Over a quarter of American adults have at least one diagnosable mental illness. Even more adults deal with inordinate amounts of stress in their day-to-day lives.
Unfortunately, it seems that we’re facing a mental health epidemic. Americans are struggling to attain mental stability at a higher rate than ever before. With so much to worry about, from political turmoil to high inflation rates, it’s no wonder that so many people are feeling stressed.
Should we let that stress run rampant because we can identify the cause? Not at all. Finding a sense of mental stability is crucial, and we’re here to tell you why.
Read on to learn why psychological wellness is crucial to your overall quality of life.
Why Does Mental Stability Matter?
When you get into a pattern of low moods or high stress, mental stability can seem unattainable and even unimportant. Our brains learn to create new patterns, which can make stress, frustration, anger, and fear feel normal and even comforting. Let’s talk about why it’s important to break these patterns and find new ways to relate to the world and your own emotions.
Clarity and Good Decision Making
Throughout our lives, we face unique challenges and have to make choices often. When we are operating from a place of mental wellness, we have clarity and make decisions that are beneficial to ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities.
Without mental stability, it can be difficult to make any choice, let alone a good one. You may have mental clutter that makes it difficult to think straight or an outlook that makes it hard to believe that your choices matter. This can lead to a pattern of bad decision-making or decision fatigue.
Emotional Processing
You’ve probably heard before that ignoring your feelings can lead to undue hardship. This is in part because when we don’t process our feelings, we go numb or run the risk of having all of the emotions we’ve tried to ignore come bubbling to the surface all at once in unmanageable waves.
When you have mental stability, you can let your feelings pass over you without getting swept up in them. This allows you to understand what you’re feeling, why you’re feeling it, and how to cope safely and responsibly.
Physical Health
High levels of stress can lead to health problems like increased blood pressure and a higher risk of heart disease. Prolonged bouts of depression can have similar effects and, in certain populations, increase the chance of developing cognitive disorders like dementia.
By managing your emotional health, you can reduce the negative impact on your physical health. In fact, these two things often go hand in hand. Taking steps to improve your physical health may also have a positive impact on your mental health.
Coping Mechanisms
Whether or not we realize it, we’re often trying to manage our stress even when it appears that we’re trying to ignore it. To combat anxiety, depression, and racing or negative thoughts, we can develop coping mechanisms that aren’t helpful or healthy.
Examples include substance abuse, smoking, and self-destructive or risky behavior. These activities can distract us from our problems while preventing us from facing them head-on. Unfortunately, many of these unhealthy coping mechanisms are addictive and may require professional intervention.
How Can You Increase Psychological Wellness?
Now you understand why stability matters, but that doesn’t mean that you can develop psychological wellness overnight. Oftentimes, it takes consistent effort to break those old mental patterns and find inner peace as you move through your day-to-day. Let’s take a look at some of the steps that you can take to improve your overall mental health.
Seek Professional Help
Many people who face serious mental distress can benefit significantly from professional help. Trained and certified professionals can help you unpack the root cause of your mental distress while learning new ways to cope.
For example, you may want to seek the help of a licensed therapist for mental health problems. If you are struggling with substance abuse, you may want to consider seeking treatment at a rehab center.
Ask for Support
Oftentimes, we develop severe stress when we have too much on our plate. We live in a society that is becoming more and more individualized, which can make us feel like we have to face everything alone. This can include everything from grief to financial needs to household maintenance.
It’s time to learn how to ask for help when you need it. Talk to your loved ones about what you’re feeling and what they can do to help. Embrace community resources so that you can feel more connected while getting the support that you need.
Use Mindfulness Techniques
Mental clutter occurs when we’re trying to do too many things at once or failing to process our thoughts and emotions as they arise. Slowing down your mind using mindfulness techniques can increase your sense of wellness and improve your clarity and decision-making skills.
Mindfulness techniques are tools and coping mechanisms that encourage us to stay in the present moment. They include things like meditation, yoga, journaling, mindful eating, and phone-free quality time with loved ones.
Prioritize Your Mental Stability to Improve Your Health
If you’ve been struggling with your mental health, you’re not alone. Many Americans lack the mental stability they need and deserve, and this shouldn’t be ignored. Use this guide to understand the importance of mental stability and how to increase psychological wellness.
Looking for more health and lifestyle tips? Take a look around as we discuss more ways to boost your health and make choices that will lead to an improved lifestyle.
