Mental health and peace should be top priority!
One thing that I know through experience that mental health should be the top priority. To keep my brain healthy and active, I kept did many things in life that is inclusive of playing sports, jogging, daily exercise, listening to good music, writing poetry and articles, watching movies and so on.
At times I ignored this important step in my life. And I suffered. I compromised on my sleep. I gave up on exercise. I gained weight. Reason was my madness for my studies. I participated in different competitive exams. And to prepare for those exams I madly went for studies.
Besides I was overwhelmed by different financial and domestic issues. Being elder in the family I had to deal with different challenges and problems . Taking care of the parents and younger siblings was my responsibility. On one side, it was my career but on the other was my family that needed my utmost attention and support. This made me go through lot of challenging situations.
Changing of jobs to earn more to support family was another aspect of my life goals. I got career leaps. At the same time I had to manage adaptability and adjustments in new jobs, cultures and teams.
At this point when I am going to be 54, my sincere advice to all especially youngsters is to take care of your mental health whatever the situation is. Don’t compromise on your mental health. A time comes when you want to improve your health but then it is too late.
Some of the tips and experiential ideas are briefly explained below:
- Physical exercise
You should spare 30–40 minutes of physical exercise, walk or work out. This is an investment on yourself. Never leave this routine. If it is walk, it will provide you mental relief and will keep your brain fresh and active. Try to go for a walk in a park having greenery and trees. This will be an added benefit to move around in the nature. Busy schedule of life these days may restrict your outside movement. In that case, go into gym or do some exercise at home. But make it a compulsory aspect in your daily life.
2. Good uninterrupted sleep
Please make to sure to have an uninterrupted sleep of 7–8 hours daily. This is vital for your mental health. After your work, if there is a nap of an hour or so in the afternoon, it will further add to your mental health.
I am not an expert but I am sharing my personal experience that helped me a great deal. Good sleep will keep your brain and body healthy, active and will increase your mental strength and happiness.
3. Avoid stress and anxiety
No individual has a life without problems or issues. Nature of such problems can be different. But, taking unnecessary stress will diminish your ability to handle a problem. It will damage your peace of mind. It can be harmful and cause different diseases.
Best way to keep unnecessary stress away from you is to remain cool and calm in any situation. Maintain your routine of work, daily exercise and uninterrupted sleep. Engage yourself more positively in reading, writing or cooking. Don’t keep yourself unengaged.
4. Strong bondage with your life partner, family
I am touching on this aspect a bit late in this piece. But it is the most important aspect. Strong bondage with your family is the key to keep you peaceful and happy.
It is my lifelong experience that your life partner is the most trusted and reliable friend and companion. Share your thoughts, problems and ideas with your life partner. Develop a trust and confidence as he or she is the most trusted Advisor in your life. More practical solutions and advice will come from your life partner and your children. They are your most reliable companions under any circumstances.
This pandemic has taught many lessons. Many people including business partners showed their true color. One of our business partners went too far to blackmail us and target my family and even my children to get his nefarious designs done. He did many other bad things that I do not want to to mention here. But I am just trying to share the complexity of life and intensity of stress and anxiety that can appear in your life any time.
But your strong relationship, trust and confidence built with your family especially your life partner will help you a great deal and will put you in a positive situation. You will be able to share your thoughts, ideas and can relieve yourself by seeking comfort, consolation and consultation.
5. Regular habit of reading and writing
Reading and writing is the best way to keep yourself busy positively. This habit will chisel your intellect, enhance your energy level and will enable you to remain positive and optimistic under any circumstances.
I read and write daily. There is so much of good reading stuff available now a days. Please take good example of medium.com where you will find thousands of articles and write ups on a variety of subjects. This will provide you good insight and increase your happiness. You can use medium.com to share your thoughts and experiences. Your readers will benefit from your valuable sharing.
6. Prayer and spiritual connection
Whatever your religion is, keep yourself connected with your daily or periodic prayers and worship. It will provide you spiritual strength and you will look up to your Lord, seeking His benevolence and help. I do my regular prayers five times a day as a Muslim. This gives me spiritual strength and keeps my mind at peace. I do my level best and then leave it to Him.
Some of my worthy readers may not agree with me but I am just sharing my experience. I take greater strength from my unshakable belief in my God almighty. I take refuge in HIs omnipresence and omnipotence. Spiritual connection will enhance your ability to handle any problem. Prayer is powerful and I do pray to my Almighty to shower His blessings upon me and my family. This is my real strength.
7. Overcome monotony through diverse tasks
Monotony comes when you keep doing one work. Do your tasks or work related steps in small spans or chunks. Don’t maintain continuity of doing one thing spanning over hours. Maximum span of task should be one hour. Then take a break, go for a stroll, have chit chat with friends, listen to music etc. This will break monotony and will keep you rationally consistent.
8. Watch movies, listen to music and do some sports
Internet is a common luxury in any home now a days. Especially pandemic has made it an every day necessity. Watch a good movie, series or a sports and allocate time for this entertainment. This will entertain your brain and keep you happy. Maintain a happy watchlist.
Do some online or physical sports to keep yourself healthy and happy.
9. Maintain a circle of friends
A circle of friends or chums will make your life a heaven. Spend time with your friends. If it is not possible due to COVID to meet physically, do it through virtual meets by using Zoom, Google Meet, Discord, Skype etc. A number of free online platforms are now available. No need to make excuses. Just go for it. Lot of informal gossip, sharing jokes, recall past funny moments will energize your brain and will make you happy.
In nutshell, mental health should be priority for all of us. Life is not a single day event. It is a long journey of countless years. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will make your life wonderful, happy and full of fun. Do things that keep you happy. There can be many other ideas apart from the above. I will request my worthy readers to share your ideas if you have more for the benefit of all.
I wish a happy and healthy life to all my friends and their families and the worthy readers who will happen to read this small effort of mine.
Please do not look at this critically as theoretically there can be many research based ideas. What I wrote here is my personal experience. Please enjoy the read.
