Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Mental well-being.”

Next week’s topic will be “Physical well-being.”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

The brain is the control center of the body, so naturally maintaining mental well-being is important to every aspect of life. This week’s topic brought the significance of mental well-being to my attention, inspiring me to more actively pursue a constant state of mental well-being.

1. Now What?

• Mental well-being studies are being used to promote overall good health, longevity, personal happiness and healthy aging in societies around the world.  By being aware of the concepts we can incorporate interventions to positively affect our mental well-being.

2. Go for the Gold!

• Mental well-being is the development and maintenance of many healthy personal qualities. Nurture them on a daily basis to cultivate mental strength. 

3. Optimizes Brain Functions

• Your brain is the control center for every aspect of your life. When you choose to take care of the most basic human needs like exercise, a healthy diet, water consumption and getting the proper amount of sleep for your body, mental well-being is the result.

4. How Do You Support It?

• The psychology of optimism is supported by mental well-being. Pay attention to your thoughts, behaviors, body reactions and emotions and work to find a balance that promotes mental well-being for you.

The Insight: Mental well-being affects every aspect of life. To cultivate mental well-being, we must be aware of both the effects and benefits of a healthy state of mind, and take every step to maintain it. A step toward mental well-being is one step closer to a full life.

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Bills are mounting, you have no time to spend with the ones you love and the concept of personal mental health is not on your mind with all that is going on in the world. It should be. Managing stress minimizes the susceptibility to depression caused by hormonal imbalances in the brain.

What are some of the ways to promote mental well-being and why is it so important?

Sarah Newth, PhD has determined that mental well-being and health is regulated by our overall patterns and the relationship between thoughts, emotions, behaviors and body reactions. So focusing on positive behaviors in those four areas promotes mental well-being.

1. Thoughts: Change the negative thoughts about yourself and others to positive ones.

• I feel good about my life and where it is heading.
• I’m a good person even though I have some flaws.
• I know that the people in my life just want the best for me.

2. Behaviors: Change the negative behaviors that are harmful to yourself and others to positive ones.

• Do not isolate yourself or pull away from friends and family in times of need.
• Avoid the situations and people that upset you.
• Engage in hobbies or leisure activities to distract yourself from issues or concerns.

3. Body: Listen to what your body is telling you no matter what your mind or heart says.

• Pay attention to heart rate, breathing patterns, digestion, muscle tension or headaches. Listen to your body.

4. Emotions: Pay close attention to your emotions; nurture the ones that make you feel good and shy away from the ones that don’t.

• Understand what creates happiness, a sense of joy, a sense of calm, contentment, excitement, feelings of love and cheerfulness in you.

Why is mental well-being so important? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression will become the second largest cause of suffering by 2020 — next only to heart disease.

The Insight: The psychology of optimism is supported by mental well-being. Pay attention to your thoughts, behaviors, body reactions and emotions and work to find a balance that promotes mental well-being for you.

How do you support your own mental well-being?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: How do you feel today? Are you in a good mood or a little off? Our brains act as the command center controlling shifts in levels of hormones and neurotransmitters that contribute to our changing moods.

Are there ways to influence our moods by taking care of our brains?

According to psychiatrist and bestselling author Daniel G. Amen, MD, mental well-being starts with your brain. It governs how well you think on your feet, act toward other people, your emotional well-being and your feelings.

Suggested ways to optimize and exercise your brain:

1. Protect Your brain from stress, injury and sleep deprivation.
2. Maintain a healthy lifestyle and give your brain the fuel it needs.
3. Be optimistic and think positively everyday.
4. Exercise each day to enhance brain functions and oxygen flow.
5. Commit 15 minutes each day to learning something new.
6. Relax your brain by meditating or taking extended deep breaths.
7. If you think you are emotionally off balance, seek preventative professional help.
8. Limit exposure to television and video games.

The Insight: Your brain is the control center for every aspect of your life. When you choose to take care of the most basic human needs like exercise, a healthy diet, water consumption and getting the proper amount of sleep for your body, mental well-being is the result.

What are you doing to optimize your brain function today?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Olympic athletes work hard and aim for the gold medal when competing for each event. They maintain vigorous workouts, strict diets and focused attention on the goal. But what do they do for mental strength? Teams also employ the expertise of psychologists like David Cox or Richard Suinn, PhD to help foster mental well-being.

What are some factors that contribute to mental well-being and are applicable to our daily lives?

1. Sense of Control

• Ability to shape one’s outcomes by setting and pursuing goals

2. Flexibility

• Willingness to alter communication, ways of thinking, and plans when new information is received.

3. Balance

• Understanding the midpoint between mental activity and rest

4. Self-Confidence

• Possessing a strong belief in your skills and your tenacity to accomplish goals

5. Resilience

• Capacity to adapt, be flexible, manage crisis or stressful situations, turn them into opportunities and retain strength of purpose.

6. Sense of Purpose

• Awareness of your direction and the measures you need to take to reach your goals

7. Overall Contentment With Life

• A fulfillment in your life, activities, relationships, careers and chosen path

8.Stability

• Having trust and feeling safe where you live and work

The Insight: Mental well-being is the development and maintenance of many healthy personal qualities. Nurture them on a daily basis to cultivate mental strength.

Do you nurture your mental well-being?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario: Do you know someone who is always happy, optimistic, upbeat and available for you or anyone else that needs them? Do you get tired just thinking about how much energy they have? That person might score pretty high on a mental well-being test.

What is mental well-being?

Mental well-being can be defined as a state of emotional and psychological contentment in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities to work productively, function and contribute to society, and successfully cope with the basic demands of life.

It also can be defined in terms of concepts according to a study by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Nanyang Technological University.

They have identified five concepts with a new mental well-being scale.

1. Self-esteem

• Believing in your evaluation of self-worth and potential to engage in lifelong growth and development

2. Social connectedness

• Surrounding yourself with positive, supportive social networks and nurturing them

3. Emotional intelligence

• Appreciating and understanding self, others and circumstances

4. Resilience

• Handling life’s challenges with optimism

5. Cognitive efficacy

• Thinking realistically, clearly and rationally.

The Insight: Mental well-being studies are being used to promote overall good health, longevity, personal happiness and healthy aging in societies around the world.  By being aware of the concepts, we can incorporate interventions to positively affect our mental well-being.

Now that you know about it what are you doing to nurture it?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships