People think about how to keep themselves physically fit practically everyday, so much so, that they often forget that their mental health is equally important.

Everyday stress and anxiety related to work and family pressures tend to take a toll on you sooner or later, as a result of which, you find yourself getting mentally drained much easily than before.

Being mentally healthy means having a sense of well-being, having the ability to function during everyday life and feeling confident of rising to a challenge when opportunity arises.

Just like for your physical health, there are actions you can take to increase your mental health. Foster your well-being and stay mentally fit and healthy by following a few simple steps.

1. Connect with others: Develop and maintain strong relationships with people around you who will support and enrich your life. The quality of good personal relationships has a great, soothing effect on our mental well-being. Giving your time and effort to build strong and healthy relationships. On the other hand, stay away from people who have the ability to strain you mentally and stress you out.

2. Take time to enjoy: Everyone has a set of hobbies. Set aside time for those hobbies and projects that you enjoy. Let yourself be spontaneous and creative when the urge takes you. In short, spend some quality time with yourself. This means doing something that ‘you’ like doing, for a change. That may include curling up with a good book and coffee, shopping, taking a walk, enjoying nature, painting, etc.

3. Take care of yourself: Be active and eat well. These may sound very basic but they help maintain a healthy body. Since physical and mental health are closely linked, it is easier to feel good about life if your body feels good and vice versa. You don’t necessarily have to go to the gym to exercise – gardening, dancing and bush-walking all count. Combine physical activity with a balanced diet to nourish your body and mind and help you maintain the feel-good factor inside and out.

4. Challenge yourself: Acquire a new skill or take on a challenge to meet a goal. You could take up something different at work; commit to a fitness goal or learn to cook a new recipe. Learning new things improves your mental fitness, while striving to meet your own goals builds skills and confidence and gives you a sense of progress and achievement.

5. Rest and refresh: Get plenty of sleep. Go to bed at a regular time each day and practice good habits to get better sleep. Sleep restores both your mind and body. However, feelings of fatigue can still set in if you feel constantly rushed and overwhelmed when you are awake. Allow yourself some unfocussed time each day to refresh and take your time to settle your mind. It’s absolutely fine to add ‘do nothing’ to your to-do list!

6. Don’t rush yourself: Last but not the least and most important is to not let yourself become overwhelmed. A calm mind will help you get more things done in the day than you planned. A mind that over-thinks and worries unnecessarily results more often than not, in carelessness, forgetfulness and unwanted stress.

And always remember, a healthy mind exudes positivity and happiness!

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