Mental Health 101: Understanding your Mental health

Let’s take a deep breath and assess our thoughts and feelings before we begin reading further. You may notice that your thoughts and feelings are constantly changing and that they are exclusively unique to you. These thoughts & feelings heavily contribute to your mental health.
In today’s day, it is no secret that your mental health is as important as your physical well-being. Fostering good mental health is one of the key aspects of maintaining and enhancing your optimal overall well-being. Let’s deep dive further into understanding the complexities of mental health.

What is mental health?
Essentially, mental health deals with our psychological, social, and emotional well-being. In other words, it affects how individuals think, feel, and act. Moreover, it also indicates how we cope with stress, behave around others and make choices. 
Throughout the stages of our lives, ranging from childhood to adolescence, and through adulthood, maintaining good mental health is crucial. 

Factors affecting mental health 
Throughout your life, if you experience mental health issues it could negatively affect your thinking, mood, and even behavior. Here are a few factors that can contribute to negatively affecting your mental health: 
Biological factors- These include the biochemistry of your brain, it can also include genetic or hereditary traits 
Life Experiences- Major life experiences such as abuse or trauma 
Surrounding influence- These factors include societal pressure, unwarranted stress, and unhealthy environments that can harm your mental well-being.

Symptoms we should watch out for
Here are a few symptoms we can watch out for that displays signs of poor mental health:
Irregular sleep:This can include having insomnia or sleeping excessively 
Isolation: Feeling the need to distance yourself from others 
Fatigue: Frequently feeling tired even with enough sleep
Mood swings: Having extreme mood swings that affect your relationship with others 
Lack of empathy: Feeling numbness or disconnected from yourself and others

Building positive mental health
Maintaining positive mental health is important as it not only allows people to understand their full potential but also helps in coping with stressful situations in life. Furthermore, it makes us work more productive and helps us to make a meaningful contribution to our community.
Now that we know what mental health is and how it can be affected let us focus on a few ways that can help us build positive mental health 
Seeking professional help: Getting professional advice from a doctor or therapist is a great way to better your mental health.
Staying positive: Maintaining a positive outlook is not only essential for your mental health but also aids in coping with difficult situations 
Exercise: Regular forms of exercise such as hitting the gym, cardio, or even yoga can help you release your mental frustration
Connecting with others: Talking out your feelings to your friends and family is a great outlet for your mental well-being.

By Arshiya Ahamed