9 More Advantages of Mental Health
When measuring or identifying our client’s degree of happiness, we typically look for specific markers or indicators. As such, they confirm some benefits of good mental health, including (Snyder, 2021):
- A more positive attitude and outlook toward self and others.
- Increased openness to new, different, and challenging experiences.
- An increasingly optimistic outlook regarding the potential of individuals, groups, and society to grow positively.
- A heightened sense of purpose.
- A boosted capacity for managing complex environments and situations and shaping them in positive ways.
- More engagement, curiosity, and interest in society, social life, and the needs of others.
- Ability to resist unhelpful, unsavory influences to maintain goal and value-driven paths – ultimately a show of heightened autonomy.
- Experiencing a sense of belonging to the community; deriving both comfort and support from their support and connections.
- Engagement in warm and trusting relationships, showing intimacy and empathy.
How to Make Every Day a Mental Health Day
Good mental health increases our sense of flourishing.
It should not be separate from how we live but form part of our work, relationships, hobbies, and achievements, encouraging our experiences of meaning and fulfillment (Seligman, 2011).
We can create many micro self-care activities in our daily routines, such as time away from our desks, pausing to engage with friends and colleagues, and putting in place appropriate work-life barriers. And yet, it is equally important to identify and schedule specific pastimes, activities, and practices that prioritize our flourishing – making time and space in our busy lives to boost our mental health (Bush, 2015).
Indeed, Seligman’s original positive psychology model for wellbeing has been expanded beyond positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaningful living, and achievements (PERMA) to include health. Where health is considered vital for our wellbeing and forms part of a more holistic view that integrates psychological and physical health (Seligman, 2011; Morgan & Simmons, 2021).
Research has shown each of the following activities and pastimes to have a positive impact on our mental health. There is value in setting aside time to incorporate the following into our daily lives:
Yoga
Yoga has been used for thousands of years as a tool for self-improvement. While it has essential physical elements, the target of yoga is predominantly the mind. In the modern world, and throughout medicine and therapy, such ancient practices are finding their place in supporting individuals in building mental health and overcoming lifestyle disorders.
Research confirms that yoga-based interventions can improve mental wellness and provide “significant benefits in mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis” (Varambally & Gangadhar, 2016, p. 233).
Exercise
We never evolved to exercise – at least in exerting energy in a non-essential sense.
Nevertheless, we evolved to run, carry, reproduce, hunt, and perform other activities necessary to increase the likelihood of our survival and the passing on of our genes.
However, most of us live in a world where physical effort is unnecessary and may even be considered uncomfortable. And yet, there are tremendous benefits.
“The brains of more physically active people have enlarged memory regions, more cells, and increased blood supply,” writes evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman (2021, p. 334).
Moreover, directly for our mental health, those that regularly exercise are less reactive to stressful situations, reducing levels of cortisol, and experiencing less depression and anxiety.
Exercise also boosts our confidence and strengthens our belief that we can achieve goals—all essential to good mental health (Lieberman, 2021).
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According to global surveys, men are more likely than women to commit suicide and more unwilling to discuss their mental problems. A mental health disorder is characterized by a persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.
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