The concept of building mental resilience often doesn’t cross our minds until we go through any trauma. Due to the lack of knowledge and stigma, people are even more vulnerable to mental disorders.
Daily overlooked by many people, the absence of mental strength tends to reflect on other aspects of your life.
As per the World Health Organization study, the number of people going through mental illness has crossed 1 billion worldwide and has even increased after covid-19.
In daily life, as you look after your physical health and appearance, devoting some time of day to resonate with your mental health gives you the power to bounce back and overcome any hardships in life.
Why Building Mental Resilience Is Important?
One in every four people goes through mental illness at some point in their life.
If given the time and effort you can build the needed mental resilience to overcome many difficulties.
When people are not weighed down by any limitations, they tend to appreciate life more without any constraints.
Your mental state is the only constant companion that can guide you through a tough time. It gives you control over the events to overcome anything. When you prioritize your mental health, it gives you the power to prepare yourself for any impending ultimatum.
Everyday Practice to Strengthen Your Mental Resilience
The secret to your vitality lies in your daily routines. A routine that supports your overall well-being along with strengthening your mental resilience will allow you to build armor against any mental disorder.
1. Wake Up Early
For some, waking up early might seem unrequired, but the early hours of the day are the most valuable.
Studies show that our brain function is quite different in the morning than at other times of the day.
In the morning, we are most attentive, and our performance level is high due to the higher concentration level. It makes morning the best time to study or complete any tasks that require your concentration.
Our sleeping patterns can impact our mental resilience as well. People who sleep on time and wake up early tend to have lower levels of mental stress than night owls.
Disrupted sleeping patterns affect our mood and ability to tackle any tasks that need our cognitive support.
In the morning, spending time in solitude can make you ponder over things. Without distraction, you can listen to your thoughts and emotions, process them and turn them into something motivating.
2. Eat Well
We all know having healthy meals is necessary for maintaining our physical health but did you know they impact our mental health as well?
A nutrition-deficient diet can lead to many health issues and mood swings. Individuals who have healthy dietary patterns have a lower rate of depression than individuals with unhealthy dietary habits.
Loading your body with too much sugar and refined flour-made stuff leads to increased inflammation and blood sugar levels. It can imbalance your mental state.
A balanced diet contributes all the nutrition your body needs to stay active and promotes your gut health. Since all the action starts with your gut.
Your gut is lined with the enteric nervous system that connects with the central nervous system, which transfers all the messages to your brain.
So, to maintain your mental health, include gut-friendly food in your diet plan.
3. Check In With Your Emotions
To build mental strength, being aware of your emotional state is necessary because your emotions have enough leverage over you to influence your mental health.
Take some time out of your daily schedule to contemplate your feelings. Get your thoughts out of your mind and on paper. It will allow you to rein in your emotions and reflect on your prospect.
Journaling is not only for teenagers. It’s said to have a positive effect on your mental health irrespective of age. It allows you to put your thoughts and emotions out without the fear of being judged.
Acknowledging your feelings through journaling will make you feel less burdened. This is why you need to flow out your emotions and not confine them to build mental resilience.
4. Keep Things Clean and Organized
It’s saying that the home reflects the personality of the homeowner. And when your home is in chaos, think about how it will reflect your personality.
There is no other place in the world like home, and when a pile of mess is waiting for you, you are bound to get disturbed.
Seeing a cluttered and untidy home increases the cortisol level in people. It is a type of stress hormone that makes people more anxious and depressed. It happens more often with women than men because women feel more obliged to keep their homes clean than men do.
Keeping your home all scrubbed up and spotless is a good thing. Your cleanliness habit will keep many germs and viruses away, and organizing your home will give that pleasing effect and improve focus by reducing visual chaos.
So, getting into spring cleaning now and then can be good for your mental health.
5. Get Moving
Sitting in front of the T.V. or staring at your mobile screen will not make you feel any better, but what will is a dedicated routine to improving yourself.
Staying active should be your first choice for building your mental resilience because your mental health stability is bound to your physical health.
When we exercise, according to the intensity of the workout, our body releases endorphins from the central nervous system and pituitary gland. They act as a natural painkiller in our body to reduce any pain or stress.
It allows you to maintain your energy throughout the day and keeps your mental energy draining.
So, building and maintaining your mental-wellbeing starts with getting moving.
6. Set Targets
Without setting daily intentions, waking up in the morning and going into the day is futile. You are just going aimlessly into the future without motives.
When you set goals, it keeps your mind occupied with all the planning and executing the work related to them. It keeps you motivated for the long haul and prevents any unpleasant thoughts to seep into your head.
Through the goal-achieving process, you will front many challenges. Facing and solving them will build your mental resilience to overcome any obstacle.
Height and valuable goals can provide the change you need in life to shift your focus. Having something to focus on other than the mindless wander of your thoughts is always better for your mental health.
7. Confide in Nature
When you are surrounded by nature, everything ceases to exist and you get engulfed in the tranquility that only mother nature can provide.
After staying confined to one particular course of action, being outdoors can banish negativity and leaves you bare to approach new possibilities in life.
Practicing mindfulness where you feel most close to nature can evoke your senses like no other.
You can let go of everything which is holding you from living your best life and accept your presence. So, you can move further with optimism, and fill you with renewed mental resilience.
8. Indulge Yourself
Having a hobby as a pastime is a great way to spend your time productively.
Because you spend time on tasks you love, you get more engaged and enjoy the process. You are most relaxed while performing these tasks, and it can contribute to your content state of mind.
Whether you like to paint, cook, or crochet, the whole purpose is to spend your time on purposeful activity, which is always good for your mental resilience.
9. Ease Up
After a long and tidy day, you need to relax and unwind.
Before going to bed, have a few moments to yourself. Indulge in spa-like treatment, have a bubble bath to soothe your aching muscles, do deep and mindful breathing exercises or give yourself a good foot massage.
This will have a calming effect on your senses, which can uplift your mood.
After having a good relaxation session, you will have nice, dreamless sleep at night, and in the morning, you will wake up with renewed energy to tackle the day ahead.
Lastly
When there are difficult times, and we are struggling to cope with them, only then do we come to realize why we should prioritize our mental health.
Difficult times come without warning in life, so building a coping mechanism through a lifestyle that nurtures us from within is paramount. It creates the resilience to stand out, accept and go through those times.
