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● Food choices and Nutrition: The quality of food you eat can impact your overall physical and mental health. Your gut is often referred to as the “Second brain” and communicates with the actual brain chemically through hormones and neurotransmitters. The bacteria, Viruses, and fungi that live in the gut are called the “ gut microbiome”- eating nutritious food is the number one thing you can do to keep your gut microbiome healthy and protect your brain. Important nutrients for mental health: OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS: essential to brain health and reduce inflammation and risk of heart disease B-GROUP VITAMINS: help to regulate brain chemicals, immune function, and amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) VITAMIN D: important for brain function, including mood and critical thinking.
● Exercise: Staying active benefits many aspects of health and can prevent physical and mental health symptoms from worsening. Making time for exercise and movement each day improves self-esteem, brain function, and sleep and has been found to lessen social withdrawal and stress. You don’t have to work out for hours on end – just 15 minutes of intense exercise at a time, ten times a week, will get you the recommended amount of physical activity. Just one hour of exercise per week can help prevent symptoms of depression. Choose activities that are easy to work into your life – walk the dog for an extra 20 minutes or do some floor exercises while you’re watching a movie or your favorite show.
● Stress management: Dealing with stress is a normal part of life – we all experience it during times of too much responsibility, too little sleep, or external worries like money or relationships. In most cases, stress comes and goes fairly quickly, and the body can return to its typical state. However, consistently high stress – because you are unable to relieve your stress or are constantly facing stressful situations (chronic stress) – can negatively impact attention, memory, and how you deal with emotions in the long term.
● Identifying coping strategies: Coping skills are activities or strategies you can use to reduce or tolerate tough feelings. No one thing works for everyone, so it might take a few tries to figure out what helps you. Test out a range of techniques so that you’re prepared for those times when your well-being starts to slip. You may want to keep a running list (on your phone or on paper) of what works for you, like calling a friend or doing an at-home workout. This makes it easier to get started when you’re in a tough mental state
● Sleep: Your health heavily depends on how rested you are. Sleep plays a role in your moods, ability to learn and make memories, organ health, immune system, and other bodily functions like appetite, metabolism, and hormone release. It also helps the body re-energize its cells and clear out toxins. Quality of sleep matters, not just how many hours you get.
● Build a support system: Having people in your life who you relate to and can lean on goes a long way in improving your mood and general well-being. Humans are social beings, and our brains are wired to seek connection. Having people to support you Maintaining good mental health during times of hardship protects your long-term mental health. Not only can a strong social support system often prevent mental health concerns or symptoms from developing into a diagnosable mental health condition – a strong social support system has also been shown to improve overall outcomes in recovering from a mental health condition. Find your people: Connect with people over shared hobbies and interests – it’s less intimidating to make new friends when you already have something in common. Consider community service or volunteering. Giving back is a great way to feel less alone – you’ll meet new people and likely learn about local events and resources.
Resources:
mhanational.org/coping-toolbox
Yours Truly,
Dear Youth Global
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