Men go through a lot in life, running through their professional and personal life whether trying to build a successful career or making ends meet. Almost every man during his early days has been taught that men need to be tough, strong and masculine, due to which they end up bottling up their feelings and emotions, showcasing a fake smile and a picture perfect life, even if there is a turmoil going inside.
Many men end up in depression, anxiety or even both at the same time because they have been caging their feelings and emotions. Men mostly feel that sharing their emotions or being vulnerable will make them look weak or will showcase them as less of a man, which leads to them sharing no emotions or feelings.
However, the truth is that sharing your emotions and feelings actually takes courage and power for a man and does not make you look weak at all. While you are keeping inside all your emotions and feelings to look strong and tough, it is taking a toll on your mental health and can certainly lead you to some terrible mental health disorders.
Keeping this in mind, this mental health month, which has the theme ‘Back to Basics’ this year, we have come up with a few tips with which a man can take care of his mental health. Let us have a look:
Talk About Your Feelings
This is one of the most important things that you can do for your mental health. Instead of bottling up your feelings, talk about them with your close ones, like your family or friends.
Do not feel that they will judge you for opening up in front of them; feel free to be vulnerable. Whether it is the work stress that has been eating you up or your relationship problems, don’t be afraid to open up in front of your partner, sibling, or your parents.
The best thing about this is that they will be happy about you sharing your feelings and will only support you in your problems. However, if you are too scared of opening up in front of your closed ones, taking therapy is also one good option for you. Therapy is completely professional as well as confidential. No one else is going to know what you share with your therapist.
Be Active
Lazing on your bed, while binge watching Netflix is the worst thing you could do for your mental health. Yes, we understand that at times you need some time off and have some mindless entertainment, but making it a habit is dangerous.
You have to be active to make sure that you are mentally healthy and stable. While most men exercise and sweat it out in their local gym just to lose weight or build their muscles, you need to focus on your mental health. You can choose any type of workout that you feel like. If you are fond of Yoga, feel free to spend an hour practising Yoga. Want to go jogging? Go for it! Want to spend a few hours in the gym? You are welcome to do so!
Do Activities that You Love
Apart from your usual work, every man is good at something in his life. It could be baking, cooking, gardening, stamp collection and the list goes on. When your mental health is not well, you tend to not enjoy these activities. If you once loved reading, you will forget all about it and not even touch a book because you are mentally unhealthy. However, in order to make sure that your mental health stays well, keep doing the activities or hobbies that you love.
Take a Break
The monotony of life can often lead you to being mentally unhealthy. With the same routine of waking up, going to work, coming back and going to bed, life can become depressing at one point of time and it might feel that there is no end to it. This is the reason why a man needs to take a break from his usual life routine once in a while to make sure that he is mentally healthy. It could be a two minutes break where you just relax on the couch doing nothing, or a two days weekend break where you travel solo to a new place, exploring it and enjoying your weekend.
Eat Properly
There is a strong link between what a man feels and what he eats, such as sugar and caffeine can have an immediate effect on a man. The truth is that the food you eat can have a long lasting effect on your mental health so your brain needs a mix of nutrients to stay healthy and function well, just like the other organs in your body. You need to eat a healthy balanced diet which includes different types of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain cereals or bread, nuts, seeds, dairy products, oily fish as well as plenty of water. Apart from that, try to avoid consuming too much alcohol.
Conclusion
Your mental health is more than important as your physical health depends on it. If you are mentally unhealthy or unstable, you will not be able to take care of your physical health as well. So instead of caging in your emotions, let them out and feel free to open up to your loved ones. Start working out on a regular basis, never missing even one workout session to make sure that you remain healthy mentally. Along with that, when it comes to your hobbies that you love, keep engaging yourself in the activities that you love instead of missing out on them. Whether it is writing or photography, make sure you are able to indulge in those activities with a free mind. Last, but not the least, whenever you feel that life is getting pretty monotonous, take that well deserved break that you need.