A fact often overlooked 👉🏾 How you feel in your body influences how you feel in your mind, which is why it’s rare to have Mental Wellness without having Physical Wellness, too.

It’s also why…

The first step in stewarding your mind is to make sure it has everything it needs, starting on a physical level.

To get a sense of your Physical Wellness, try answering the following questions…

Diet: Are you feeding your brain whole foods? Are you giving your mind the raw ingredients, like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, it needs to function well?

Magnesium, omega-3s, and zinc have all been shown to promote Mental Wellness.

Exercise: Are you moving your body on a daily basis? Findings suggest that 20-40 minutes of aerobic activity (think cycling, running, swimming—anything that boosts your heart rate) can result in less anxiety for several hours.

Sleep: Many studies show that people who are sleep-deprived function at a similar level to people who are intoxicated. So are you giving your mind enough rest each night? In the long term, do your sleep habits help your brain or harm it?

Substances: Do you use substances, such as alcohol or drugs, that impact your mental health? Are you dependent on accepted drugs such as caffeine or sugar?

Now that you have a sense of how your Physical is affecting your Mental Wellness, pick out one area you want to improve in—how can you make it part of your daily routine?

Too many people have turned a blind eye to their mental health—even when they know something is wrong…They refuse to get help. 

Why? Because there’s a stigma attached to it.

Even in our modern, progressive, compassionate world, lots of people out there refuse to seek out that kind of help because they think it means something is wrong with them on the inside.

They think it means they’re broken.

Or weird. Or weak.

So they bottle it up until they can no longer ignore it.

The best way we can manage our mental health is to deal with problems before they arise. That means regularly evaluating yourself and checking to see if any issues are creeping up—any habits or patterns or ways of thinking that are starting to become a problem.

Journaling: Journaling allows you to work through the worries living rent-free in your head. It can also help you see yourself and your struggles from a new perspective. 

Prayer: Prayer helps us acknowledge what we are feeling and get comfortable with our emotions. In prayer, it’s encouraged to bring your difficult emotions to God and let him heal it. 

Through this process, you acknowledge that those things exist, which helps you make sense of your experience and figure out how to move forward.

Therapy: Unless you’re new to my work, you know I’m a BIG advocate for counseling and therapy. It’s helped me work through some of the most difficult times in my life.

Our communities are crucial to our Mental Wellness. They offer us emotional support, not to mention a sense of acceptance and belonging…

Through them, we see that we’re not the only ones going through what we’re going through. We see that we aren’t walking this path alone.

Here’s the thing, though: To experience those meaningful connections, you have to go beneath the surface…

And talking about our emotions? It isn’t easy. So I’ve put together a few tips to help you dig deeper the next time you meet up with a friend.

Start the Conversation: One of the best ways to do this is by expressing genuine interest in whoever you’re speaking with. Try asking, “How are you holding up?” or “What’s been on your mind recently?”

Listen: Practice active listening by paying attention to their body language and using visual cues, like eye contact and nodding. Ask clarifying questions to make sure you’re picking up what they’re putting down.

Ask Open-Ended Questions: By which I mean questions without a “yes” or “no” answer. This helps on two levels—it helps you get to know them, but it also creates space for you to be more open.

Share Your Own Experience: If you feel comfortable, share what you’re going through.

Deepening our relationships takes time and effort. So, moving forward, take the initiative—ask your trusted friends and family members to get together, share your thoughts and feelings, and offer support when needed.