Mental Hygiene: 5 Habits For An Authentic Quality Of Life
What if we learned to take care of our minds like we do our bodies? Mental hygiene is a life strategy that allows us to be in harmony with our environment. It involves exercising the self-esteem muscle, overcoming the resistance of apathy, better balancing our emotions, and learning to put appropriate filters in our social environment.
We are aware that today approaches to “taking care of” our mind have become increasingly popular. We are obviously talking about strategies such as Mindfulness or even Wellness. Each, from their own origins and disciplines, tend towards the same goal: to provide a better balance between mind and body to ensure not only our well-being, but also a greater sense of control over our own life.
So whether or not we’ve tried any of these practices before, there are a few simple things to consider. Psychological well-being responds above all to a series of habits and strategies that each individual must learn to develop according to his own characteristics. Above all, it requires will, creativity and consistency.
Therefore, mental hygiene becomes a very special task where we have to learn to ventilate, sanitize and oxygenate our own mental scenarios. On the other hand, and this is just as important, we must not forget that we are part of a physical and social scene and that our contexts also affect our balance.
So that all mental hygiene requires a holistic approach, involves knowing how to prioritize, concentrate, filter any stimulus that reaches us in order to live with greater harmony. Let’s look at some strategies below.
1. Mental hygiene: learn to recognize the spark before the flame appears
Much of our emotional experience comes from “sparks”, little surges of negative sensations that overwhelm our brains. These small discharges come from imbalances with our environment. A comment that we do not like, but that we ignore; a proposal with which we do not agree, but which we carry out; a situation that we must resolve, but that we postpone …
Small accumulated sparks, one after another, eventually generate a flame. Our minds run out of resources and we end up “burning”, exhausted in every way. So, a first strategy in which we should invest time and effort is to recognize these triggers. These stimuli that disturb us and that we must deal with as soon as possible.
Don’t put off the worry that bothers you today until tomorrow.
2. Clear priorities, better decisions
Every good athlete knows their body, knows where its limits are and trains every day to maintain and improve performance. Such performance does not happen by chance but responds to proper planning where priorities and daily goals are clear.
When we take care of our brain and our mental health, it is also necessary to have our own plan, our daily priorities. Nobody should therefore leave their home without having put on a goal, having put on goals, having breakfast with motivation… This is how we move on our complex paths with more confidence in order to decide what to do next. benefits us and what harms us, what we should leave out in order to ensure our well-being.
3. Relationships based on reciprocity
An essential pillar in caring for and promoting our mental hygiene is to ensure the balance of our relationships. Any unbalanced connection carries a high emotional cost. It involves investing time, illusions, effort and affect in people who do not return the same energy, the same reciprocity, to us.
It is clear that not all of our relationships will be symmetrical in terms of giving and obtaining. A very clear example of this materializes in the relationship between parents and children. However, it is necessary that our most important bonds (couple, family, friends) rest on a balance, and in some cases on a symmetry.
4. Learn to tolerate adversity
The one who resists adversity, failure, loss or error remains stuck in discouragement, in anger, in unhappiness. Good mental hygiene, on the other hand, presupposes a capacity for growth and expansion. Such a thing only happens when we are able to overcome our resistance, to learn to be tolerant in the face of adversity, in the face of the complexity of life, in the face of its most delicate aspects.
We must therefore assume the chiaroscuro of our reality. Because all hygiene is born from the capacity to know how to heal. And to heal, it is first necessary to accept the existence of an injury without denying it, without turning your head or getting angry with it on a daily basis.
5. A balanced mind, a focused mind
Clifford Saron is a neuroscientist at the Mind and Brain Center at the University of California. His interesting work tends to show how the training of our attention reverses our emotions. A focused and balanced mind translates into well-being and a healthier brain.
As he explains, most of us are unaware of the great plasticity of our neurological circuits. If we learn to focus every day on the present, on what is happening around us (and not as much on the past or on that future that does not yet exist) we will see more possibilities, we will feel more optimistic and less anxious.
We know that learning to meditate can be helpful in training our attention. However, there is another aspect that we cannot ignore. A more focused mind also needs a more relaxed body. So let’s not neglect the basic elements such as a good night’s sleep, taking a 15 or 20 minute nap, walking, stretching in order to relieve muscle tension, maintain a balanced diet …
In summary, mental hygiene is a fabulous life strategy that consists of various activities. These are dynamics and daily habits aimed at ensuring our physical and psychological well-being. Let’s apply the ones that best suit our needs and start investing in ourselves now.
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