Your brain is constantly in the work mode ….one section called the hypothalamus is constantly maintaining the body’s homeostasis whereas the cerebrum and brain stem is responsible for thoughts and consciousness. You can think up to 50 thoughts per minute that is almost 70,000 thoughts in a day (yeah that is how much you think without realizing a major portion of it).
Our thoughts control our moods ,behaviour and attitude toward people and situations and sometimes when you are spiralling down, you end up doing /saying things you didn’t want to or you end up underperforming when you had to hit the home run.
Our mental health is choreographed by our experiences be it good bad or traumatic. The stress levels today are rising like never before and reason ranges from competitive work environment, to as stupid as perfect Instagram stories and FOMO (Feeling of missing out). The overwhelming pressure of fitting in and showing off or proving something to the world is exhausting.
The reason why mental health is something one should work on along with physical fitness, is because your mind is a muscle like your biceps/triceps/abs and if you take care of it you might not yield to a panic attack or a meltdown on those tough work days.
So how do cope up??? How do you prepare yourself for tough days without having a melt down??
How do you not miss out on opportunities because of your mood swings?? How do you prevent yourself from hurting yourself and others???
The answer lies in working up for your mental health just like you take care of your body , you need to work for your mind by being more aware. And how do you do this???
By MINDING YOUR MIND – listening to yourself, connecting with yourself, finding yourself some moments of solitude where you can listen to thoughts coming to you and find answers to issues that are affecting you.
Here are my top 5 steps for building your mental endurance:
EXERCISE: Taking care of mental health starts with you taking care of your physical self. Since workout releases endorphins these hormone gives you a euphoric feeling (feel good feeling). And please don’t just do it to attain some beauty standards but for your health and wellbeing.
STOP BINGE WATCHING: This is something we all are guilty of and must realise and limit. There is so much content with so easy access it is impossible to ignore it and whenever you feel stressed you would like to just wedge out in front of your phone, laptop or tv and sometimes it is good to just unwind after a tiring day but when it becomes a daily habit it will rob you out of precious time that you could spend with yourself.
WORK ON YOUR HOBBIES: When you do something creative in your leisure time for the sake of pleasure it gives you a sense of accomplishment and these are just small steps for building your confidence and clearing up doubts you have on your abilities.
GET IN TOUCH: It is quite a paradox feeling left out and lonely living in an era where connection is just dependent on our sheer will. Go out and meet old friends on a weekend make new ones call your family be connected, there’s a lot going out in everyone’s life but all of us need a network of emotional support.
MEDITATE: This one is a tough cookie to crack if you are aiming for finding your trans state. Don’t do that, if you are beginner start with a small 10 min session where you just listen to your mind the rush of thoughts that are all over the place- try to analyse them. Try and calm yourself and don’t worry if your mind is not still …it will take time to reach there. Meditation is form of mental workout that makes you more aware of yourself which is the goal to a healthy mind and body.
Live Authentic 