Mental Hygiene: 5 Habits For An Authentic Quality Of Life

What if we learn to take care of our mind as we do of our body? Mental hygiene stands as a life strategy with which to be in greater harmony with our environment. It involves exercising the muscle of self-esteem, overcoming the resistance of apathy, moving in greater balance with our emotions and learning to put adequate filters in our social environment.

We are aware that these approaches aimed at “taking care” of our mind are becoming more and more popular today . Without a doubt, we are talking about strategies such as Mindfulness or even Wellness. Each one, from its own origins and disciplines, has the same purpose: to confer a greater balance between mind and body to guarantee not only our well-being, but also a greater sense of control over one’s life.

Well, whether we have already started in any of these practices or not, it is worth taking into account a few simple aspects. Psychological well-being responds first of all to a series of habits and strategies that each individual must learn to develop based on their characteristics. Something like this requires above all will, some creativity and perseverance.

For this reason, mental hygiene becomes a very particular task where each one must learn to ventilate, sanitize and oxygenate their own mental scenarios. At the same time, and not least, we must not forget that we are part of a physical and social setting and that our contexts also affect our balance.

Therefore, all mental hygiene requires a holistic approach, it implies knowing how to prioritize, focus, filter every stimulus that comes to us to live with greater harmony. Let us therefore look at a series of strategies.

1. Mental hygiene: learn to recognize the spark before the flame arises

Much of our emotional experience starts from “sparks”, from small bursts of negative sensations that collapse in our brain. These small discharges arise due to imbalances with our environment. A comment that we don’t like, but we keep quiet; a proposal with which we do not agree, but which we comply with; a situation that we must resolve, but that we postpone …

Small sparks accumulated, one after another, end up generating a flame. Our mind runs out of resources and in the end we end up “burned out”, exhausted in every way. Thus, a first strategy in which we should invest time and effort is to recognize those triggers. Those stimuli that bother us and that must be managed as soon as possible.

Therefore, do not leave the worry that bothers you today until tomorrow.

2. Clear priorities, better decisions

Every good athlete knows his body, knows where his limits are and trains every day to maintain himself and improve his performance. Such performance does not arise at random, but responds to good planning where daily priorities and objectives are clear.

When it comes to taking care of our brain and our mental hygiene, it would also be good to have our own plan, our daily priorities. Therefore, no one should leave home without having dressed with a purpose, shoes with goals, had breakfast with motivation … This is how we travel our complex paths with greater poise to decide what benefits us and what hurts us, which is what we should put aside in order to ensure our well-being.

3. Relationships based on reciprocity

A basic pillar to take care of and promote our mental hygiene is to attend to the balance of our relationships. Any unbalanced bond entails a high emotional cost. It involves investing time, illusions, efforts and affections in people who do not send us the same energy, the same reciprocity.

It is clear that not all our relationships are going to be symmetrical when it comes to giving and receiving. A very marked example of this we see in the relationship between parents and children. However, it is necessary that our most important bonds (partner, family, friends) remain on a balance, and in some cases on a symmetry.

4. Learn to tolerate adversity

Whoever resists adversity, failure, loss or error is locked in discouragement, anger, discomfort. Instead, good mental hygiene requires capacity for growth and expansion. Something like this only happens when one is able to overcome their resistance, learning to be tolerant with adversity, with the complex side of life, with its most delicate aspect.

We must therefore assume the chiaroscuro of our reality. Because all hygiene starts from the ability to know how to heal. And to heal, you must first accept the existence of a wound without denying it, without turning your face or getting angry with it every day.

5. A mind in balance, a focused mind

Clifford Saron is a neuroscientist at the Mind and Brain Center at the University of California. His interesting works focus on demonstrating how the training of our attention reverses our emotions. A focused and balanced mind translates into well-being and a healthier brain.

As he explains to us, most of us are not aware of the great plasticity that our neurological circuits have. If we learn to focus every day on the present, on what is happening around us (and not so much on the past or in that future that does not yet exist) we will see greater possibilities, we will feel more optimistic and with less anxiety.

To train our attention it can be very helpful to learn to meditate, we know it. However, there is another aspect that we cannot ignore. A more focused mind needs a more relaxed body in turn. Therefore, let us not neglect such basic facts as promoting a good night’s rest, taking a 15 or 20 minute nap, walking, stretching to relieve muscle tension, maintaining a balanced diet …

In short, mental hygiene is a fabulous life strategy that is itself made up of various activities. They are dynamics and daily habits focused on guaranteeing our physical and psychological well-being. Let’s apply those that best suit our needs and start investing in us today.