MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS – What is Mental Health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

It’s important to tune in to how you’re feeling every now and then just to evaluate the situation and see if there are any things that would need changing. Here are five tips on how to check-in with yourself.

1. Slow down – Take some time to slow your pace and assess how you are feeling. Let your thoughts flow on and let them develop fully.
2. Keep a journal – An important part of checking how you are feeling is to keep track of your moods regularly to see how things are evolving and to see where progress is being made as well. It doesn’t have to be a long story about everything that’s going on in your life. Just start off with a simple list of words that you associate with how you’re feeling at the moment.
3. Keep to a routine – Sometimes, we get so busy that we forget to focus on the basics — food, exercise, and sleep. These are simple but critical ways to ensure you’re staying healthy both mentally and physically.
4. Be consistent – You will see better results from consistent mental check-ups, so keep it to five minutes but set yourself the goal of three times a week or whatever feels manageable.
5. Listen to your body – Your mind and your body work together, a good indication of your mental state is looking at how you are feeling physically. Do you have any changes in your routine, aches, pains, etc. This may show more than you think.

If you are in need of help and want to find services in your area, click here to contact our office and we can help you find services that coordinate with your health insurance plan. Click here to read how Medicare and CMS cover mental health. All Marketplace plans cover mental health and substance abuse services as essential health benefits.