ESTIMATED READING TIME: 8 Minutes & 6 Seconds

The start of each new year is a great time to set positive intentions.

These intentions can revolve around any aspect of our lives - physical, financial, relationship-entered, career-focused, health-oriented, and so on.

This year, in addition to any other goals or intentions you may have set for yourself, I challenge you to consider one more (providing that you haven’t already) - your mental wellness.

And what better time to focus on your mental wellness this than during mental wellness month!

Yes, January is mental wellness month and we’d all do well to focus a little (or a lot!) more on our own personal mental wellness.

Many of us focus on the wellness of others and too often neglect the person that matters most in our lives - ourselves!

After all, we’re no good to anyone else if our own health, either physical or mental, suffers.

If this resonates with you, I urge you to read on to discover some practical tips to help you improve your mental health and wellness.

What is mental wellness?

As I wrote in a previous article, mental wellness or mental health looks different to each of us. It includes many aspects of our psychological, emotional, and social well-being.

It also affects all aspects of our life including how we think, feel, work, and behave. It is a factor in determining the choices we make, how we handle stressful situations, how we relate to others, and how effectively we contribute to our community and society as a whole.

Various factors work together to contribute to our emotional and cognitive well-being. Among others, they include our genetics and brain chemistry, life experiences, trauma we may have faced, financial issues we may be having, our coping behaviours and skills, our work environment, and the relationships we hold with others.

When any of these factors take over, cause excess stress, or become overwhelming, our mental wellness can suffer. We may experience anger, anxiety, sadness, or get physically sick. Physical symptoms of stress can range in severity and vary from person to person, but commonly include headaches, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal problems, and even heart attacks or stroke.

Tips to improve your mental wellness

In order to help you maintain your balance in life or re-balance any aspect of it that may have shifted, I encourage you to try these tips:

Manage Stress

This may be a no-brainer, but it may surprise you to know that many people have difficulty handling or managing the stress in their lives. Yes, stress is a given part of life that we all experience and cannot escape from. Some of us, however, only experience stress on occasion, while others may be bathed in it 24-7. 

Regardless of which camp you are in or how you believe the stress in your life is affecting you, it’s always a good idea to be aware of your stressors and learn to manage them appropriately. 

Find what works for you, as it’s different with each one of us. It may be a hot bath with relaxing magnesium salts or calming essential oils. It may be spending time outside in nature. It may include listening to soothing music. It may include writing your thoughts and feelings in a journal. It may mean doing something that brings you joy. Or it may involve hitting your pause button and taking a few moments to simply breathe. 

Regardless, having an outlet to manage the stresses that are inevitable in life can make a huge difference to our mental wellness.

Value Yourself

You are the most important person in your life! 

As such, you deserve respect. Shower yourself with kindness and respect. Avoid self-criticism and learn how to love yourself. Though hard as it may be at times, you deserve it!

Pick up a new self-help book on mirror work or accepting yourself as you are and, more importantly, follow through with its teachings! I’m a big fan of Louise Hay and can’t get enough of her writings! Sometimes, we simply need a reminder that we are good enough and deserve to be loved. 

Make Time For You

Making time for ourselves is also important for our mental wellness, so make time for you and what you like to do. 

Focus on your hobbies and favourite past-times regularly. That may include working in the garden, doing a crossword puzzle, reading a book, taking a relaxing walk, or spending quality time with the ones you love (four-legged or otherwise).

You could also consider broadening your horizons by learning to play an instrument or pick up a new language. Learn to dance or take singing lessons. Travel. Take photographs. Whatever your passion, carve out time to make it happen! 

Get Active 

Getting active is a great way to improve your mental health. For some of us, this means hitting the gym or enrolling in an aerobics, HIIT, or yoga class. For others, getting active means getting off the couch or stepping away from the computer and simply moving more. 

Whichever camp you are in, getting, and staying, active can have a profound impact on anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other mental health disorders. As a bonus, getting active is a great way to relieve stress, improve memory, get better sleep, and boost your overall mood.

Get Social

And no, I don’t mean spend more time on Instagram and Facebook! 

By getting social, I’m referring to creating connections with others who have a positive influence on your life. Being surrounded by good similarly-minded people, a loving family, and a supportive social network is a powerful way to protect our mental health.    

Those who have cultivated strong family or social connections are generally happier and healthier than those who lack a good support network. So surround yourself with supportive family members and friends, or seek out activities where you can meet new people with a similar mindset. 

Having someone to share in life’s moments and count on can keep us grounded and help us gain perspective.

Stay Positive

Have a positive outlook on the goings-on around you. Your attitude to what life throws at you is also important to our overall mental wellness. 

I understand that it can be hard to stay positive when faced with repeated problems or adversity (believe me!). But trying your best to stay positive and learning to let go of things outside of your control can eventually lead you to always look for the good in any situation - even if it seems impossible at first.

When we stay focused on the positive side of things, we can start to experience better moods, less anxiety, and fewer episodes of depression.

Eat Well

Nourishing your body with good, wholesome and nutritious foods is another way to show yourself that you care and respect your body. 

Coming from a neuronutritionist, I’m sure this will come as no surprise to you, but consuming the right foods can improve both your physical and mental health. In fact, our mental wellness and overall state mind are directly related to the food we eat. So focus on feeding your body and brain nutrient-dense anti-inflammatory and quality foods to help yourself stay focused and on top of your mental game!

If you struggle with understanding your nutritional needs or are not sure which foods are best for your personal mental health, make an appointment to come see me. I will consider what’s going on in your life and help you discover the foods you should be eating to optimize your mental health.

Sleep Well

You’ve heard me talk about how important quality sleep is for your mental wellbeing and how to get a better night’s sleep before. But it’s always a good reminder, especially when research points to the fact that a lack of sleep contributes to increased rates of depression. 

If we lack quality sleep, not only can we be more prone to depression but our productivity, memory, and overall health will suffer. Aim for 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night. To help you get there, try going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, sleep in a cool, quiet, and dark environment, and avoid using electronics at least one hour prior to turning out the lights. 

Laugh Often

Yes, laughter can certainly be the best medicine! 

Have you ever laughed so hard that you started crying? That’s your nervous system’s healthy response to a release of stress, cortisol, or pent-up anxiety. 

So remember to smile often and see the humour in life. Studies show that laughter boosts your immune system, reduces stress, eases pain, and relaxes your body and nervous system. It truly is one of life’s most amazing (and free) stress-busters! 

Be Real

Be realistic by setting realistic goals for yourself. Realize that you are only one person and not responsible for taking on the problems of the world alone. 

Decide what you want to achieve - either academically, professionally or personally, and write down the steps required to realize your goals. Aim high, but be realistic about what is attainable at the same time. It may also help if you don't constantly over-schedule or double-book yourself. Doing so can spread yourself too thin and create mental (and physical) health issues. You’re better off setting realistic and attainable goals. As you make progress toward your goals, you’ll realize a greater sense of accomplishment and self-worth.

Become Mindful

Yes, we all know that becoming more mindful is something we should do, but how many of us actually do? 

Mindfulness, being present in the moment, deep breathing, relaxation exercises, or meditation - whatever we want to call it - can all improve our state of mind and outlook on life. Research suggests that meditation can help you feel calm and bounce back from a state of panic or anxiety. Learning to breathe deeply and relax our typically overactive nervous systems is an extremely valuable tool, indeed!

Practice Tapping

Tapping may be a new concept for many of you, but if you’ve never heard of it, you may be pleasantly surprised as to how powerful of a tool it can be.

Tapping is also referred to as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and provides just that - emotional freedom. It is a hands-on technique which involves tapping specific parts of your own hand, head, body, and face, and can be done with or without a script or mantra. The exact locations tapped in a specified order begin to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. 

For anyone dealing with anxiety, depression, overwhelm, or simply needing to rebalance their nervous system or calm down, this simple technique can work wonders! Due to the powerful impact that tapping can have on a person’s wellbeing combined with the fact that not many people talk about it, I promise to dedicate an entire article to tapping in the very near future. This way you, too, can benefit from its power.

I hope you will take these tips to improve your personal mental wellness to heart. And more importantly, I hope you begin to employ some (or all) of them into your daily life. If everyone adopted even just one of these tools to boost their mental wellness, the world would be a much more pleasant place!

But if you feel your mental health or wellness is not where you would like it to be, or if you or a family member is experiencing mental health issues, you do not have to go it alone! Give me a call or make an appointment to see me today. 

As always, I welcome your thoughts and value your feedback. Let me know what you think by dropping me a line or commenting below.

If you haven’t already done so, please sign up to receive my newsletters for more information about brain health, neuronutrition, lifestyle tips, and nutritional advice. Of course, if I can help you or a loved one with your nutritional needs, make an appointment to see me today!