5 Tips to Improve Mental Health and Overall Well Being.

Nowadays there is increased awareness about Mental health, but there are a large number of people who still find it difficult to manage mental health and are confused about which professional to consult. Stress levels are at an all time high. Here are 5 simple tips to improve your Mental Health:

1) Eat  well balanced meals daily comprising of fresh fruits and vegetables,along with  adequate amount of water. Avoid foods high in fat, sugar and junk foods.

2) Sleep on time daily, follow a routine for sleep and have minimum of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day.

3) Do exercise/physical activity regularly,it could be gym, sports, aerobics, daily walk in the park, depending on your comfort level.

4) Reduce/avoid stress using de stressing techniques and relaxation exercises. It could be meditation/ yoga/ progressive muscle relaxation exercises. Spending time with friends,family and loved ones also helps to de stress.

5) Make your health your priority above everything else, love yourself and respect yourself enough to make "me time" for yourself in which you can do  all the activities that make you feel good.

Even after trying all these if a person is not feeling good about themselves they can consult a psychotherapist/psychologist for mild and moderate issues. For severe issues where a person is not able to function properly in their daily work/routine activities or if a person is feeling suicidal, psychiatrist consultation is needed first. Later when the person is more stable he/she can consult the psychologist/psychotherapist for counselling sessions so as to find out the root cause of their issues and resolve them. This way they can overcome their issues.

The reason why the person needs to consult a psychiatrist in severe cases is because the person is not in a state of mind to receive counselling or think properly. Here medications help to stabilize the person,but again medications alone will not help to treat the person, medication is symptomatic, to complete the treatment counselling/therapy is needed to overcome the root cause.