World Mental Health Day is observed on 10th October every year. The aim of observing this day is the intention of bringing awareness of mental health issues around the world.
The year 2020 is going through a critical phase, a COVID -19 pandemic year where the whole universe is experiencing a whole new world leading a different kind of life.
Everything has become very challenging , in all sectors like for health-care workers providing care in difficult circumstances, for security personnel, asking people to take care of themselves, maintaining law and order, for students taking online classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends and anxious about their futures; for kids, not allowed to play in the open area, for workers whose livelihoods are in trouble, caught in poverty, their lives at stake, and for all the people experiencing greater social isolation than before.
The months of lockdown and loss have made a huge impact on all of us. The World is facing an economic crisis due to this pandemic and as a result, the companies are either asking the staff to move out or waiving off their salaries, even to the extent of shutting down the company completely. It’s a difficult situation out there.
Such kinds of emergencies have given rise to mental stress, disorders and psychological disturbances in society, among the families. Lot of guidance, mental support and counseling has become the need of the hour in today’s world.
The goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day is to educate everyone and do something better for their mental health. It’s very important to make everybody realize the effects of stress and mental health issues.
Symptoms Of Mental Stress
Stress may affect health and mind unknowingly. The person going through mental stress complains of irritating headache, frequent insomnia and decreased productivity at work.
The other symptoms can affect the body and contribute to many health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes, reducing immunity. It can bring changes in thoughts; creativity of mind and all in turn affects the human behavior.
It’s a great opportunity to celebrate this year’s World Mental health day by following some simple rules / tips.
1. Do Some Workouts Like Yoga / Meditation
Spend time doing simple workouts, perform some relaxation techniques like meditation and listen to some cool, soothing music. Read some motivational books, follow good speakers. These are some simple techniques that can be followed easily without much issue and can be of much help in relieving stress.
2. Stay Well At Home
This pandemic situation has given the facility to work online from home, even the schools, coaching classes are being managed from home itself.
Work has a significant impact on our mental health and wellbeing, but there are steps how to stay mentally healthy at work. Have a open, clear mind, sort out things as per the priorities, plan out the schedule. In case of work pressures, targets, if it’s getting difficult to manage, ask for support. Talk to your managers and find out the solution instead of carrying the pressure and keeping it in mind.
The kids / students are spending maximum time on screen, without much physical activity. They too are going through mental stress. For this the teachers have to relax at times, parents have to be around, spending quality time with them. Talk to them, play with them , give some activities to perform so that they can explore new things. Kids even have to be taught to perform yoga asanas, breathing techniques, so their overall health is taken care of.
3. Eat Healthy
The most important thing to take care of mental health is to take care of physical health by taking the right amount and kind of food. It’s very important to take special care of health by having a balanced diet, increasing the intake of superfoods like fruits and nuts rich in vitamins, proteins in diet to increase the immunity to fight back against the infection.
Sleep is another important factor contributing to peaceful mental health. If the body is deprived of sleep, it indirectly affects the thinking, working capacity of the mind too. Getting peaceful 6-8 hrs of sleep is very important.
These are the simple tips that can be followed to improve mental health and keep ourselves motivated, keep us going strong to deal with this pandemic situation. It’s very important to take care of our mental health along with our physical health.
With families spending time together and friends caring for each other, many of the stressful conditions can be avoided. They can be dealt with less problems affecting health. So follow these simple rules of life and make life blissful.
