Exercise Your Mental Health

— June 16, 2014

Last week, I hope you all got out of your ruts and got inspired, because you will have done all those fun and stress-relieving activities just in time for Mental Health Week, May 7 to 13!

It turns out, according to the recently published World Happiness Report, “mental health is the biggest single factor affecting happiness in any country.” Add to that the idea that you have to treat your mental health like a muscle and work it every day to keep it fit, says the Canadian Mental Health Association, and I guess it’s time we all add it to our list of priorities.

Great, one more thing I have to do to be healthy, right? Not to worry, small efforts made throughout the day or week will add up, small efforts like:

Taking time to be present every day;

Turning off your cell phone and taking a walk with a friend, which will actually be three small efforts in one: Being present; expressing yourself and therefore releasing tension by chatting with a loved one;
Exercising (remember how good walking is for you?), which reduces depression and anxiety, two of the most common types of mental illness.
Learning to cope and deal with any negative thoughts immediately so as not to let them take over;
Taking the time to make the people around you a priority—stable family and work relationships are key to happiness, more so than wealth.

Mental illness affects one in five people in Canada and is the number one cause of disability in the country. So now’s the time to build your resilience by taking care of yourself and your relationships.

How do you exercise your mental health?

For more information about mental illness and strategies for coping, visit http://www.mentalhealthweek.ca/