Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a surge in conversations around mental health. What used to be a taboo or a closed-door conversation has now taken space in friends, work, and family conversations. With the global pandemic, we saw a surge in cases of major depressive and anxiety disorders. Although people are more open to speaking about it, there is still a lot to do when it comes to mental health, especially men’s mental health.
To support raising awareness about men’s health, Movember was born – an initiative to encourage men to grow their moustaches throughout November to raise awareness and spark conversation around men’s health, especially around men’s mental health and suicide prevention, and awareness for prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
But Movember and The Beard Mag are way beyond growing and taking care of your moustache. Starting conversations is the first step in our journey to raise awareness about men’s mental health, but it needs to be followed by actions. Because we know that looking after yourself is not always easy, we gathered our top 5 tips for a healthier state of mind. Are you ready to explore some ways to improve your mental health?
1. Maintain Healthy Habits
Incorporating healthy habits into your routine is an excellent way of building health inside out. Having a good sleep routine, eating healthy food, and exercising are simple choices that can have a significant impact. Surround yourself with people that motivate you to maintain healthy habits and set realistic goals – you don’t need to run a marathon or wake up at 4 am. A 30-minute walk or simply remembering to drink water are examples of small and achievable healthy habits. Before establishing and nourishing healthy habits, you will need to break out of bad habits that are disrupting your life and keeping you from achieving your goals.
2. Dress up to Boost Your Confidence
There is nothing wrong with caring about your appearance. Dressing up and pampering yourself can boost your confidence and elevate your mood, and it’s part of taking care of yourself. Allow yourself to invest in stylish and comfortable outfits to feel good about yourself and motivated to make the most out of your day. For comfortable and versatile outfits, we love the pieces from P.E Nation’s menswear range. With modern cuts and top-quality materials, they make you feel good and stylish whether you’re at the gym, at home, or running everyday errands.
3. Let Your Feelings Out, Vent
Give yourself a chance to share your feelings and speak what’s on your mind. Talking about your emotions can seem daunting, but it helps you acknowledge and validate your feelings. Having deep conversations and sharing vulnerable moments with someone you trust, whether a friend, a family member or a therapist, can be a huge relief and help you gain clarity.
4. Start a Mindfulness Journal
Journaling can be your number one ally if you don’t feel comfortable opening up to a trusted friend or family member. Dumping your thoughts into a piece of paper can help clear the mind. Also, putting emotions into words allows you to re-think, organize your thoughts and understand yourself better. Beyond destressing and organizing, you can use this moment to write down things you are grateful for and make it a simple ritual to cultivate gratitude and positivity in your life.
5. Disconnect to Reconnect
The amount of information we are exposed to when using our phones, computers, or television can make us feel busier and more stressed. Giving yourself some tech-free time where you don’t use your phone for the first or last half hour of the day can help you get to a healthier mind. Use this time to connect with yourself, nature, or others around you.
And remember, maintaining a healthy state of mind doesn’t mean you will always feel happy or positive when facing challenging moments. Taking care of your mental health will help you sail through the storm. Along with following these self-care tips to improve mental health, inform yourself about prostate cancer, book annual checks and join us in this movement to change the statistics about men’s health.