Don't Neglect Your Mental Health
When you think of the word “health” you often forget about your mental health. Why is that? Well, because mental health is not as visible as your physical health. It is easy to notice if someone is sick, overweight, or broke a bone. It’s difficult to recognize what is happening in someone’s brain. What you don’t know is that your mental health is just as, or even more important, than your physical health. The stigma of having a mental health issue should not prevent you from seeking professional help. Your mental health and physical health are connected. As a society, we need to make it more acceptable for everyone (and you) to seek help for mental health issues.
Turning Negative Self-Talk into Positive Self-Talk
You are worthless, you are stupid, you never do anything right, you are going to fail, and it’s all your fault. These are several examples of the self-sabotaging beliefs that you allow to float around in your brain every day. In addition, when something bad happens, you immediately put yourself down and think negatively of yourself. This way of thinking can be toxic to your mental health and directly affects your physical health. Negative self-talk can lead to anxiety, depression, stress, and body image issues.
How can you turn negative self-talk into positive self-talk? It is simple – change the way you talk to yourself. Would you go up to a friend and say those self-sabotaging comments? No. Then why would you say them to yourself? Tell yourself that even when something bad happens, you are still worthy, you will try harder next time, and that it isn’t your fault. You’ve heard of the 21-day miracle? Well, it takes 21 days to get rid of a habit, and the same holds true for negative self-talk. After 21 days of intentional positive self-talk, you’ll eliminate negative self-talk.
Exercise Does Your Brain Good
Exercise can have amazing benefits for your brain. Exercise reduces the levels of your body's stress hormones, such as adrenalin and cortisol. According to health care professionals, physical fitness is one of the most recommended coping techniques for stress and anxiety. Physical activity also has been shown to reduce fatigue and improve cognitive functioning and alertness. Plus, exercise improves your mood and releases tension. In other words, exercise produces endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators. Exercise is comparable to psychotherapy and antidepressant medication and can be used as a distraction to depressive thoughts.
