From RTD Wellness: During Mental Wellness Month, take care of yourself
January is Mental Wellness Month. Mental wellness, like physical wellness, is equally important in achieving optimal well-being. The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) describes mental wellness as an inner resource that is dynamic, renewable and positive. This inner resource helps us build resilience, grow and flourish.
There are four dimensions of mental wellness: thinking, feeling, connecting and functioning. The GWI emphasizes that your mental wellness is a separate matter from mental illness. To explain this, a person who is dealing with mental illness daily can still achieve optimal mental wellness through great support systems and relationships, while a person without mental illness can still be languishing from high stress.
Today, take some time to reflect, slow down and bring mental well-being with these tips:
Take slow, deep breaths. Deep breathing induces relaxation and reduces tension, and it helps with stress, anxiety, headaches and muscle tension.
Click here for a one-minute deep breathing and meditation exercise.
Get quality sleep. The mind and body recover and rejuvenate through six to nine hours of quality sleep. Find out more here about how to sleep better.
Have a gratitude attitude. Practicing gratitude daily increases happiness and improves sleep and overall health. Make a list of things you’re thankful for to remind yourself it’s a wonderful life.
Be active. If your mind is filled with worry, do something active to get the brain focused on another activity. Such activities could include riding a bicycle or going for a walk outside.
Get rid of clutter. Clutter-free living spaces ease the mind through our senses, providing a sense of relief and relaxation. Clutter is linked to chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Click here for clutter-free tips.
Enjoy the outdoors. Nature is the most effective – and free – treatment for improving mental health. Enjoy the natural world around you while getting some vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin.
Set boundaries. Do you say yes to every request from work, friends and others? While kindness and empathy are great traits, guard against having too much on your plate. Saying “no” is saying “yes” to your mental health.
Take time away from technology. Are you spending too much time on your phone, computer or other tech devices? Getting caught up in social media can harm your mental well-being.
Participate in some art. Singing, dancing, drawing and coloring a mandala have shown to improve mood and reduce anxiety.
Ask for help. Doing so is a sign of courage and strength – it shows that you’re not afraid of judgment and are accepting responsibility to improve your mental health.
Following are additional resources for mental health:
Call 988 for immediate mental health support and services
Access RTD’s Employee Assistance Program by calling 800.284.1819 (TTY: 711) or clicking here(username: “regional transportation district”; password: “eap”)
Click on the links below for more resources from RTD health care providers:
Cigna
Kaiser Permanente