Why mental wellbeing is important for personal development
Mental wellbeing can stunt your personal development if not looked after properly
Mental health has always been a subject that is not spoken about as much as it should be. Yet, repeated lockdowns throughout coronavirus have certainly highlighted mental health, so much so that we are now more readily willing to acknowledge its importance in our daily lives. People now actively seek help from mentors and coaches such as those at 123-success to help them identify skills and knowledge that will help them achieve mental wellbeing as part of a personal development plan. Below, we explain why mental well-being is so important when it comes to achieving our personal and professional goals.
What do we mean by the phrase mental health?
Mental health is an area that covers how we feel emotionally and psychologically, including our social wellbeing. Sometimes referred to as mental wellbeing, it encompasses how we think, feel and act and determines how we deal with the rigours of daily life. How we handle stress, make choices, relate to others and the way we feel on any particular day are all down to how good our mental health is at the time.
Of course, there will always be more stressful days, those that are harder to deal with, or where we don’t feel that life is as it should be. Our mental wellbeing at that time determines how badly we react and for how long. It is also impacted by many different factors: biological, genes, and brain chemistry. Our life experiences also have a significant impact on our mental health. Our ability to cope, shrug off, or bounce back from traumas, stressors, or situations is relevant. It is also possible that family history of mental health problems can leave us more at risk of our own mental health suffering. And of course, we can still suffer from low mental wellbeing even though we appear cheerful, have what others would describe as a ‘perfect life’ and ‘so much going for us’, so it isn’t all related to bad times.
How does mental health impact your day to day life?
Poor mental health will affect you physically and there are many early warning signs that you could be experiencing problems:
- Sleeping or eating more or less than is normal for you
- Becoming more withdrawn from people or activities
- Unexplained pains and headaches
- Having little or no energy, feeling confused or forgetful, feeling more angry, on edge, worried or upset, or struggling to see beyond the issue at hand.
- Not feeling able to perform daily caregiving tasks for yourself or others.
- Mood swings or persistent thoughts or memories that take over and you can’t swerve.
Positive mental health will allow you to cope with the normal stresses of everyday life, be productive at work and in your personal life and make meaningful contributions at work and home to realise your full potential. This is why it is essential to do all you can to protect and improve your mental wellbeing, as life is an important personal development journey.
Ways to improve your mental wellbeing
- Learn to recognise early warning signs
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- Become physically active to release ‘feel good’ endorphins
- Establish a regular sleep pattern
- Learn coping skills and take time out when needed
- Help others, talk and be open about how you are feeling
Establishing a positive mindset to thrive will help you overcome many mental health challenges before they become a more significant issue. Personal development enhances your quality of life, relationships. It leads to a more healthy living balance, enabling you to realise your dreams, increase hypno-processing abilities, and learn strategies to avoid being affected by poor mental health.
If you improve your mental wellbeing, you will find it easier to reach and achieve your personal development goals. Setbacks will be readily dealt with and not affect your future in the same detrimental way. Looking after your mental health is essential and seeking help from development coaches and mentors can give you the extra push that helps you achieve dreams and a better life balance.
