New Year, New Beginnings: January is Mental Wellness Month

Jan 10

At Mental Health Technologies, we celebrate and bring awareness to mental health concerns daily. However, each year everyone quickly goes from the hustle and bustle of the holiday to feeling worn and weary starting a new year of work or school. That is why every year during the month of January, the nation focuses on mental wellness as a whole — when almost all of us are feeling its exhausting toll.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates approximately one in five adults suffer from mental health problems each year. However, as you may have noticed, the effects of mental illness quickly spread and are capable of directly or indirectly affecting us all — such as experiencing depression from seeing a loved one suffer from their own mental health issues.

During Mental Wellness Month, we strive to remind ourselves that we need to make a conscious effort to work on and maintain our mental health, despite all of the ups and downs throughout the year. (Reference 1)

New Year, New Beginnings: January is Mental Wellness Month

Enhance Your Mental Wellness

Our mental health can be impacted by a variety of different aspects. It may be issues we run into at work or school, a financial strain, or physical ailments. Due to this, we need to take a good, hard look at where our stressors are coming from and take a well-rounded approach to make strides that fix these areas.

According to experts, there are eight main areas of wellness. They are:

Mental - what is your confidence level?
Physical - how is your body feeling and looking?
Emotional - are you having a lot of highs and lows?
Spiritual - what is your belief system?
Social - how connected are you to friends, family, and community?
Personal - what makes you feel fulfilled?
Professional - do you have any other goals?
Medical - how well are you functioning?

5 Strategies for Mental Health Wellness

1. Put Yourself First

For some, putting yourself first can seem selfish. However, it’s okay to put aside some time for yourself each day to work on your mental health. Do something that provides you with a sense of relaxation and joy. Some examples of this may be taking a bath or unwinding with a new book.

2. Practice Physical Wellness

This doesn’t mean that you need to become a triathlete or get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to work out. Merely cutting out some processed foods and replacing them with something healthy, going to sleep an hour earlier, and taking a walk around the block can improve your physical state enough to possibly begin seeing changes in your mental health.

3. Create a Plan

For those who get nervous about how you may react in certain situations, you may find it beneficial to create a plan ahead of time. This may include coping skills (such as deep breathing), people to reach out to in stressful situations, and various activities to immerse yourself in to get out of your mind for a bit.

4. Show More Gratitude

It’s a scientific fact that the more we practice positivity, the more positive we feel overall. Practicing gratitude evokes feelings of thankfulness and contentment. This slight increase in optimism may help you to deal with challenges down the road.

5. Ask for Help

Sometimes we just can’t do it alone. If you are unable to find a trusted friend or family member that you can be one hundred percent honest with and feel comfortable opening up to, speaking to a therapist may be your best option. (Reference 2)

Ring in the New Year with MHT

At MHT, we understand the amount of stress mental health causes. We also understand that the process of getting help can increase that stress.

For providers, we offer a screening assessment tool that aids in diagnostics, sending alerts to any immediate patient concerns, and creating a smoother process for referrals to be put into place.

To speak with a knowledgeable customer service representative, contact us today. We look forward to learning about your needs.

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