Ageing Well 5 steps to Mental Wellbeing
Introduction
We all know that the key to physical wellbeing is exercise and eating well. But do you know what’s just as important? Mental wellbeing! How we think, feel and behave can majorly affect our health, happiness and life expectancy. So how can we ensure that our minds stay healthy as we age? In this post I share five strategies for maintaining mental well-being in older age:
Connect with others
We're social animals and connecting with others is one of the best ways to feel good about ourselves.
So how do you connect with others? This can be a little tricky, as it's easy to judge someone before we get to know them properly. It's tempting to think that people who are different from us (in terms of age, gender or race) might not be worth our time. However, if you make an effort to speak with people who are different from yourself - perhaps in terms of career choices or political views - then this can open up your world and make it bigger than just being surrounded by friends who share similar interests.
Be physical active
Regular physical activity is necessary for a healthy body and mind. In fact, it's one of the best ways to keep your brain engaged as you age because being active helps to build new connections between brain cells.
Physical activity can also benefit your mood and self-esteem by helping you feel more confident about yourself and less isolated from other people. It’s also been shown that exercising regularly can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and fatigue – all common issues among older adults (1).
There are many different types of activities that are good for mental health – some examples include walking, jogging or gardening; dancing; yoga; swimming; cycling or driving an electric car if you have access to one (these are known as ‘green exercise’). The key thing is finding something that you enjoy doing so it doesn't feel like a chore!
Learn new skills
Learning a new skill can help you stay mentally active. It can also make you feel more confident, meet new people and be more productive. In addition, it's been shown that learning something new is good for the brain, which means that you could even improve your creativity.
By learning a new skill, you can also help yourself to stay mentally active. You'll be more likely to remember things, think more clearly and feel happier as a result of the new skill.
Give to others
Giving to others is a great way to help yourself. Why? Because when you give, you feel good about yourself and your life. You are also making another person happy and helping them out in some way.
There are many ways of giving back to the community, from donating money or volunteering time at a charity group or shelter, to helping out your family or friends whenever you can. It’s important for us all to give back whatever we can because it makes us feel like we have made the world a better place!
Be aware of yourself
Being aware of yourself means being aware of what you are thinking and feeling. If you are not aware of yourself, then it will be difficult to know if anything is wrong with your mind. For example:
If you are feeling really anxious about something, but are not paying attention to the fact that this anxiety is making you feel like running away instead of dealing with what is happening, then there may be a problem.
If someone asks how your day has been going and you respond by saying "fine," even though inside it has been anything but fine, then there may be a problem.
If the only way for you to get through an unpleasant experience is by forcefully ignoring how unpleasant it feels or imagining that everything around has changed color or shape or something else completely ridiculous just so that it seems easier to deal with (as opposed to actually dealing with whatever is happening), then there may be a problem.
If you are having a conversation with someone and suddenly realize that you have no idea what they just said, or if you think about being late for work and immediately start feeling like throwing up instead of taking care of the problem at hand, then there may be a problem. If your thoughts seem to be moving so fast that you can hardly keep up with them (and this is not because there is something really exciting happening), then there may be a problem.
Conclusion
Don’t forget that these are just five ways you can create a more positive and fulfilling life. The most important thing is to focus on one thing at a time and try it out for yourself—don’t worry if it doesn’t work right away! You have to find what works best for you.
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