical appearance, but because they understand how key exercise is for their mental health.
Studies have repeatedly shown that exercise can have a hugely positive impact on reducing anxiety, depression, and stress.
They Have a Healthy Intake
Some things you can consume are good for your mental well-being. Others are not so good. Drinking plenty of water and following a diet that’s full of nutrient-dense ingredients (such as salmon, tuna, spinach, whole-grains, eggs, and walnuts) can help provide your body with what it needs to lower the risk of mental health conditions that include anxiety and depression.
On the other hand, studies have shown that eating ultra-processed foods may increase the risk of depression. Mentally healthy people are also mindful of consuming alcohol, which is often consumed as a way to provide quick relief from depression and anxiety, but can lead to a worsening of symptoms.
They’re Mindful of Screen-Use
Smartphones and other screened devices have become increasingly dominant in our lives, to the point where today, the average person in the United States spends more than seven hours a day looking at a screen. In fact, it’s the increasing amount of time people spend looking at devices that is partly responsible, researchers believe, for the rise of mental health conditions that we’ve seen in the past decade.
It’s not always possible — or necessary — to completely eliminate screen time, but mentally healthy people do often put measures in place to ensure that they’re not excessively looking at their devices. These measures can include having internet-free hours (say, after 7 pm), installing app-blocking apps, and making an extra effort to see friends in person, especially during the winter months, when spending an evening staring at a device is more likely.
They Spend Time Outdoors
Finally, mentally healthy people recognize the value of spending time in natural environments. More of us than ever live in urban environments, but studies have shown that spending time in green, natural environments can have a positive impact on mental health. One study found that even spending fifteen minutes in a green space can improve mood, while another found that spending two hours in nature each week can have a profoundly positive impact on physical and mental health. It’s not always easy to spend time in nature when you live in a city, but people with good mental health make an extra effort to make the trip because of the benefits it offers.
