Self-care Strategies: 5 Ways to Take Care of Your Mind

Self-care is synonymous with taking care of your skin and body. Taking care of your mind can be just as important as taking care of your body. The onset of COVID-19 and lockdowns reiterated this even more, with mental health becoming the most discussed global health issue. So, why should you take care of your mind? And how do you take care of your mind? Let’s delve more.

Why Should You Take Care of Your Mind?

Having a healthy mind means having balanced brain chemicals. We have blood pressure and sugar levels that indicate body health. Just like that, the brain has dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphin that indicate mental health.  

How Do You Take Care of Your Mind?

Now that we know about the chemicals needed for the brain to function, maintaining them at a healthy level is important. Maintaining can vary from approaching a mental health professional to simple self-care strategies. Some of the tested and trusted self-care strategies are –  

• Staying Active

One of the best ways to take care of your mind is to stay physically active every day. Exercise is one example. You don’t have to spend on gym memberships. Everyday tasks like household chores, playing with your kids, or walking your pets will also help to stay physically active. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain that make you feel happy. Other benefits of staying active include improved mood, cognitive function, and sleep. 

• Documenting Your Thoughts

Jotting down your thoughts and feelings is a great way to relieve anxiety. Stressing about the past or present will make you feel suffocated. Writing them or typing them out will help. It also helps create a perspective of your problems, which in turn will help create solutions for them.

• Learning Something New

Learning new skills is one of the best things you can do for your mind. It is also one of the most challenging as it takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. It will help your mind to stay engaged in the present and not imagine and worry about the past or future. 

• Meditation

There is something like keeping your mind ‘too engaged’. The fear of being alone with your thoughts is common. With loads of content and technology to distract you, little time is spent on inner reflections. Meditation and deep breathing are powerful tools for calming and clearing your mind. It is a way of training the mind to be present at the moment. It is also a very simple practice that anyone can learn. 

• Asking for Help

When it comes to mental health there are multiple stigmas attached to it and approaching a mental health professional is one of them. Some find it difficult to even talk to their friends and family about their mental well-being. The first step to solving a problem is to recognize there is one. So realizing your personal prejudice and societal stigma around mental health talk is important. And breaking it by speaking openly about it and asking for help is the way to a healthy life.