What is Mental Health?

The term mental health encompasses everything from self-care and having rough days to a variety of mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and more. Mental health impacts not only our emotional health, but also our physical, psychological, spiritual, and social health.

According to Johns Hopkins, an estimated 26% of Americans ages 18 and older – about 1 in 4 adults – suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

No doubt you or someone you know has suffered from a mental illness or some degree of mental health.

Why is mental health important?

Mental health is often stigmatized, misunderstood, and misdiagnosed. The status of our mental health is crucial to how we function and live our day-to-day lives.

For example, if you break your leg and don’t go to see a doctor to get it checked out, it will only get worse, and you run the risk of never walking again if it heals improperly. However, when someone experiences a mental health crisis, there can be a lot more shame surrounding getting help from a professional.

• Toxic positivity. Toxic positivity is choosing to think about negative things in a positive way, even when it doesn’t necessarily make sense or is healthy to do so. An extreme and somewhat explicit example is that if someone may say that instead of trying to process your sad or angry emotions, you should affirm yourself instead and choose to focus on the good things you have in your life.

• Lack of understanding. Unless you have a form of mental illness or know someone who does, many people don’t see the value of learning about it. Even professionals who treat and diagnose their patients don’t always fully understand the effects of these disorders. This can be why people claim that someone with mental health isn’t telling the truth or is “being dramatic” because they don’t understand how it can affect everyone differently.

• Religious reasons. Certain religions preach that if you have depression or anxiety, then you don’t have enough faith or you’re doing something wrong in your life that needs to be fixed. Additionally, some teachings say that if you have a more severe diagnosis, then you didn’t live up to your full potential in a previous life. Therefore, this leads to treating people as “less than.”

• Family beliefs. Some families pass down through the generations that men should be strong or “man up” when they get emotional. This kind of stigmatization can lead to stunted emotional growth and generations of misunderstanding mental health.

How to build the right mental health routine

Routine is so important. It is how habits are formed, and healing begins, even if your diagnosis is something you live with for the rest of your life. A common denominator with mental illness is the feeling like you’ve lost control. Then, you try to gain control in other areas of your life, such as an eating disorder or obsessive compulsions. Here are some healthy things you can do for your mental health and to build a routine:

• Appointment with your physician
• Professional therapy and/or psychiatry
• Medication
• Journaling
• Spend time outside in the sun
• Gentle exercise
• Nutritious meals

Example of a self-care morning routine for your mental health:

7am – Wake up and write out 10 things you’re grateful for before checking social media

7:30am – Make coffee and eat a nutritious breakfast

8am – Journal and read

8:30am – Go on a walk outside

9am – Start the rest of your day (work, spend time with friends, etc.)

You do not have to follow this exact routine. You can take it slowly and add one healthy habit to your routine at a time.

Following a routine makes you more efficient and saves you time. Creating a routine to support your mental health can be a work in progress. Do not be in anxious if you cannot keep up with the routine or do not see immediate results. Need help with your mental health routine or have any general mental health enquiries? Contact Restore 360 online or call (484) 373-2710 with any questions you may have. For information on services offered in our Philadelphia facility, visit our services page.