If you’re like many people, you wake up early to get yourself ready for work and the kids off to school. Then, it’s catching the train to your job where your inbox is full of messages and there are multiple projects to do.
There are so many priorities in your life—meetings, errands, shuttling the kids to practice, etc.
But, is your mental health a priority?
Most likely, it’s not, especially if you feel like you don’t have the time or energy to practice “self-care” for your mental health.
Yet, making mental health a priority is important for yourself and the people that you love.
There are many ways to do this, including individual counseling, of course. Here’s why your mental health needs to become a priority in your life.
Telltale Signs That “You” Are Not a Priority
First, let’s take a look at the signs that you are not prioritizing your mental health, such as:
- Always being busing with no “downtime” to relax
- Working all the time
- Feeling anxious
- Struggling with burnout
- Using negative coping methods such as overeating, alcohol use, or drug abuse
- Having a low tolerance for frustration
- Spending a lot of time in front of screens
- Not being physically active
- Negative self-talk
- Being around toxic people
All of these issues definitely will have an impact on your mental health. Even if you think you are getting by, eventually these problems will catch up with you.
Why You Should Prioritize Your Mental Health
To begin with, you should prioritize your mental health because you deserve to be healthy!
It’s disheartening to think that not everyone considers mental health to be a right. You deserve to be both physically healthy and mentally healthy.
Why? For starters, research has established that issues such as anxiety and depression can lead to medical problems as well. Also, when you are mentally healthy you are more capable of handling whatever challenges life throws your way.
These reasons are important not just for yourself but your family too. Plus, you are more productive at work when you are mentally healthy.
How to Make Mental Health a Priority
There are several things that you can do in your life to make mental health a priority. First, take a hard look at your life what are the things that you prioritize.
Are they things that promote mental health? Or, are they mental health detractors?
For example, do you spend so much time on errands and tasks that you feel like you don’t have any time left over for yourself—even 30 minutes worth of time?
Also, consider the people in your life. Are they positive and joyful? Or, do they suck the energy out of you? Granted, you might not have much say over your boss’s personality. However, do you let negative people “get to you?”
Tips to Promote Mental Health
There are some other tips that you might find useful for promoting mental health including:
- Dedicating some personal time for things you like to do
- Getting enough rest at night
- Taking a break from the 24-hour news cycle
- Reminding yourself to be thankful each day
- Going for a walk or other light exercise
Seeking Out Individual Counseling
Finally, an important part of making mental health a priority is participating in individual counseling. It can be easy to think of going to a therapy session as just another chore on the to-do list.
However, therapy is a time dedicated just for you. Instead of having to give yourself to all the other obligations you have in life, here is a chance to focus on yourself. That’s why therapy can be such a restorative process. For that time, you and your therapist get to make your mental health the priority.
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No one is perfect at making mental health a priority. However, it’s still a critical part of your overall health as well as the quality of your life.
There are many tricks you can use to shift your priorities. However, don’t hesitate to also participate in individual counseling as well. Reach out to me today or visit here to learn more about how I can help.