Life can be a challenge whether you had a brain injury or not, and with all the obstacles that come with life it is important for us to have the ability to manage these obstacles and TRY to be happy. I think we can all agree that most of us aspire to be happy but happiness can be defined in so many different ways.
One big step towards happiness is having a solid foundation for your Mental Health. If your mental health is not stable, it will make everything difficult in life, especially your happiness. Unfortunately we can be influenced by what happiness is by looking at social media and only seeing people flashing the good things that happened in life but we need to take control of our OWN happiness and this can be done by strengthening your mental health foundation.
If you don’t believe you have a solid mental health foundation here are a few tips to exercise your mental health muscles!
- Get good at sleeping– if you don’t get good sleep or enough sleep it will make everything in your day more difficult. Not to mention those who sleep on average less than 6 hours a night are known to have a shorter life span, but if you don’t get enough sleep you’re going to be grumpy, less energetic and not firing on all cylinders.
- Practice mindfulness– I know meditation is not for everyone so if it is not there are other ways you can improve your mindfulness. For example if you are reading or watching a movie or going for a walk, set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and focus only on one task at a time. Try not to let other thoughts drift into your consciousness and focus only on the task at hand. This is mindfulness in its simplest form and if you do this for 10 to 15 minutes a day, it will improve your mental health.
- Be grateful – Take a moment each day like during your drive to work or while you’re brushing your teeth or taking a shower and think about the things or people you are grateful for in your life. I love doing this and it often gives me those fuzzy feelings and makes me feel really good. Practicing gratitude can really improve our mental health because it can change our perspective so that we are looking for the good things rather than the bad.
Strengthening your mental health muscles is important and having a strong foundation in place will go a long way in your life. You have to work on these things everyday for it to make a true impact on your life so make it a habit to get good sleep, practice mindfulness and be grateful!
If you want tips for how to improve your quality of sleep read How To Get Better Sleep According to a Neuroscientist and I.
Good luck!