One very looked over part of a persons' health is their mental health. It may seem unimportant to some, but really, mental health is just as important as any other part of your health. Being in a bad state of mental health, even if you are in a good shape physically, feels terrible, and can affect your ability to function in everyday life. Bad mental health can also negatively affect your physical health. Depression increases your risk for dying from heart disease by 67%, and increases your risk for developing cancer by 50%. The United States, in addition to its physical health epidemic has a bit of mental health epidemic too, with 1 out of 4 Americans being affected by mental illness. If you ever feel stressed, depressed, or anxious, just do some of these simple things that might help improve your overall mental health.
Talk about your feelings
Talking to someone about your feelings can help you cope with life and feel supported.
Spend time with animals
Playing with animals has been shown to reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, and boost the happy hormone,oxytocin. If you don't have your own pet to spend time with, then hang out with a friend's pet or volunteer at a shelter.
Drink coffee or green tea
Drinking coffee has been shown to lower levels of depression. Green tea is also a good replacment for coffee if you can't drink caffeine.
Exercise;eat healthy
As mentioned many times in previous articles, exercising and eating healthy have been shown to combat depression. Not only is exercise and a balanced diet good for your health, it's good for your mental well-being too.
Let your emotions out on paper
Writing about upsetting experiences has been shown to reduce feelings of depression
These simple tricks for improving mental health will help lift you up when you're feeling a little down on yourself, but if you're stuggling with a serious mental disorder, they won't always help. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health to the point of it affecting their ability to function ,please seek the help of a lisenced therapist.