Embrace tools for promoting mental health

Janet Larson, APRN, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. While mental health issues are important to address year-round, this is a dedicated time to highlight that mental health matters.

“We all have mental health,” comments Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Janet Larson at Riverwood Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Clinic. “Mental health is our ability to engage with our emotions, thoughts, interactions with others, and the world around us. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act every day. The best way to protect mental health is to pay attention to it even when you’re feeling ok or even good. Just like with our physical health, we can do things that make us mentally healthier and happier.”

Creating positive habits is a great way to support your mental health. Mental health plays a big role in overall well-being. When you feel mentally well, you’re more able to enjoy life and the people in it, feel better about yourself, keep up with fulfilling relationships, and manage stress.

Experiencing poor mental health is not the same as having a mental health condition. A mental health condition, or mental illness, refers to a set of symptoms that have been identified by a health provider. We all have tough days and weeks, and everyone manages their mental health every day.

People with mental health conditions experience change in emotions, thinking, and/or behavior. For some, this means extreme and unexpected changes in mood, like feeling more sad or worried than usual. For others, it means not thinking clearly, pulling away from friends and activities you used to enjoy, or hearing voices that others do not. Mental illness is treatable; it is not always a permanent state of being.

CONNECTING WITH YOURSELF

Self-connection, or self-care, is about finding practices that help you thrive, and it can include a range of things. It takes purposeful effort, but it can help you maintain or improve your daily mental well-being. It can be helpful to think of it as taking time to connect with yourself and care for yourself as you would others.

Below are different ways to engage in self-care from the Mental Health Coalition:

Physical: Notice and address the stress that shows up in your body. Determine what physical activities reduce or alleviate physical pain, tension and mental stress for you. Some common activities are massages, hugging loved ones with their consent, fitness, dance, aromatherapy, rest, and boundary setting.

Emotional: Involves tending to your own internal emotional world – especially your mood and feelings. Ways to tend to your emotional self can include connecting with others, naming and acknowledging your emotions, psychotherapy, journaling or creative writing, art, and setting boundaries for your emotional well-being.

Cognitive: Engage in activities that are intellectually rewarding and/or stimulating. This can include reading, writing, listening to books or podcasts, watching films, psychotherapy.

Spiritual: This can take many different forms and does not have to be tied to formal religion. It means getting in touch with the less tangible aspects of yourself and the world around you. This can include meditation, breathwork, prayer, connecting with a spiritual or religious community, mantras.

CONNECTING WITH OTHERS

Social connection is a building block for mental health. People thrive when feeling socially connected to other people. Both casual connections, like waving to a neighbor, and close intimate relationships help us thrive and feel connected to others and our community.

Having a healthy social life is incredibly important to maintain both mental and physical health. Studies show that social ties boost survival by more than 50 percent. But finding social connection can be challenging for many. Reaching out to connect to your neighbors and friends will not only help you but can also help others in your community thrive.

We can all help promote belonging and support connection from individual actions to organizations and policies. Creating more welcoming communities and environments for everyone will support mental health and well-being.

CONNECTING WITH NATURE

Nature is a natural stress buffer. Supporting connection to nature for individuals, families, and communities can support physical health with reduced blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones.

Spending time in nature also helps with emotional regulation and reduction in behavior problems, social connectedness and belonging, and spiritual development.

Connection to nature can help mitigate the impact of trauma. For example, we use more of our senses when in nature, which helps us be alert and present in the moment, rather than focused on day-to-day stressors and trauma.

A little goes a long way. We don’t have to walk in the forest daily to get the benefits of nature.  Noticing nature while in your neighborhood, spending time in your local park, or even viewing nature from inside can help access the many benefits of nature.

CONNECTING TO RESOURCES AND SUPPORT

The opportunities and resources we have available in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities impact our mental health as well as our physical health. Mental health is not just about what we do as individuals. For example, when organization and policies support belonging and connectedness, they promote mental health.

Friends and family can be a great support system, but sometimes it is hard to ask for help. It is OK to not be OK. Reach out to family, friends, neighbors, a warm line, or an emergency emotional support line, like the 988 Lifeline, if you want to talk. Know that you are not alone, help is available, and healing can happen.