Some actionable steps to boost my mental health:

I developed a reading habit a year ago and I know it is hard to maintain a reading habit. I am not saying I am a good reader but I am trying my best. Slowly I came across some mental health awareness articles and I became concerned about taking care of my mental health. Is eating food and going to the gym enough for your body? Then why do today’s youth complain of stress, anxiety, depression and lack of focus? Because we have forgotten to take care of it. So I just want to share some steps that will help you build a strong foundation for your mental health and all you have to do is work on it consistently-

Use mobile in a limitation —

If you use your mobile without any time limit then be ready to waste your concentration power and lack of focus. Your thumb may not get tired but your brain will surely get tired, for example – It doesn’t matter if I am free or not but the urge to touch my phone every 10 minutes doesn’t let me concentrate on my work. Whenever I tried to read books and write something I couldn’t do it and started blaming myself. When I realized this I took some steps to improve it-

• I set a schedule for using my mobile, for example whenever I go for a walk in the park or near my terrace I go there without my phone for at least half an hour.
• I removed all the triggers that would make me touch the phone and had my husband set a password that I didn’t know. Because of this, I can never use the phone even if I want to.

Deep breath for five minutes —

Exercising has always been rocket science for me. I used to spend the whole day in my room with my laptop and watching series and I got nothing but frustration and headache. Excess of everything is harmful so I took a step forward and that is:

• "Five minutes of deep breathing" - Sit in a quiet place, put your hand on your thigh and close your eyes for five minutes. Now breathe in for four seconds, then hold your breath for five seconds and exhale for seven seconds. Repeat this cycle five times and slowly open your eyes. Gradually you will feel very relaxed.

Fix sleep cycle —

If you are a night owl nothing is wrong in it, but if you are wasting your time watching the screen then you should be aware. I already did this and did not win any award so what I decided —

• I made a rule of sleeping early at night, for which I turn off the room lights early so that the brain gets ready for sleep because the pineal gland in the brain releases melatonin, a natural hormone that helps you feel sleepy and ready for bed when it gets dark. Melatonin plays a role in regulating your sleep-wake cycle.
• Sometimes I play soft instrumental music in my room and turn off the lights it helps me a lot to get sweet and powerful sleep.

Mental health is as important as your physical health, so please take care of it. Just like you go running to keep your body healthy, take small steps for mental health too so that you can move forward in the true sense and help others too.

Thank you so much 😊