We often associate having good mental health to be a destination that we intend to reach, rather than a journey that one must embark on, to achieve a healthy state of mind.

To be in a good place mentally, a person needs to put in consistent efforts, be constantly aware of their feelings and recognize the signs when one does not feel okay. Just like a person visits the gym to take care of the body or visits a doctor for consultation regarding an ailment, similarly one must recognize the distress signs of the mind and seek necessary support when needed.

Seeking help for mental health issues has a stigma attached to it in today’s day and age, which compels a person to bottle up their feelings day after day. To seek acceptance or to fit in among their peers, a person often ignores his/her intrusive thoughts and pretends to be alright. Suffering in silence can be a huge detriment to one’s mental health and may lead to chronic depression or other serious mental conditions like anxiety.

Recognizing the signs of mental illness early on, can go a long way in addressing the problem on time and seeking the necessary help.

Some of the signs that one needs help could be-

• Deteriorating eating habits.

• Feeling overwhelmed most of the time.

• Feeling lethargic or unmotivated.

• Lack of focus.

• Relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms.

• Falling sick often.

• Feeling a lack of joy and satisfaction in life.

Ignoring these signs can not only affect the mind but it gradually starts affecting personal relationships, work life and all the other aspects of life.

The first step towards addressing one’s mental health is normalizing struggles and seeking therapy when things get too much for you to handle on your own.

A therapist not only addresses the immediate problem one is dealing with, but also gauges the intensity of the problem and the treatments one needs to undergo to tackle them.

A person’s mental condition does not need to be serious to seek professional help. If one feels overwhelmed and helpless mentally, it is a good time to seek therapy.

A therapy session can help you in number ways:

• Therapy addresses recurring patterns in one’s life and seeks to bring about a change in them.

• Therapy helps in processing difficult life memories like grief, trauma, or triggering incidents.

• Therapy helps in improving relationships.It heals emotions and childhood scars.

• It helps people connect with their emotions.

• It helps people in coping with sudden life transitions.

• It helps people to know themselves better.

In addition to seeking therapy, bringing about small changes in one’s daily routine also helps in maintaining good mental health.

Here are some small and meaningful things that can be helpful:

• Meditation.

• Journaling- write down five things that you are grateful for today.

• Establishing a consistent daily routine.

• Seeking interests and hobbies outside of work.

• Spending time outside in nature.

• Being kind with oneself and others.

• Social Media Detox.

• Positive self-talk.

Taking these steps can help you decompress and make you feel calmer.

Lastly, it is important to remember that “It’s okay not be okay” and there are people out there in the world who care about you and can help you heal. No problem is too insurmountable that it cannot be solved and seeking help on time can not only save your life but also the life of others.

It’s not too late.

Seek help and book a therapy session today!