15 things you can do to care for your mental health …

Most of us somehow learned that we directly impact our physical health by how we treat and care for our bodies. But most of us weren’t taught much about caring for our mental health.

We just recently observed World Mental Health Day, which was a good opportunity to emphasize that all of us can — and should! — care for our mental health, in addition to our physical and spiritual health. Here are just 15 things we can do to take good care of our mental health:

Flourish spiritually. Nothing impacts our being, in every way, as does our spiritual well-being. That’s because we are first and foremost a spiritual being who happen to have a physical body and a marvelous mind with which we engage God, others, and the world we live in. The more you flourish spiritually, the better capable you will be to flourish in all other aspects of life. And it is through a relationship with Jesus Christ that we have a direct means of experiencing genuine peace for mental health, as we see in these words of Jesus: “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid,” John 14:27.

Develop your self-awareness. There’s a myth that we’re all naturally self-aware, after all, how could we possibly be “unaware” of ourselves?! Well, people are usually shocked to learn just how unaware of themselves they are. We take little time to purposely think, and are often consciously unaware of the content of many of our thoughts, and lack understanding of our emotions. Ask the average person what they really want in life and they would first have to to stop and think because they haven’t taken time to think that out, they’re just going through life unaware of how unaware they are. Purposely growing in self-awareness is a direct way of caring for our mental health and can be life-changing.

Learn to be aware of, and direct, your self-talk. Most people are amazed at how life-changing becoming more conscious of your own self-talk can be. That’s because most people just hurl themselves through life with little self-awareness, with self-talk full of undirected, irrational thinking. When we learn to become more aware of our self-talk, and how to direct what we’re saying to ourselves, we become more rational thinkers. This is key to caring for our mental health.

Learn to quiet your mind. For many, life is fast and flooded with a daily bombardment of information and noise. Living life like that every day can have an adverse affect on our mental health. Learning to “quiet” our minds is a way of directly caring for our mental health. Means for quieting our minds can include prayer, meditation, learning to enjoy times of silence, and journaling.

Exercise your mind. Just as your body needs exercise to stay healthy, so does your mind! Do more with your mind that just feeding it Netflix marathons! There are many ways to keep your mind active in a healthy way and exercise it, such as being a lifelong learner, learning new skills and/or teaching a skill to someone, starting a hobby, have fun with puzzles, build your vocabulary, learn a new language, memorize scripture, learn to play an instrument, tell interesting stories, learn to write stories, etc.

Develop “other” awareness. Not only do we care for our mental health by developing our self-awareness, we broaden our mental health by deepening our comprehension of others. Most of us react to people, making most of our relationships more transactional rather than relational. Foster a curiosity about others and focus on developing a greater awareness and better understanding of people in and around your life.

Take care of your physical body. You cannot properly care for your mental health without properly caring for your physical health. What you feed your body directly impacts your mental health; in fact, we’re learning more and more how nutrition can be root causes for mental disorders. Providing your body with the exercise, nutrition, and sleep it needs to be healthy is also providing what your being needs to be mentally healthy. In addition to being active, eating well, and getting adequate rest, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, limit your sugar intake, and consult your physician about adding a daily vitamin and mineral supplement.

Learn to reduce and manage stress. We actually need some stress in life, but too much and the wrong kind can be mentally debilitating. While stress can’t be totally eliminated, it can be reduced and managed. If the level and kind of stress in your life is negatively affecting you mentally, emotionally, and physically, connect with a mental health professional who can help you learn how to identify stressors in your life, and then how to reduce and manage them (Note: There are many resources online that can help in teaching you how to reduce and manage stress).

Learn how to rid yourself of anxiety. When we don’t properly respond to stress in our life, we can become anxious. Anxiety is intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Left unaddressed, it can lead to “anxiety disorders” that can become debilitating and even dangerous. Anxiety disorders are manageable and curable with the right treatment and therapy. The Bible routinely instructs us not to be anxious; quickly and directly addressing any sense of anxiety in our lives is an important way for caring for your mental health.

Purposely develop an attitude of gratitude. We feel stressed and come become anxious when our focus is on what we think is missing or wrong with our lives. Learning to develop a strong attitude of gratitude — being thankful for all that is good and right in our lives — helps us to quiet our minds and foster good mental health.

Avoid alcohol and other drugs. Many people around the world attempt to “self medicate” themselves as a way of dealing with life’s trials and troubles, but alcohol and other drugs only exacerbate problems. Minimize your intake of alcohol and avoid any use of illicit drugs.

Regularly mix things up. Routines and habits can be helpful for healthy living but we can become so habitual that life becomes stale mentally and emotionally. Learn to keep a freshness to life by regularly mixing up some routines, doing some things differently, dropping some things, and adding new things.

Regularly wandering off the grid. Make getting outdoors a lifestyle – routinely getting some sun and soaking in some nature can greatly contribute to caring for your mental health. Make scheduling an annual vacation one of the first things you do at the start of a new year. Learn to prioritize recreation in your personal schedule.

Learn to enjoy life. Life is much more than tasks and responsibilities, it is something Jesus wants us to enjoy. “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life,” John 10:10. One of the greatest ways you can care for you mental health is learning how, through Christ, to actually enjoy life.

Get help when you need it. Notice I didn’t write, “Get help IF you need it.” All of us need help in life at various times. Whether that help is the support of a spouse, family members, friends, or fellow church members, we all need to develop positive, supporting relationships in our lives, and to seek help from those relationships as its needed. There will be times you need the wisdom of your pastor or church leaders, and there might be a time or times when you need the skill and insight of a mental health professional – don’t hesitate to seek out these people if and when you need them.

One of the single greatest things you can do to care for your mental health is consciously committing to not neglecting it. Most of us give little or no thought to whether we’re caring well for our mental health.

Let’s change that.

Scotty