Managing Your Mental Health: How to Cope

 

We live in a stressful world, and many people find that life is only getting harder as time goes on. It’s understandable, therefore, that you might find yourself battling with your mental health just as much as your physical health.

Anxiety disorders alone impact over 40 million adults in the US, and these figures are constantly on the rise. The first thing to be aware of is that there is no shame in struggling with mental or emotional health problems. The second thing to be aware of is that it’s not hopeless.

There are things that you can do to improve your mental health. Here are some tips to help you cope.

Self-Care

It’s commonly said that prevention is usually better than a cure. One of the most prevalent mistakes when it comes to managing your mental health is to ignore it until it becomes a problem. People think that they’re fine and coping well, but what they’re actually doing is putting off dealing with potential mental health problems.

A particularly common issue in modern life is burnout. Burnout happens when someone keeps on pushing themselves physically, emotionally, and mentally through life. It’s common in stressful, high-pressure jobs, but anyone can get burnt out. If you’re a busy parent or if you have to care for someone else, you might also be prone to burnout.

People get burnt out because they don’t give themselves any time to recover from whatever is stressing them out. Eventually, your body and mind will force the issue. Someone suffering from burnout will crash, meaning that they can’t bring themselves to continue with their current lifestyle. This crash can last for days, weeks, or even longer.

This kind of lifestyle can also make you prone to develop mental health disorders. People aren’t designed to keep going without any letup, so it’s up to you to look after your body and mind while you’re healthy. This can protect you from burnout or another crisis.

Self-care differs from person to person. You might be the kind of person who loves to soak in a hot bath and let your worries float away, or perhaps you prefer an invigorating hike. Many people like to engage in a variety of activities. The most important thing is that you give yourself the time to enjoy yourself and, every now and then, make your needs the priority.

Another tip is a contact a counselor or therapist. Even if you aren’t struggling with a specific mental or emotional health issue, having someone to talk to and teach you healthy coping strategies can be incredibly helpful. This also helps you to build the skills to cope if and when you do struggle later down the line.

Knowing Your Enemy

Any issue in life can only be solved if you know the root cause of it. If you are struggling with a mental health problem, then you need to know two things. First, what is the problem? Second, what is causing it? Usually, finding the answer to one question will help you to answer the other one.

For example, anxiety is the most common mental or emotional health problem faced by adults around the world. Anxiety is a useful tool, designed to help humans to be aware of danger and in the right frame of mind to deal with it. Unfortunately, we aren’t designed to cope with the types of stresses we live through now.

Nowadays, people struggle with anxieties about the future. We have money worries, stress at work, and family problems. The issue with these anxieties is they can’t be solved quickly and easily. Often, they don’t go away. This can lead to a person being constantly plagued by anxiety with no way to get rid of it.

However, knowing why you’re anxious can be the first step to working out how to cope with it. True, you might not be able to get rid of the problem causing the initial stress, but you can learn how to manage how you feel about it and come up with healthy coping strategies.

Sometimes the problem is literally in your head. But this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything about it. Learning how your mind works is the first step to learning how manage your emotions and thought processes.

Many people are predisposed to mental and emotional health disorders. Some serious psychosis disorders, like schizophrenia, develop without sufferers or mental health professionals truly understanding why. Often, serious mental health disorders are complicated.

Two people in the same situation might react in completely different ways, one developing a mental health issue and the other recovering more quickly. Understanding isn’t an easy battle, but the closer you come to it, the closer you come to being able to treat your mental or emotional health problems.

Getting Treatment

All of the understanding in the world won’t help you much if you don’t seek treatment for any mental or emotional health disorders. As mentioned before, everyone should be aware of their mental health, but this is especially important if you suspect or know that you have a problem.

The type of treatment that’s best for you depends on what you’re suffering from, as well as other circumstances. The brain is a complicated beast, and different treatments suit different people, even if they have the same diagnosis. Your physical health also plays a part, as some medications can interact with other conditions or treatments.

Going to a dual diagnosis treatment center is a great option for some people, for example. If you have a mental health problem combined with an addiction disorder, then this kind of treatment center can help you to manage both conditions so that you can recover much better.

Often, mental health treatment involves a combination of medications designed to regulate your brain chemistry, as well as other therapies. Talking therapies are a great diagnostic tool as well as a treatment option that can help you to process things that have happened to you.

Other treatment techniques include CBT and EFT therapies, where you train yourself to think in a helpful, progressive manner rather than spiraling down unhealthy rabbit holes. Instead, you learn behaviors that benefit your mental health.

Support and Help

Nobody should have to go through their issues alone, whether its a mental health concern or another stress on your life. Often, one of the best ways to prevent and battle mental and emotional health problems is to lean on other people.

Your family, friends, and other loved ones are there to support you, you simply have to be willing to let them. If there is someone out there that you trust, then talk through what you’re going through. Not only this, but don’t neglect spending time with people socially and having fun.

Even if you like spending time by yourself, humans are by nature social creatures. True, making friends isn’t always easy, especially if you’re already struggling with anxiety. In this case, you may need to go where people are who share your interests. If you have a hobby, join a club or online forum to find people with similar interests. You’d be surprised at the friends you can make.