Prevent Mental Disease Through All Around Wellness

Mental health is often neglected, and many illnesses overlooked. With mental disease & health issues increasing significantly over the last decade, especially with young adults, now is the best time to start taking some preventive measures. Even though it might seem like no big deal, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

It’s All About Perspective

Wellness is a very wide subject that consists of multiple elements. It’s a combination of physical, mental, emotional and social health. Breaking it down into small, bite-sized steps can make it much easier to comprehend. The first step towards preventing mental diseases is understanding them. With enough knowledge, you’ll know what things to avoid. Some risk factors are out of our control, but things like nutrition, physical exercise and fitness can help counteract them.

A Healthy Mind is in a Healthy Body

Eating an apple instead of a piece of chocolate largely impacts overall mental health. A review from 2014 found that poor diets are closely linked to poorer mental health in children and adolescents. Physical health problems such as obesity can indirectly cause serious mental diseases. Eating food with high nutritional value (fruits, vegetables) is directly connected to overall happiness, according to a research done in Australia.

Everything is Connected

Healthy diets and regular exercise have a direct impact on a better social life. Finding and participating in a team sport that you find fun shows both psychological and social benefits, according to 2008 research. When you have people counting on you and pushing you to do your best, you know you have to keep moving forward. You constantly try to find ways around obstacles, literally and metaphorically. It’s human instinct to keep going and eventually surpass those around us. Researchers found a clear link between organized sports and happiness, especially in teenagers.

Stop Overthinking

The number one cause of anxiety is overthinking. Even though overthinking by itself is not a mental disease, it can be the cause of them. Obsessing over whether we should have said or done something differently is pointless. Ask yourself how much the thing you’re consuming yourself with is going to matter in five years. The most common answer is going to be – not at all. Our mind is a double-edged sword. Putting things into perspective and changing your view of what’s important is the key to overall wellness.

Overthinkers are at four times bigger risk of developing major depression. Overthinking affects anything and everything about your life. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to stop bad things from happening. It’s popular opinion that letting go of fear and anxiety is hard. It actually is a lot easier than your mind is making it up to be. Once you realize that the only thing that matters is being yourself, you’ll notice a large positive impact on the overall mental health.

Life is a constant fight after all, and it’s in the small wins that we find the rewards and the will to strive towards our best. Achieving all-around wellness is not easy, but by taking it slow you’ll find joy in smaller accomplishments.