Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable. So much of what we do physically impacts us mentally—it’s important to pay attention to both your physical health and your mental health, which can help you achieve overall wellness and set you on a path to recovery.

Did you know that Mental Health America (MHA) founded May is Mental Health Month back in 1949? That means this year marks MHA’s 70th year celebrating Mental Health Month!

This May is Mental Health Month MHA is expanding its focus from 2018 and raising awareness about the connection between physical health and mental health, through the theme #4Mind4Body. We are exploring the topics of animal companionship, spirituality and religion, humor, work-life balance, and recreation and social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. It can also help people recover from these conditions. For those dealing with a chronic health condition and the people who care for them, it can be especially important to focus on mental health. When dealing with dueling diagnoses, focusing on both physical and mental health concerns can be daunting, but critically important in achieving overall wellness.

Here are things you can do that can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy. Click on each link to download a fact sheet about how that method helps improve your well-being:

• Finding a reason to laugh. Sometimes life is far from funny, but finding humor in a situation can lift moods with laughter and help people to better deal with and overcome difficult experiences.
• Going for a walk with a friend. Finding other people to relate to and doing things that bring you enjoyment are great ways to improve your mood and overall mental health.
• Meditating. Whether you go to church, meditate daily, or simply find time to enjoy that cup of tea each morning while checking in with yourself—it can be important to connect with your spiritual side in order to find that mind-body connection.
• Playing with a pet. The company of animals—whether as pets or service animals—can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life and ability to recover from illnesses. A pet can be a source of comfort and can help us to live mentally healthier lives.
• Working from home once a week. Work allows you to provide for yourself and your family while also serving a purpose in the community, but when it takes over your life, it can negatively affect your health.

Encompass wants everyone to know that mental illnesses are real, and recovery is always the goal. Living a healthy lifestyle may not be easy but can be achieved by gradually making small changes and building on those successes. Finding the balance between work and play, the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health, can help you on the path towards focusing both #4Mind4Body.

Click here for more information about May is Mental Health Month. To learn more about the Behavioral Health services we offer at Encompass, click here or give us a call at 425.888.3347. We are here to help.