Importance of Mental Health in today's time - Why we Need to make Mental Health a Priority in our Health Goals

Your health goals are incomplete without a strong and sustainable mind. Talking about our mental health is no longer a stigma, but a sign of strength. All human beings have emotional baggage that can get heavier by the day, if not unloaded on time. The importance of mental health cannot be overlooked in today’s time. An unstable mind can destroy your physical health, relationships, career, and your overall outlook towards life.

The 3-fold approach to understanding the Importance of Mental Health 

Mental Programming 

• We don’t need to be diagnosed with a disorder before we come to realize the importance of mental health. Our mental programming needs to be rewired on a timely basis for it to function effectively.
• Our life experiences play an important role in our mental health. The importance of mental health from childhood to adulthood needs to be emphasized over and over again.
• Mental health cannot be an afterthought. It should be made a priority. How you perceive a situation is a projection of your own inner self.
• There is no good or bad in any situation, it is all a matter of perspective. Your mental programming will determine what you make out of a given situation.
• The importance of mental health gains momentum when we are unable to control our reactions and consequent behavior. The triggers seem unknown and irrational. It thus becomes imperative to dig deeper and get to the root of the problem.
• How we feel about ourselves plays an important role. A non-judgmental, rational, and kind attitude is what we need to delve deeper into the understanding of our mental programming.

Nutrition not Medicine

• The mind does not need medicine to cure itself. It needs good nutrition on a daily basis to stay strong and healthy. Once you stop, it gets filled with junk and can create havoc, if left unchecked over a period of time.
• There are ways to overcome an unhealthy thinking pattern by focusing on healthy and productive activities that keep the mind creatively engaged. A few of such activities include physical exercise, spending time with loved ones, speaking to a counselor, indulging in hobbies or recreational activities, etc. However, these serve as medicines; we keep taking them until we feel good and forget that what is bothering us from inside.
• The real challenge comes when we are left alone with our thoughts. What happens when the effect of the medicines have faded away. It doesn't matter how often and how regularly we take them. In order to get to the root of the problem, we additionally need to feed the mind with good nutrition. We need to face our fears and not escape them. We need to release them out in the open and not repress them inside.
• Good nutrition includes practices like regularly meditating or just sitting in silence observing yourself. This practice includes just taking note and not judging the way your mind functions. Unraveling the answers that come in the process, slowly and gradually.
• Another practice in the form of good nutrition includes journaling or writing down your thoughts and feelings especially the troubling and disturbing ones. Practicing this technique every single day will help to take note of the frequency,  magnitude, and the effect of our thoughts on our overall health.
• Our mental health influences the way we think, feel and behave in everyday life. To understand the way our mind functions, we need to get into the ‘why’ of things. Reflecting on our day in an objective manner can help us in getting to the ‘why’ of things. 

Live in the Moment

• Fear of the unknown gives rise to doubt. Doubt creates stress and stress creates havoc.
• All we have is the present moment. There is no past, there is just memory. There is no future, there is just imagination. We seldom live our life. We either drown in memories or float in imagination. The more we fixate on this pattern, the stronger it gets, thus making us delusional of the facts that exist in reality.
• The thoughts in our head can manifest into our reality. The more we feed on negative thoughts, the more powerful we make them. The more powerful our negative thoughts, the more harmful they can get.
• Realizing the importance of mental health and well-being is a priority as much as realizing the benefits of being physically fit and strong. If conventional therapy does not provide the much-needed respite, one can turn to an alternative approach like acupuncture therapy to explore and unblock the energy channels within.
• A balanced state of mind is not an illusion, it can be made a reality. It is a journey, not a destination. Patience and Persistence are the key ingredients. 
• All we need to do is focus on living the moment as it is. Making the best of what we have. Providing the mind with mental nutrition on a regular basis. The aim is to go to bed with a happy and content heart.

About the Author

Karen is a content contributor at Life Positive. She is also a certified yoga practitioner. She studied classical yoga philosophy and has completed her advanced teachers' training in yoga education from The Yoga Institute.