Proactive Mental Health Steps For 2022
Mental health shouldn’t only be considered during a crisis.
Disclaimer: Although I have personal and professional experience in the mental health field, I am not a licensed mental health professional. The information contained in this article is meant for educational and entertainment purposes only. The contents of this article are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disorder.
Life is unpredictable — that’s one thing we can all agree on. Sometimes things happen in life that throws us — and our mental health — for a loop.
But, thankfully, we can protect our mental health by establishing preventative mental health factors in our life. Preventive mental health steps can help lessen the probability of needing intervention (such as emergency treatment) down the road.
Mental health can be viewed from a proactive approach, meaning we can do small things every day to help keep our mental health more stable.
There are some things in life that we cannot stop or control from happening — shit just happens. We need to better prepare ourselves and our mental health.
Stress management
Stress management is the most common proactive mental health step. Managing your stress can help you unwind, sleep better, and keep yourself centered. But sometimes, stressful events can make normal life feel impossible.
That’s why we have to take everything one day at a time.
When the brain is exposed to chronic stress, it can damage our body and our mind. Stressors can climb on top of one another, seemingly compounding the already unbearable stress.
With the pressure of stress in your life depression, and anxiety — along with other mental health disorders, can occur. In fact, a depressed mood can cause someone to experience a dramatic change in quality and quantity of life.
We have to keep our mental health strong, for our future selves. Ignoring our mental health is like only drinking soda and not any water. It’s like running your car without adding fuel.
So when we find ourselves in times of experiencing more stress than usual — we need to be prepared.
Not all stress can be controlled. So it is crucial to find healthy ways to de-stress. Whatever way you de-stress, that isn’t harmful, is what you should lean towards.
I have used a combination of physical exercise and CBD that really helps me. But taking CBD isn’t necessary to de-stress. For me, I found it helped ease that extra stress I was carrying in my body.
Find what works best for you: there are so many ways to de-stress and control stress.
Eat a proper diet
Eating a proper diet and getting good exercise is a foundation of keeping our body and mind healthy. You don’t need to train like an athlete, but a simple walk every day can do the trick.
But did you know there are foods we can eat to help promote our mental health?
These three main food groups should be incorporated into a routine diet for your mental health:
- Complex carbohydrates: brown rice, starchy vegetables, sweet potatoes, or quinoa.
- Lean proteins: Chicken, meat, fish, eggs, soybeans, nuts, and seeds.
- Fatty acids: fish, meat, eggs, nuts, flaxseed.
I try to incorporate these 3 food groups into all of my meals. If you can’t afford to eat consistently healthy food, then here’s a trick I’ve learned: add ground flax meal to your dishes.
Ground flax meal can be found in the bulk food section of almost any grocery store. It’s cheap and easy to add. It doesn’t add much flavor, but it can enrich the texture of a dish. It’s not the perfect solution, but it helps.
There is always help available
Proactive mental health steps also include reaching out for help before the need for help becomes urgent.
Whenever life stressors pop up, I try to see my therapist or psychiatrist to check in. Sometimes it’s hard for us to truly gauge where our mental health currently sits.
Sometimes an appointment with my provider helps me establish where I am at.
Reaching out for help when you need it is proactive behavior.
No one needs to suffer alone.
Reaching out can be as simple as calling a close friend or family member. If that isn’t an opinion for you, that’s okay. There are plenty of ways to seek help, 24/7.
You don’t need to be alone on your darkest days.
In the end, the proactive mental health behaviors listed in this article are not exhaustive. There are many different ways to have positive mental health behaviors.
But if you want to start and don’t know how these steps are a great place to begin.
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