In a world that tends to value productivity and achievement, it’s easy to overlook one of the most important aspects of our health: mental well-being. Mental well-being is an important aspect of self care that’s often overlooked because many times self care is associated with physical health like exercise, sleep and nutrition. While those are important when it comes to self care we also should bring attention to our mental state.
Mental well being goes beyond the absence of mental illness, it’s about thriving emotionally, feeling balanced and having resilience to cope with life’s challenges. Today I want to focus on 5 reasons why Mental wellbeing is a powerful form of self care.
- Emotional Resilience
Emotional resilience is your ability to respond to stressful or unexpected situations. Your ability to recover from difficult situations without feeling overwhelmed or reacting. This was honestly a big one for me. I would get easily overwhelmed when my kids would be arguing or if there was a lot going on at once I felt overwhelmed and reacted by yelling or feeling irritable. If I’m being honest in the beginning of my parenting journey I thought it was my kids fault that I needed to work on their behaviors. Once I started working on my mind and learning more I had the revelation it wasn’t them it was me and my mental state. Once I started taking care of my mental wellbeing I was able to breathe and calm myself down before I reacted allowing me to think more clearly. By taking care of ourselves we aren’t as easily overwhelmed making our parenting journey more peaceful and resulting in deeper connections with our children.
I encourage Practices like mindfulness, meditation, and journaling to help you process emotions, reduce anxiety, and gain perspective. By nurturing your mental health, you’re essentially preparing yourself to handle stress and challenges with greater ease.
2. Enhanced relationships
Being able to speak openly about the way you are feeling and, in turn, listening to your children/ spouse can strengthen relationships, reduce relationship anxiety, and help to protect your mental wellbeing. No one likes to live in a home that has awkward tension. It’s not healthy for anyone so creating a safe space for everyone to share their thoughts and feelings without judgement is so important. Being able to speak what we feel helps prevent emotional buildup, we aren’t meant to suppress our feelings so finding healthy ways to let our emotions pass through us and teaching our children how to do the same will foster a home of emotional health.
3. Increased productivity
It may seem counterintuitive, but taking time to focus on your mental health can actually boost your productivity. When your mind is clear and balanced, you’re more focused, creative, and motivated. I can speak from experience when my mind is in a negative spiral I have such a lack of motivation and tend to be more sensitive making it much more difficult to get through the responsibilities of the day.
You may even wake up feeling great but we all know in parenting things come up that can affect our mood so when you find yourself feeling off bring awareness to how your feeling and take some time to regroup/ reset.
Prioritizing mental well-being through activities like taking breaks, setting boundaries, and engaging in hobbies can help you work more efficiently and with greater satisfaction.
4. Sense of purpose
Mental well-being helps you connect with a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Self-care practices that promote mental health—such as setting goals, pursuing passions, or engaging in activities that bring joy—can enhance your sense of fulfillment. This sense of purpose is important to overall well-being, as it provides direction and motivation.
According to the Mayo Clinic “A sense of purpose can lead to a longer life is because people with a sense of purpose tend to take better care of themselves through exercise, healthy eating and addressing health issues when they arise. Those with a sense of purpose have lower stress levels this means less cortisol, a hormone that regulates the fight-or-flight response, is released into your system. High cortisol levels have been linked to anxiety, depression, weight gain, headaches, digestive problems, muscle tension, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep issues, and memory and concentration impairment.
Lower cortisol production tends to make you less reactive and more resilient. So you bounce back when you’re stressed rather than becoming overwhelmed.
Your sense of purpose should give you satisfaction and bring you joy as you connect with and give to others, and this is much easier to do when your mind is in a healthy place.
5. Physical Health Benefits
There’s a strong connection between mental and physical health. Chronic stress and poor mental health can contribute to physical ailments like heart disease, obesity, and weakened immune function. By focusing on mental well-being as a form of self-care, you’re also taking proactive steps to maintain your physical health and allowing yourself to feel more relaxed and grounded. This was a big one for me as I went through motherhood I found the hustle life I was living was leaving me feeling hopeless and depleted. Stress had taken a toll on my body and I wasn’t living that thriving mom life I wanted. After committing to making time in my day for physical exercise, journaling and reading my Bible/ prayer time I noticed a shift in my mental well being which had positively impacted my physical health.
🍃Taking care of your mental health can seem difficult when life gets busy. By scheduling regular time to care for your mental health, you can reduce your stress and improve your overall happiness. Caring for your mental health looks different for everyone. Some easy ways to relax could be reading a few pages in a book, doing a craft, unplugging from technology, decluttering your home, taking a class to learn a new hobby, joining a weekly Bible study, spending time in prayer or even going for a walk. There is no wrong way to take care of your mental health, as long as it makes you feel relaxed!
🍃Embracing mental well-being as a core element of self-care is a powerful way to live a more balanced, fulfilling life, where you have healthy relationships and better overall health. Remember, taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body, and it’s an important investment in your overall well-being.