Taking care of yourself — and learning how to make this self-care a part of our daily lives — plays an important role in maintaining good mental health, which is essential to your overall health and quality of life, according to Rachel Rhaedy, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist. primary. The good news is that for many people they are in good mental health is being something that can be achieved.”

According to Dr. Rhaidi, who is also director of The Recovery Village at Baptist Health, mental health is about more than just not having mental illness. “It consists of many things, including your emotional and mental well-being,” she says, adding that it’s important to think about your mental health every day. “Take the opportunity to review what you’re looking forward to this year, focusing on improving your relationships, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and achieving your goals.”

Dr. Rhaidi says that people make New Year’s resolutions every year. However, they often make the same decisions year after year and never reach any of their goals. She suggests reframing our goals, moving from general statements to thoughtful and introspective questions.

Instead of saying to yourself, ‘I want to lose weight’ or ‘I want to be healthier,’ try asking yourself, ‘How can I get to a place where I feel like I need to take better care of myself? or “How can I become more active, healthy, and satisfied, and celebrate my accomplishments?” suggests Dr. Rhaidi. “Your answers to questions like these can help guide you in what is important to you, this year and beyond.”

Embracing the ‘Three Elements of Change’

Practiced by mental health professionals to help patients achieve their goals through sobriety and addiction problems, the “three points of change” – attention, acceptance and action, always performed in this order – are the mantra for the healthy changes and growth that occur in all of us, according to Dr. my rhidi. “Only when we realize and accept the fact that something in our lives has to change can we take action to make those changes.”

How to create successful decisions

• Think about what you want the year to be and what that means for you.
• Make your decisions goals and natural things that you feel you can achieve. You may have to make changes, but the change acknowledges that you are committed to it.
• Set boundaries for your work-life balance, which plays an important role in achieving your goals. Set boundaries and learn to say “no.” Try to avoid the negative consequences that come when it comes to doing too much.
• Review your decisions.
• Accept the fact that you won’t be making all of your New Year’s resolutions. This is not a failure, it is a fact.
• Take steps every day to realize your decisions
• If you haven’t achieved your goals after five years, rethink them.

Reduce stress and increase happiness

Because it deprives us of our ability to see things objectively, says Dr. Rhaidi, stress can be an obstacle to moving toward our goals and achieving personal growth. Instead of wasting time worrying about things we can’t control, she recommends doing things that make us happy. “When little things are done to improve our mood, we start to feel better,” she says.

Dr. Rhaidi offers these ideas to reduce stress and increase happiness:

• Read a good book.
• listen to the music.
• Exercise 30 minutes a day.
• Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep per day.
• Busy your mind by learning a new language. It is fun and provides you an escape from your stress.
• Try cooking, meditation, and other activities that can help you divide your day and deal with feelings of stress.
• Find a daily routine that works for you.
• Eat comfort foods that make you feel happy.
• Rich in the car.
• Leave your digital devices and get out of the house
• He laughs
• Focus on others – volunteer, do good deeds, offer to help a friend,
• Spend time with people who make you happy – as human beings and social beings, we must be able to connect with others.

Even the good and the positive can be stressful, warns Dr. Rhaidi. “Getting married, starting a new business, welcoming a new pet into your home – things like this often bring positive stress,” she says. “But it’s still stress, and you have to pay attention to how that affects you.”

Dr. Rhaidi says that the most important thing to being happy, productive and stress-free is to maintain a healthy work-life balance, and that starts with knowing what works best for you. “Finding that sweet spot isn’t always easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” she says. “Focus on staying positive and creating a work-life balance and then go from there,” she suggests. “Everything else gets easier than that.”

Tags: Baptist Health Primary Care, Mental Health, Rachel VF Rheedy MD, salud mind, The Recovery Village at Baptist Health