How to Prioritize Our Mental Health
Our emotional health is an indicator of our overall physical health. When our mental health suffers, our physical health is soon to follow. To balance both areas of our health, we need to be sure we’re healthy in every meaning of the word.
Although mental health is being discussed more broadly, there’s still certain stigmas attached to mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar, anxiety and personality disorders.
Media also doesn’t always paint a realistic or even fair picture of those suffering. In fact, in pop culture, the one who’s battling mental illness is suddenly cured when falling in love or taking a pill.
We know these unhelpful stereotypes aren’t true. It takes real work to elevate our symptoms and even to just prioritize our mental health. The question, then, is how do we truly prioritize our mental health and how do we know when it may be time to seek professional help?
What Prioritizing Your Mental Health Means
Prioritizing our emotional well-being boils down to practice. It’s how we respond to daily stressors or depressive symptoms.
We can’t expect to do a good job at work or take care of our families if we aren’t prioritizing ourselves first.
For many, the thought of putting ourselves first might sound foreign or even selfish.
Keep in mind, we’re not prioritizing ourselves in a self-indulgent way. Simply put, we’re taking care of our needs so we can be more useful to others and ourselves. Here are some ways you can prioritize your mental health.
Practice Self-care
You might have heard the term “self-care” before, but what does it mean exactly? People mistake self-care for self-indulgent behavior.
We can’t expect to do a good job at work or take care of our families if we aren’t prioritizing ourselves first.
For many, the thought of putting ourselves first might sound foreign or even selfish.
Keep in mind, we’re not prioritizing ourselves in a self-indulgent way. Simply put, we’re taking care of our needs so we can be more useful to others and ourselves. Here are some ways you can prioritize your mental health.
Challenge Negative Self-Talk
Oftentimes, we’re not even aware of the negative things we say to ourselves.
For some, it's such a common practice that it’s the only inner dialogue we have. If we’ve fallen into a habit of talking down to ourselves, we need to hold a bit of self-compassion.
That’s challenging these negative thoughts with more positive, realistic ones. Having positive affirmations can help curb negative thoughts. Some examples include:
I am stronger than I know.
I will be present in every moment.
I am worthy.
I will be kind to myself and others today.
I already hold the power I will ever need.
Whatever your mantra is, it should be something you can relate to and that you identify with.
Seeking Professional Help
Sometimes we need a little bit of extra help, and that’s okay! If we have overwhelming negative emotions, feel stuck, or just aren’t coping with everyday life, we may need to seek a professional who can help us along our journey. When we have a broken bone, we don’t try and fix it ourselves. Instead, we go to the doctor. Similarly, when we struggle with our mental health, we seek out a therapist who can help assist in healing traumatic experiences and negative thoughts.
They’re so many benefits of talk therapy. Some include:
Better understanding of ourselves and relationships.
Building self-confidence.
Breaking unhelpful habits.
Techniques and strategies for dealing with mental illness symptoms.
Processing traumatic experiences.
It’s important to keep in mind to seek out a therapist one can relate to. If you are interested in therapy, feel free to reach out to Cadenza Counseling.