Men, Take Care of Your Mental Health
Ways to improve yourself mentally this year!
“Mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but, importantly, YOU ARE NOT THE RAIN.” — Matt Haig
As men, we often take our mental health for granted. There are several reasons as to why that Is the case. For many of us, we were taught to be strong and never show any weakness. Somewhere along the lines, taking care of our mental health became one of those weaknesses.
Fortunately, this is slowly starting to change as mental health has taken on a greater emphasis primarily by women, but also with a large population of men. We need to encourage each other to prioritize our health mentally the same way we do with our physical health. Here are 3 ways to boost your mental health:
1. Talk to friends/family It’s important that we talk about our problems and feelings, despite how uncomfortable that might be for some of us. When we keep all of our frustrations bottled up with no outlet, the stress becomes so great that it can lead to conditions such as depression. There may even be times where talking to friends and family isn’t enough. It might be beneficial to speak to a therapist or other specialist to help you improve your mental health.
2. Exercise Getting regular exercise does wonder for the entire body, including the brain. According to helpguide.org, regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, and ADHD. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood.
With benefits like these, it only makes sense to schedule time for exercise at least 3 days a week. This doesn’t mean you have to push up weights at the gym either. A simple 15–20 min walk every day will give you many of the same benefits to your mental health.
3. Get Sleep In order to perform your best at work, in school, or during a competition, you need the proper amount of sleep. Those who lack sleep could find themselves having a number of health issues. Health.Harvard.edu tells us that sleep deprivation affects your psychological state and mental health. And those with mental health problems are more likely to have insomnia or other sleep disorders. The amount of sleep recommended to you depends on several factors. You should listen to your body and adjust your sleep schedule when called for.
There will be times in our lives where we all have issues that are tough to deal with. When this happens, we need to protect our mental health as best as possible. Hopefully, we continue to embrace mental health as a society, leading to an increase in those who take it seriously. Today we have star athletes such as Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles speaking out about the importance of their mental health as it relates to athletics.
This is long overdue and I hope more men follow the footsteps of these female athletes in raising awareness for mental health. After all, the only one who can take care of yourself mentally is you. Don’t take your mental health for granted, it might end up costing you the happiness you deserve in life. As always, stay positive!
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