With a lot of emerging concerns that Gen-Z has been discussing openly, one serious topic that never seems to have an end is ‘Mental Health‘. A lot of people might have become irritated with a mere mention of it, not knowing what it is like to a person who doesn’t have it sorted out.

Mental health doesn’t necessarily have to mean being in a state of happiness throughout the day, being optimistic always, or enjoying every day of your life. A mind can fully experience all sorts of human emotions without being too overwhelmed with one particular emotion for a long duration. Companies, work policies, or even your relatives would likely glorify stress as a sign of hard work and dedication, no understating how important it is to take a break and be stagnant once in a while. The concept of “keep moving on” seems vague in today’s world.

There can be numerous reasons why today’s generation, though being more exposed to new opportunities, find itself greatly stressed out always. Be it their work life or personal life, there seems to be no end to the tension. These are a few of the main reasons:

1. The pandemic
Since the lockdown began, people found themselves trapped in between the four walls of their houses all of a sudden. With no idea as to how to make themselves comfortable with isolation, anxiety struck the majority of us. Suicide cases, domestic fights, divorces have had rapid growth in numbers. From work to chilling, everything had to be done at home.

2. Excess workload
Pandemic has been there for 2 years now, but the workload has been a thing since the beginning of time. employees are burdened with work and are underpaid, so much so that they can neither afford a comfortable lifestyle nor spend some alone time to relax.

3. Poor Lifestyle
Poor diet, no exercise, bad time management have left people questioning what to prioritize first. This has indeed led to poor health, both physical and mental and stress becomes a rightful outcome of this.

There can be many other factors why stress exists, like traumas, negativity, unrealistic expectations, financial problems, relationship issues, etc. There is no end to stress, anxiety, or tension; one or the other reasons might keep coming, and that in turn would keep on adding on to the stress. It might eventually lead to some serious health troubles that might or might not be curable. Here are a few ways in which you can improve your mental health:

1. If you are anti-social and do not like meeting new people, at least be in regular touch with the people you care about. spending time with people you love and care about is extremely necessary for your well-being.

2. Do not shy away from expressing how you feel. Go where you are heard with patience and understanding so that you can express yourself out loud without the fear of judgment. If you do not know whom to share your thoughts with, become socially active and write it for the world to read. You would be surprised as to how many people are going through the same thing as you.

3. Eat well. A healthy diet seems like no connection to mental health and yet its connection might shock you. A balanced diet would uplift your energy and you would be more active instead of being a couch potato and thinking of the ‘what ifs’.

4. This isn’t a demotivation of any sort but set realistic goals. Real goals would require real planning and efforts and when achieved might make you more confident.

5. Take some time out of your daily schedule to sit down with yourself. you are as important as any of your work and if you do not give the love your body deserves, it would act insane.

6. Sleep the day away! sometimes weekends needn’t be about cool cafes or getaways. Take it slow, sleep till noon, eat junk, and sleep again. let yourself feel free once in a while.

Find your muse, put in efforts to know what gives you peace, and stick with it. workload, tensions, stress might seem like a never-ending part of your life but everything subsides if you take care of it. remember, you are the central character of your life, every other thing is temporary!

Have a healthy day!