Happy Saturday! The week is coming to a close. It’s time to go out and have a good time, right? Some of us have no intention of going out. We want to sit around the house, watch some television, and relax. The work, or school, week is over, and we are tired. We’ve stretched ourselves thin trying to accomplish everything that needed to be accomplished this week.
It’s okay to stay home over the weekend. It is even okay to spend the majority of the weekend lying on the couch. It’s okay. Sometimes it is healthy to spend a day or two relaxing and catching up on your rest. This rest is great for maintaining our mental health, and sometimes it’s exactly what we need.
Three Ways to Maintain Our Mental Health
Our mental health determines our mindset. It allows us to feel happy or makes us feel sad. Taking the time to maintain our mental health is an investment in our happiness. There are quite a few easy things that we can do to care for our mental health. When we maintain our mental health, we take care of ourselves. Taking care of ourselves allows us to enjoy life. It does this by reducing stress and inducing happiness.
Exercise
In addition to what I just said about lying on the couch, exercise is essential too. Physical activity is key to maintaining both our physical and mental well being. Exercising provides us with a chance to clear our minds and reduce stress. Physical activity also improves our self-esteem and encourages a better night’s sleep.
Communicate
Our relationships are our life-line. Communication enhances our relationships and provides us with a chance to vent. Discussing the things that are important to us makes us happy. Sharing information creates stronger bonds and promotes trust. This trust is what ties us together. Communicating is vital to building a reliable support system.
Along with creating bonds, we have to communicate our feelings to each other. Sharing our feelings and opinions is not always easy. We have to stay true and speak our minds even if our friends don’t necessarily agree. It is an important step to maintaining mental health.
It’s never a good idea to hold things back. However, we need to communicate these thoughts and feelings in a non-judgemental way. Just as we hope our loved ones understand where we are coming from, we must try to do the same in return.
Give Yourself A Break
I mean this both literally and figuratively. We have to learn to give ourselves a break. We all need time to kick back and relax. We need to allow ourselves time to recuperate. This time enables us to focus on ourselves and regain our mental and physical strength. But, we also have to give ourselves a break emotionally.
That means trying to accept and forgive ourselves. We have to learn to embrace what is and move past it. Forgiving ourselves is a difficult thing to do, but it is necessary. When we forgive ourselves, we let go of this invisible weight. We set ourselves free. Imagine the relief.
The Written Works of A.L. Swartz 