4 Ways To Improve Your Mental, Emotional and Physical Well-Being
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and worried in the midst of changing circumstances and the stress from COVID-19. While taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus is important for our physical well-being, identifying ways to manage our mental and emotional well-being is a part that shouldn’t be overlooked as well.
We may experience increased feelings of anxiety and powerlessness or feel uncertain about the future amidst rapidly changing schedules and social plans. To help you alleviate these feelings, here are four ways you can use to improve your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
For mental well-being
Download a mental health app
When you can’t afford therapy, downloading a mental health app can be a great alternative. What’s Up is a free app that uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy methods to help you cope with depression, anxiety, stress, and more.
It comes with a positive and negative habit tracker to maintain your good habits and break bad habits that affect your productivity. There’s even a “Get Grounded” page, which contains over 100 different questions to help you recognise what feelings you’re going through and a “Thinking Patterns” page, which teaches you methods to reduce negative internal monologues that affect you negatively.
For emotional well-being
Identify your weaknesses while setting boundaries
Accepting that you have some weaknesses just like everyone else is a key to your mental and emotional wellbeing. When you are aware of your weaknesses, you’ll know when you should ask for help when you feel overwhelmed.
If you’re not sure of what your weaknesses are, why not take this free quiz to get a rough idea?
With your weaknesses in mind, set realistic boundaries while participating in activities. These activities should allow you to improve on your weaknesses and ultimately help with your overall emotional well-being.
For physical well-being
Set S.M.A.R.T goals
Without some sort of training plan, few people can accomplish fitness goals like running a marathon or learning a new sport.
Kickstart your plan by asking yourself the following questions:
- Why do you want to do it?
- How long will it take you to get there?
- What big steps do you need to take?
- What small steps will make the bigger steps easier?
When setting goals, be S.M.A.R.T. about them — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. Set goals that focus on a specific action, (e.g. jogging every day for at least 30 minutes) rather than the outcome (losing 5kg). By doing so, you’ll find it easier to control the process and the goal becomes less of a mental hurdle if there are unexpected obstacles.
Track the air quality in your surroundings
Did you know that the air you breathe indoors can be up to five times worse than outdoors? Cleaning products, carpets, unvented cooking and even the number of people inside a room contribute to the quality of your indoor air.
Unfortunately, air pollution cannot be eliminated when it is invisible to you. Knowing what you are breathing reassures you that your physical health is not at risk.
With air quality information at your fingertips, you know exactly when to take action to improve it for the assurance that nothing is putting your physical well-being at risk.
You can do this by purchasing an air sensor that connects to a mobile app to notify you of any changes in the surrounding air quality. Consider an air sensor that works with other smart devices to automatically keep your air clean, so that you can be worry-free about bad air affecting the health of both you and your loved ones.
Mental, emotional and physical health are essential parts of your overall well-being. Managing mental hurdles, maintaining emotional balance and ensuring that nothing in your environment is harming your physical health helps you face challenges, deal with stress and operate optimally.
The next time you feel overwhelmed, remember to use these four ways to help you feel better.