Our mental health and emotional wellbeing were affected by the pandemic, and this is still happening today. It is important to manage your mental and psychosocial health during these times, just as you would your physical health.
Here are some ways to put your mental health first.
1. Self-care is important
Self-care doesn’t mean being selfish. Self-care is essential for maintaining a healthy mentality. Self-care can help you cope better with your daily stresses. Self-care encompasses a wide range of factors including hygiene, nutrition and lifestyle as well as environmental factors.
It also includes socio-economic issues such wages. Self-care is defined by the World Health Organization as “the ability for individuals, families and communities to maintain and promote health and prevent illness, while also being able to cope with disability and illness without the assistance of a healthcare professional”.
Related: Easy Steps to Make Your Relationship Great: Healthy Relationship
2. Practice Meditation and Yoga
Stress is part of everyday life. However, high levels of it can have adverse effects on your health, such as fatigue, lack of concentration, decreased productivity and muscle pain. Meditation has been shown to reduce stress and improve strategic thinking. Meditation has the exact opposite effect on the body as stress, by activating the relaxation response in the body and helping it to repair itself.
3. Stay connected with family and friends by socializing
Relationships play a key role in enhancing emotional health. Human beings are naturally gregarious. Connecting with friends and family can build resilience to stress, as it helps shift one’s attention outwards. It allows you to connect more with people instead of worrying about the day-today stresses and worries.
4. Focusing Sleep
Who hasn’t spent late nights studying for an exam, watching a series on Netflix, or attending a party? Each of us have been there, I’m sure. Prioritizing sleep can have many benefits to the physical, mental, and emotional health of a person, such as increased productivity or preventing anxiety. Most of us do not devote enough time to sleeping.
5. Focusing Work-Life Balance
Pressure from an increasingly demanding work culture is one of the leading causes of mental health issues. The hybrid work model makes it hard for office workers to leave work at the end of their shift and normalizes long hours. Hybrid work models also pose challenges such as disconnected workforces and inequitable pay.
Every individual has a different definition of what a healthy work-life balance is. Healthy balance between work life and personal life means that you can meet deadlines while still having time to socialize, to exercise, to pursue hobbies, and most importantly, to sleep enough.
This powerful and interesting coaching tool, shared by CHWM Canada and the Government of Canada, will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. This tool gives you an overview of areas in your life where you are currently balanced and a plan to implement the changes that you want.
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