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Do You Focus on #4Mind4Body?

Do You Focus on #4Mind4Body?

Do You Focus on #4Mind4Body?

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.

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

This May as Mental Health Month, StarCare Specialty Health System (StarCare) is helping to raise awareness about the connection between physical health and mental health through the theme #4Mind4Body and through the exploration of 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.

There are things you can do that can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy. Below are some simple and effective ideas to begin your quest for mental health.
 
Tips to Focus on #4Mind4Body
Animal Companionship Work-Life Balance Humor Social Connections & Recreation Spirituality & Religion
Ways to Incorporate
  • Own a Pet
  • Animal-Assisted Therapy
  • Animal Interaction Activities
 
Benefits:
  • Decrease stress
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Improve cardiovascular health
  • Improve physical activity
  • Reduce anxiety
  • Reduce depression
  • Reduce aggression
Ways to Incorporate
  • Talk to HR department and your boss about opportunities to work from home or shift your hours
  • Decrease overtime hours
 
Benefits:
  • Gain more satisfaction with your job
  • Increase quality of personal relationships
  • Improve sleep
  • Decrease symptoms of depression
  • Decreases symptoms of anxiety
Ways to Incorporate
  • Watch comedy TV shows, movies and stand-up comedy
  • Spend time with people who have your sense of humor
  • Watch funny YouTube videos
  • Search for funny memes
  • Game night
  • Ready a funny book
 
Benefits:
  • Reduce the risk of developing chronic health conditions
  • Stronger immune system
  • Improved mood
  • Anxiety relief
  • Less job burnout
Ways to Incorporate
  • Play in rec sports leagues
  • Volunteer
  • Take a class
 
Benefits:
  • Increase likeliness to live longer
  • Decrease symptoms of depression
  • Adolescents have lower odds of suffering from depression or thinking about suicide
Ways to Incorporate
  • Attend church
  • Meditate
 
Benefits:
  • Decrease body’s chemicals associated with stress
  • Lower risk of depression
  • Lower risk of suicidal thoughts
  • Lower risk of alcohol abuse
 
StarCare wants everyone to know that mental illnesses are real and recovery is always the goal. Living a healthy lifestyle may not be easy but it 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 and physical health and mental health can help you on the path toward focusing both #4Mind4Body.

For more information, visit www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may.
 
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The mission of StarCare is to provide a diverse array of specialty healthcare services that support and empower people as valued members of the community. As a state-designated mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities authority, StarCare has the responsibility for the development, management and oversight of a system of care providers that serves more than 8,000 individuals within the five counties of Cochran, Crosby, Hockley, Lubbock and Lynn.

Content for this news release provided by MHA.

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