Mental Health Awareness Tips

With this month being dedicated to mental health awareness, it is important to get into the habit of taking care of your mind! Here are some tips for feeling your best self:

1. Take care of your body: Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise when possible, and get plenty of sleep.
2. Connect with others: Share your concerns and how you are feeling with a friend or family member. Maintain healthy relationships and build a strong support system.
3. Take breaks: Make time to unwind and relax. Take deep breaths and notice how you feel throughout the day.
4. Avoid too much exposure to news: Stay informed, but take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories. Try to do enjoyable activities and return to normal life as much as possible and check for updates between breaks.
5. Seek help when needed: Should stress or distress impact activities of your daily life for several days or weeks, talk to someone you trust or contact a national helpline, like 1-800-950-6264 (National Alliance on Mental Health) or 1-800-662-4357 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration).

It is important to understand the signs of distress in yourself or others. Here are the most common:

1. Feelings of numbness, disbelief, anxiety, or fear.
2. Changes in appetite, energy, and activity levels.
3. Difficulty concentrating.
4. Difficulty sleeping or nightmares and upsetting thoughts and images.
5. Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes.
6. Worsening of chronic health problems.
7. Anger or short temper.
8. More frequent use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.