One in five Americans experience mental health issues every year, according to a report by the National Alliance on Mental Health. That’s at least 46 million people living in the U.S. each year.
The concept of mental health didn’t use to be as recognized as it is today. In fact, a lot of people didn’t even think it was real. Big strides have been made by various health institutions to accommodate the growing need for treatments for various mental health diseases.
Author of Skinny, Fat, Perfect Laura Fenamore claims that issues like binge eating and anxiety attacks have finally been recognized as official illnesses, meaning that people going through them can (finally) get the professional help they need.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that most mental (and physical) illnesses such as obesity and depression can start with one powerful factor: stress. Here are five safe and organic stress-busting tips that can help you manage your mood, and hopefully help you feel and get better.
Exercise
Physical activity is an excellent way to burn off excess energy, relieving stress and anxiety. It causes your body to release chemicals like endorphins and serotonin that help improve your mood. Even a short, 10-minute walk in the sun can do a lot for someone struggling with mental health issues.
Lavender Oil
Lavender is known to have a variety of therapeutic and curative properties, ranging from aiding in relaxation, to treating infections, burns, and insect bites. But an article on NCBI presents a growing list of evidence suggesting that lavender oil is capable of treating several neurological disorders, including but not limited to high levels of anxiety. There’s also evidence that inhaling lavender oil or applying it to your skin can help regulate your sleep cycle.
Meditation
Meditation can help slow an active brain, making it easier to manage stress and anxiety. It has a wide range of styles including mindfulness meditation, yoga, and deep breathing. This method has become a very popular mode of therapy, with a review listed on Medical News Today complimenting its effectiveness for people with anxiety and other mood disorders.
Magnesium Diet
A recent study on Healthline found that increasing the magnesium in your diet can lead to a significant decrease in symptoms related to both depression and anxiety. Food that is rich in magnesium includes leafy vegetables, pumpkins, nuts, as well as fish like salmon, mackerel, and tuna.
Art Therapy
As a platform for expression, art can help people communicate ideas, overcome hardships, and explore different aspects of their personality. In therapy, Very Well Mind explains how psychologists use art to help with the healing and rehabilitation process by making their patients express through designs whatever they can’t express through words. Art therapy has been particularly helpful for people dealing with anxiety and stress caused by traumatic events.
Preserving and improving your mental health might help you more than you think. In the world of business, Maryville University’s extensive post on psychology explains how employers have begun looking for professionals who understand how psychology and education come together as one. This is largely due to the fact that recent research has been unraveling previously unrecognized connections between a person’s mental health and their ability to learn. The more apparent these connections become, the better individuals, businesses, and organizations can be at recognizing and taking steps to treat issues related to mental health and performance.
There’s no shame in being bogged down by stress. Everyone goes through it, and everyone should have access to the different ways of handling it.
Article exclusively written for SkinnyFatPerfect.com
By Amber Rachel
