| 9 October 2024
There has been much discussion recently about the importance of mental health and what steps can be taken to improve it, such as exercise, spending time in nature and practising mindfulness. However, despite a lot of talk about what can be done to improve mental health, we can often forget the value of why.
Why is it useful for us to increase our mental wellbeing? It may sound obvious to some, but awareness of these benefits will serve as a handy reminder; helping motivate us when following the steps to bring about improved mental health. Here we discuss exactly why we should aim to increase our mental wellbeing and the areas of life that this can significantly improve.
Cope with the normal stresses of life
Stress is a normal part of life, regularly affecting us in a variety of ways. Perhaps we are under pressure at work, struggling in a relationship or even worried about being late for a dentist’s appointment. However seemingly big or small, all stress can feel very real and can take over our lives completely. Having good mental health can help reduce stress, allowing us to cope with issues in a constructive way.
How many times do we feel stressed about something but following a good night’s sleep, seeing friends or going for a walk, feel completely different about it? Perhaps we feel much more positive about the issue or no longer see it as a source of stress. This is because we’ve engaged in an activity that boosts our mental health, helping us be more resilient, and offering the perspective, and clarity to deal with such issues.
Having good mental health can therefore provide us with the ability to cope with the normal stresses of life in a constructive way that helps to stop us feeling overwhelmed.
Learn and work productively
If you are carrying an injury or impairment, for example to your ankle, then usual activities such as walking, running, jumping would be negatively affected as a result. Not having an injury or weakness though, would result in a much-improved performance in those activities, and the same is true of our mind.
By having good mental health, we are in much better position to carry out mental functions that are crucial to learning and productivity with our sharpness, energy, and problem-solving abilities all being better when our mental health is improved.
Furthermore, we have a positive outlook on life and feel more confident in our abilities, helping to manage any difficulties that come our way. This helps our learning and work; by believing we can progress in what we do.
We feel physically better for it
The physical clearly influences the mental, but does the mental really influence the physical? The answer is yes. Although it may not be as obvious, your mental wellbeing can really affect your physical wellbeing. When our mental health worsens, we can find ourselves more at risk of becoming physically unwell. Burnout and increased stress are just some examples of reduced mental health that can lower your immune system, leaving you more at risk to getting sick or leading to physical symptoms such as stomach aches, chest pain, and dizziness, to name a few. By taking steps to increase our mental health, we reduce these risks and remove the chance of suffering physically as a result.
Our relationships with others are improved
When our mental health suffers, we can often find ourselves becoming isolated. Perhaps we feel anxious around others, too down to engage or mistrust other people’s intentions, feeling as if the whole world is against us. This in turn can spiral, leading us to rejecting loved ones or closing opportunities for us to meet people and access support. Good mental health can help alleviate some of these anxieties, fears and negative feelings, helping us feel socially confident and empowered, leading to better-quality relationships with others.
Self-esteem
When we feel better mentally, we feel much better about what we think of ourselves. This can be in all areas from self-image to our talents and abilities, to where we are at in our life and our achievements. This is because we are in a state to rationalise and combat insecurities and anxieties, stopping them from taking over and depleting our sense of meaning and worth. Instead, we feel more confident and at peace with ourselves, improving our overall self-esteem. We may always have some issues that we struggle with, but by taking action to improve our mental wellbeing, we can at least keep these under control.
We feel better!
It may sound obvious, but improving your mental health makes you feel a whole lot better! When we take steps to improve our mental health, the areas of less stress, increased learning and productivity, physical wellbeing, improved relationships, and self-esteem all feed into a greater sense of happiness, improved wellbeing and positivity.
Overall, there are many reasons to take the steps required to improve mental health, helping us enjoy our lives.
Want to know more? Visit our Mental Health Awareness eLearning course to help further your knowledge of mental health, providing you with resources and links to existing information, advice and support.