Today’s society has many people concerned about Mental Health (Mental Well-Being). Many people will be affected by the continuing rise of professional stress, as well as overuse of technology and personal demands.
According to most psychologists, Mental Well-Being is not achieved by having one or two days a week in which an individual takes special care of themselves, but rather through regular daily routines that promote Emotional Wellness. When performed consistently, these daily routines produce a consistent feeling of Emotional Well-Being.
In the last few years, psychologists have learned that how a person establishes their day from morning to evening can greatly affect their Mental Well-Being, particularly Emotional Wellness. Establishing a set of positive Daily Routines and positive Daily Habits at home and at work creates an Emotional Balance in a person’s life that, when practiced regularly, contributes to an increase in an individual’s Mental Well-Being.
A Regular Daily Routine
A Regular Daily Routine provides safety and predictability for an individual. A Regular Daily Routine is important in understanding how the human brain interprets his or her environment, which can affect how an individual perceives his or her place in reality.
Most psychologists provide suggestions and tips to help people create more realistic lifestyle changes rather than to suggest extreme changes. By creating Healthy Daily Routines, individuals will have the opportunity to develop Healthy Daily Habits, create a foundation for Healthy Mental Wellness gradually, and at the same time, minimize Stress and Overload in their lives.
By following a Psychologist Recommends Daily Routine each morning, an individual can enhance his or her Emotional Health and reduce Stress naturally. The Mental Wellness Routine supports the creation and maintenance of positive habits that contribute to Mental Wellness, as well as the building of a foundation to establish a healthy long-term approach to Mental Wellness and overall health and Wellness.
Mental Wellness Morning Routine
From the moment you wake up, the Mental Wellness Morning Routine should be established at the earliest hours of the day. Psychologists have studied the emotional tone of the day and have concluded that the initial hours of the day set the emotional tone for the rest of the day. Maintaining a tranquil and predictable Mental Wellness Morning Routine during this time allows individuals to continue to build Emotional Wellness throughout the course of the day and is, therefore, essential to developing Mental Wellness.
According to the American Psychological Association, Predictable Morning Routines help individuals minimize Decision Fatigue and create a clear path to an overall more consistent daily experience. Through Predictable Daily Routines, an individual can create a feeling of Security and Organization within the Brain, thereby allowing for Natural Development of Mental Wellness over time. After you develop the habit of establishing morning routines, they will naturally occur on their own.
As the psychological professionals assert, extended periods of time under stress will also have a negative impact on your emotional well-being. By creating a daily routine that provides time for breaks, boundaries and a time for rest from highly stressful activities, you are not only supporting your physical health, you are also promoting your emotional stability.
Evening Routines and Emotional Regulation
Research published by the National Institute of Mental Health shows that the above actions have been scientifically confirmed and that such actions, when established, become “habits” that promote daily mental health until you return to your bed the next day.
A routine established in the evening is an effective way to relieve stress and allow for a period of self-time or “wind down” before falling asleep. Researchers found that individuals develop routines in the evening to allow for their thought processes to wind down and be ready for bedtime. Without an evening routine, the stress experienced during the day is carried into the evening.
Psychologists who conduct studies on the subject of psychology state that the nervous system needs a clear signal to change from an “alert” state to a “relaxed” state. By establishing predictable habits in the evenings, the body can gradually decrease the levels of cortisol in the body, as demonstrated in the study conducted by the Mayo Clinic. Calm evenings positively affect the ability of a person to manage his/her emotions, thus enhancing the mental wellness of the individual over time.
Developing Healthy Habits
As you establish and practice these Healthy Habits consistently over time, you will see a noticeable improvement in Your Mental Health, as a consistent Evening Routine will result in Improved Mental Health over Time.
Psychologists believe that there is an obvious connection between Sleep Quality and Emotional Wellness (Mental Health). A Person that does not get enough Sleep will likely have Issues with Mood and Concentration, as well as Negative Emotional Responses to Life’s Situations. An evening routine can also create an environment that is conducive to obtaining Quality Sleep Period, as this allows the Brain to Recover on a Natural Cycle.
The Circadian Rhythm, the Internal Body Clock that regulates how and when our Bodies Feel Alert and Tired, can become out of sync due to an Irregular Sleep Schedule, resulting in Emotional Instability. The Routine of a Person will determine the likelihood that a person will develop Strong Mental Health and Resiliency.
How to Change Your Sleep Habits to Improve Mental Health with Advice from Psychologists
Psychologists suggest that if people want to help themselves get an adequate amount of Sleep their Body must:
-
Not Consume Caffeine After Noon.
Reflection, Emotional Awareness, and Mental Wellness
Researchers at Harvard Medical School found a strong link between the connection between emotional awareness and the ability to regulate positive emotions as a result of regular reflective practice.
Healthy Thinking Habits
The benefit of including a variety of different forms of exercise as part of the average daily routine is essential to promoting and improving mental health and wellness.
Through a large amount of research, psychologists have determined that through a consistent CI of a person exercising, there will be an increased production of endorphins in the brain, which will aid in creating a positive emotional state.
Digital Technology Usage
As digital technology usage has become commonplace with the evolution of technology and the increase of the digital community, the possible negative psychological effects of using digital technology has become more apparent.
Creating digital usage routines will help to manage a person’s ability to connect digitally during the day while avoiding potential mental overload or burnout.
Digital Usage Routines
Based on this research, psychologists have developed numerous ideas and methods to help individuals establish digital usage routines:
-
Create specific times during your day when you will not use your digital
-
Do not check any social media until after going to
-
Turn off any non-essential notifications on your digital
Self-Kindness and How it can Help You
The practice of self-compassion regularly helps to encourage an individual’s mental well-being.
Research in psychology has shown that experiencing harsh self-criticism on a regular basis diminished an individual’s overall emotional well- being through time.
Regularly following self-compassionate habits of being nice to oneself also helps to decrease the level of stress or anxiety a person experiences and should, thus, be an important and vital part of an individual’s mental wellness.
Allowing ourselves the right to make mistakes and not blaming ourselves for them, and so forth.
Self-Compassion Practices
Take short breaks from your responsibilities every once in a while so that you can refocus after a negative occurrence.
According to research done by the Greater Good Science Center, the practice of self-compassion strongly influences whether or not an individual will experience higher degrees of anxiety.
Ways to develop positive and healthy behaviours that will become a routine part of daily life are easy to add to one’s schedule.
Purposeful Planning for Your Mental Wellness
The quality of a person’s mental wellness will increase when they can plan for their daily tasks purposefully instead of doing them in a rush.
According to this psychologist, an individual’s lack of direction and therefore lack of purpose and fulfilled potential were major contributing factors to the reduction in the overall level of mental fatigue.
Therefore, when intentionally planning out one’s day, people will have a greater degree of emotional control, along with the increased feeling of support throughout the day rather than the added stress that comes with lacking a plan and not executing it.
How do Psychologists Associate Purpose to Mental Health?
Researchers have found that not having a sense of purpose only increases the levels of anxiety and mental exhaustion for the individual.
Through effective daily planning, a stronger sense of control over the brain’s activity leads to improved focus and mental balance for individuals leading to long-term mental wellness.
Psychological Strategies for Daily Planning that Lead to Healthy Habits
-
Prioritize tasks according to the importance of them being done right away and wait to deal with tasks that are time-sensitive until later.
-
Take regular breaks during the day; behavioral scientists at Stanford University have proven that structured daily planning results in reduced levels of stress and increased emotional health through the establishment of intentional, consistent routines that promote mental health.
Types of Resiliency – Fostering Mental Wellness through Resilience
Supportive mental wellness is based on the capacity for recovery.
The Application of Resiliency by Psychologists to Assist Their Clients
Psychologists also believe that if someone trains themselves how to respond to stress appropriately, they will respond to stressful events more successfully.
To develop emotional stability during challenging times, psychologists teach clients how to build up the resiliency of their routines so that when they encounter a stressful situation, that routine can assist them in managing their emotions more effectively, resulting in lessened long-term effects from prolonged exposure to stress.
Additionally, resiliency aids in the formation of healthy mental states over time.
Daily Building Blocks of Resiliency
Psychologists have recommended the following daily routines that assist with building resiliency:
-
Reviewing one’s experiences of overcoming past challenges to learn from those successes and grow from them
-
Developing strong, positive social networks and maintaining those connections
-
Engaging in “problem-solving” behaviours rather than avoiding challenges
Mindfulness techniques that have been studied by psychologists
Examples of Simple Mindfulness Techniques are:
A Psychological View of How Establishing Boundaries Prevents Burnout and Resentment
Psychologists believe that Burnout and Resentment are interrelated.
Having Healthy Boundaries provides people with better management of their energy and helps keep them balanced in their Personal and Professional Lives.
Tips on How to Set Healthy Boundaries from Mental Health Professionals
Below are Recommendations from Mental Health Professionals on How to Set Healthy Boundaries:
-
Limit your work-related communications to coworkers to outside of work
-
Establishing a Dedicated, Specific Time to De-Stress From Your Day
Studies Supported by the Cleveland Clinic Conclude That Boundaries Will Reduce the Amount of Overwhelmed Individuals And Therefore Lower Your Stress.
Developing These Routines Will Establish Healthy Meanings Of Life, As They Establish A Healthy Routines That Help Create Emotional Stability And Develop Mental Well-Being.
Promote Social Connection With Routines To Develop Mental Well-Being
Psychologists Show That Social Interaction Is A Factor In Developing Mental Well-Being.
Social Interaction Provides A Feeling Of Belonging, Which Leads To Reduced Feelings Of Loneliness And Stress, And Thus, Allows For Social Interaction To Create A Routine That Promotes Emotional Well-Being Through Connections To Other People.
Why Social Support Is Important To Your Mental Well-Being – Psychologists
We Are A Social Species.
Building Social Connections Are Through Regular Check-Ins With People Who Are Supportive, Setting Aside Time To Spend With People Who Are Being Supportive, And Asking For Help When You Need It.
Creating Focused Routines for Mental Wellness
Various psychologists have asserted that external influences such as noise, the Internet, television, other people, etc., reduce the intensity of our ability to focus.
When trying to create “focused daily routines,” it is essential that habits are established to support the development of focused work.
To have successful focused routines, mental health professionals recommend:
-
Allow yourself several short breaks to regain focus and concentration.
According to the Harvard Business Review, developing focused routines increases our ability to function mentally to a very high capacity.
Psychologists recommend starting a daily gratitude practice, since this type of practice helps us to eliminate an over-focusing on injury-based thinking, and helps encourage the development of positive-thinking which will lead to improved moods and increased emotional resiliency.
Therefore, by creating a manageable daily routine, burnout can be avoided.
Mental Wellness as a Lifelong Journey
As per Psychologists, mental health should be viewed as a lifelong journey instead of just a destination to reach.
Managing and maintaining emotional wellness are important, as they created healthy routines during times of emotional/mental stress.
Small “wellness” habits, when practised consistently for long periods of time, can form the basis of an individual having long-term emotional wellness.
Strategies for Maintaining Emotional Wellness Long-Term
Psychologists have developed long-term strategies that an individual can use to create genuine and sustainable long-term emotional wellness based on small, consistent daily habits.
-
Take time to acknowledge and celebrate small achievements as an individual is working toward their mental wellness goal.
The findings of the World Health Organization indicate that developing healthy routines and practicing daily habits support an individual’s emotional wellness because they create a buffer, or barrier, against emotional challenges, and create a solid foundation of emotional wellness.
Strategies for Continuing to Develop Oneself and Evolving Mental Wellness
The Importance of Mental Wellness in a person’s Development, and the Link between Mental Wellness, Development and Improvement.
Psychologists have reported that developing a daily routine with a focus on developing oneself contributes positively to one’s emotional wellness.
Developing oneself gives a person reason and direction to continue living; it creates hope that there is opportunity to continue to develop oneself and that one is not stagnating, and, therefore, by developing oneself, a person can develop a more manageable level of stress.
Psychologists Support the Development of an Individual’s Mental Wellness through Personal Growth.
Research has shown that stagnation often leads to depressed feelings and emotional frustration; however, having a daily habit or routine that is growth-oriented will help a person to feel engaged and hopeful; creating the regulation of emotion within them; thus, the development of emotional wellness results from continuing to develop oneself.
This type of growth can be incorporated easily into a person’s daily life and provide the structure for developing a long-term foundation for mental Well-Being.
Professional Support and Flexible Routines for Mental Wellness
One resource available to individuals with psychological distress is National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Daily routines of a sustainable nature should be established for individuals if they want to be at their highest level of mental wellness.
Psychologists believe that individuals do not need to be perfect to achieve mental health; that is, the individual can create a daily routine that allows for adjustment based on any changes in their life that occur without the individual feeling guilty about doing so.
Psychologists have identified that perfectionism and flexibility play different roles in how individuals manage their mental wellness on a daily basis.
In fact, psychologists also identify being rigid in one’s approach to developing healthy daily habits will often create stress in the individual’s life.
Creating Balance During Times of Increased Stress
Creating balance is one of the methods that can assist with maintaining a healthy mental wellness, and the following are some of the recommendations made by psychologists to assist individuals in creating a sense of balance.
Creating a New Structure of Daily Routines During Times of Increased Stress:
-
Focusing on improvement (not how often you are on track with a particular habit)
-
Allowing yourself to have breaks from activities as part of maintaining your mental wellness through healthy habits
Research by the World Health Organisation supports the need for mental health strategies to be adaptable to the culture, environment and social conditions of each time period.
A routine will allow for an individual to build and protect their emotional health, thus, providing assurance of positive mental wellness being part of their long- term health.
Summary
The use of daily, consistent and simple routines developed by psychologists will assist in developing and maintaining your mental wellness.
Building a daily structure, developing a realistic balance and being mindful of how your mental wellness is evolving are all part of developing your mental wellness.
The formation of these positive mental health habits will create less stress and provide long-term emotional stability as part of an individual’s routine.
As noted earlier, the majority of psychologists agree that an individual can create, develop and maintain a satisfying relationship with their mental wellness without the need for a methodical approach or maintaining absolute perfection.
A routine focused on mental wellness will provide you with the maximum mental health possible in the long run if you are patient and consistent in being adaptable to life as it occurs.
