Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Dealing with stress
• Method 2 of 4: Build self-confidence
• Method 3 of 4: Dealing with negative emotions
• Method 4 of 4: Maintain healthy relationships
• Tips
• Warnings

Most people understand that a healthy body is important. But many people underestimate the value of mental health. Good mental health makes life much more pleasant. It also improves physical health and stamina. You have to take care of both body and mind to stay really healthy.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Dealing with stress

1. Train your body. When you're stressed, your brain produces hormones that tell your body to get ready to respond to a threat. Severe stress damages your mental health and can also cause physical complaints. A good way to manage stress is to exercise.
   • By exercising and being physically active you relieve tense muscles.
   • Exercise also causes the body to produce endorphins. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that make you feel good and suppress your body's stress response. It improves your mood and makes you calm down.
   • Try different activities until you find something you like. Good activities include yoga, walking, dancing and sports that get your heart rate up.
   • If you're feeling stressed, it can be tempting to skip exercising because you have a lot more to do. But the long-term benefits of exercise are abundantly clear.
2. Eat healthy. A healthy diet and good eating habits also help to reduce stress. Please keep the following tips in mind:
   • Drink less caffeine and alcohol. Too many of these substances can make you anxious. More than one or two alcoholic drinks make you less able to cope with stress.
   • Make eating a calm, relaxing experience. Don't eat in a rush.
   • Don't overeat. Avoid "eating away" stress.
   • Certain foods contain nutrients that help your body deal with stress better. Avocado, banana, whole grains, fatty fish, carrots, nuts, yogurt and chocolate are said to help with stress.
3. Get plenty of sleep. When you sleep, your body recovers and processes the stress of the day. It is the moment when your brain comes to rest. Your body can relax after using all the muscles all day long.
   • Sleep is actually the "reset button" for your stress level. It helps against severe stress reactions such as anxiety.
   • It is important to get enough sleep and that the sleep you get is of good quality. For example, you should not be startled too often by noises at night. To reduce stress, you need to get a good night's sleep for 6-8 hours every night.
4. Practice mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is a form of meditation where you focus on being present in the present moment. Mindfulness meditation is about simply being and not wanting or doing anything else.
   • You don't have to meditate for more than 30 minutes a day. Even then, you will start to notice beneficial changes in your behavior and brain function. Attention decreases emotional reactivity, anxiety and depression.
   • Start by finding a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Sit comfortably and pay attention to your thoughts. Let the thoughts arise and disappear from your consciousness.
   • Focus all your attention on the present moment, paying attention to your breathing. Pay attention to what you see, hear and feel. Pay attention to where in your body you hold tension. Acknowledge and then let go of any thoughts, concerns, and emotions that come to mind.
   • If your mind wanders or you start to worry, return your attention to your breath.

Method 2 of 4: Build self-confidence

1. Question your inner critic. Feeling good about yourself is essential to mental health. Worries and negative thoughts can get you stuck and keep you from feeling good. Doubting yourself can be especially painful. The following exercises will help you silence your inner critic and ease your worries:
   • If you find yourself worried or thinking negatively about yourself, ask a few questions. For example, "Is this thought nice to myself?", "Is this thought really true?", "Would I tell someone else?" The answers to these questions can usually reduce self-doubt.
   • Change a negative thought so that it becomes more true and kind. For example, you may find yourself thinking, "I can never do anything right." Try to make this thought more correct by thinking, "Sometimes something may not work, but other times I do it very well. It doesn't matter that I can't do everything, and I'm proud of what I do well."
2. Focus on your strengths. In times of trouble, you need to focus on the qualities that can help you through the tough times.
   • You may think, "I don't like it when I don't know what's going to happen. What if something bad happens?" In this case, you can remind yourself of your strengths. You can say to yourself, "I don't know what will happen, but I have experienced unexpected things before. I trust that I can handle whatever comes my way."
   • When you acknowledge what you value in yourself, you are reminding yourself of your self-worth, which is essential to your mental health. Appreciating your strengths reminds you of how capable and competent you are.
   • It can be helpful to write down your thoughts about your strengths or even start a small journal. Here are some helpful phrases to get you started: What makes you feel strong? Is it something you do, or a certain environment? Describe how you feel when you feel strong. Confident? Pride? Write down 5 qualities that you think are your strengths. Which are the most important? Why?
3. Practice self-affirmation. Self-affirmation is an exercise where you remind yourself of your worth by saying or writing down what you admire or like about yourself. By regularly checking out your qualities that you are happy with, your self-esteem gets a huge boost.
   • Say out loud to yourself in the mirror what you are happy about. You can do this short exercise at any free time. If you repeat it often, you will gain more and more self-esteem.
   • An example of self-affirmation might be, "I think I am a good friend, and I take pride in how I treat my friends."
   • Another example might be: "I love my curls because they are special. I'm glad I love my hair these days".
   • Research has shown that self-affirmation can help reduce stress and promote creative thinking in stressful situations.

Method 3 of 4: Dealing with negative emotions

1. Take time for yourself. It can be difficult to deal with strong emotions, but they are part of life. Controlling your emotions and being able to soothe your own pain are essential to mental well-being. You can achieve this by doing things every day that make you feel good.
   • What makes you feel good is very personal. You probably already have a number of activities that help you manage your emotions better.
   • Some good examples include talking to a friend, going for a walk, listening to music, or doing something else that makes you relax, such as taking a nice bath.
2. Practice self-awareness. Be aware of your own emotional reactions to outside events. Take time to reflect on your reactions to difficult situations.
   • Rather than reacting immediately to a negative event, try to step back mentally and pay attention to your emotional response. For example, many people find it helpful to take a few deep breaths or count to ten before responding.
   • Think about what you are feeling without judging. Doing this gives you the space to respond in a way that is not impulsive, but well thought out.
   • It is especially useful during difficult conversations and relationships to be aware of your emotions.
3. Keep a diary. A journal can help you keep track of your thoughts and feelings. This can increase your awareness of your own emotional responses. It has both mental and physical benefits, such as strengthening your immune system and reducing stress. Here are some helpful starting lines for your journal:
   • How are my feelings related to this event? How are they unrelated?
   • What do these feelings say about me and my needs?
   • Am I judging my emotional response? What assumptions do I make through my judgments?
   • Try to write in your journal for at least 20 minutes every day.

Method 4 of 4: Maintain healthy relationships

1. Recognize the characteristics of a healthy relationship. Social support is very important in difficult times. Friends, family, and co-workers can all provide emotional support and help you through stressful events in your life. Social support also makes you feel accepted and safe. Look for these components in your relationships:
   • Trust. Trust is essential if you want to build strong, healthy relationships. It allows you to be vulnerable by exposing your true self.
   • Respect. Respect in a relationship means that you accept the other's opinions, needs and limits. Respect also means avoiding painful comments, name calling and belittling.
   • Listen. Listening is a way of conveying respect and care to the other. Listen actively by giving the other person plenty of time to finish talking. Pay close attention to what the other person says and how he / she says it. Expect the other to listen to you too.
   • Freedom. Freedom in a relationship means that you also allow the other person time for themselves. You allow the other to maintain other relationships. It means that you allow each other to express your needs without consequences.
2. Recognize the characteristics of an unhealthy relationship. Unfortunately, relationships can also be unhealthy or even harmful. Abuse in a relationship often has to do with wanting to control the other person physically or emotionally. Here are behaviors that could indicate that the other person is abusing you:
   • Humiliating you on purpose
   • Being overly critical of you
   • Ignore you or shut you out
   • Often grumpy and unpredictable
   • Want to determine where you go and who you can meet
   • Using phrases such as "If you don't ____, I will _____"
   • Using money to control you
   • View your phone or email without your permission
   • Being possessive
   • Lashing out at you or being extremely jealous
   • Pressuring you, making you feel guilty, or forcing you to make love
3. Assess your relationships. Once you know the hallmarks of healthy and unhealthy relationships, take the time to assess your social circle. Think about which relationships support you the most and which ones might be harmful.
   • If you are in harmful relationships, consider confronting the person you are abusing with his / her behavior. You may also have to try to keep him / her out of your life, especially if he / she doesn't take your objections seriously. These people harm your emotional health.
   • At the same time, you should try to spend more time with the people who support you the most.
4. Teach yourself healthy behavior within relationships. A positive relationship is not just about the behavior of others. It's also about your behavior. Here are some tips for maintaining healthy relationships:
   • Learn what each of you wants as an individual and what you want to get out of the relationship.
   • State your needs and be open to the other's needs.
   • Know that you can't get all your happiness from one relationship.
   • Be open to compromise and learn to negotiate so that you get an outcome that both of you are happy with.
   • Accept and love the differences between you and the other.
   • Practice empathy by trying to understand the other person's point of view. When a serious problem arises, try to negotiate fairly and with compassion.

Tips

• Write down feelings that are unpleasant, such as sadness, emptiness, and feelings of abandonment, in a journal. This is a good exercise to do before going to sleep.
• Make it a habit to think positively to keep you motivated and inspired.

Warnings

• If you are seriously concerned about your mental health, seek the help of a therapist. If you are walking around with the idea of ​​harming yourself or others, seek help immediately.