People are a lot more concerned about their mental health today than they were several decades ago. Politicians, health care professionals, and celebrities all openly advocate for good mental hygiene. If you are not familiar with the term ‘mental hygiene,’ then it refers to daily activities that maintain, improve, and support one’s mental health.
One of the best ways to ensure that you have good mental health for life is to start adopting mental hygiene practices in your youth. If you have teenage children, then it’s crucial that you teach them about mental hygiene, so that they can grow into healthy and happy adults. This post will tell you how you can:
Seeing Therapist
If you notice at any point in your child’s teenage years that they appear to be depressed or anxious, then you shouldn’t waste any time in getting them a therapist. If they are experiencing mental health issues so early on in their life, then it’s highly likely that they will only get worse as they get older. Many psychiatrists are now offering therapy for teens, which can significantly improve your child’s mental health. In addition to improving their mental health, therapy can also help them to learn positive thinking patterns that they can use to overcome their anxiety and depression later on in their life.
Making Connections
A big problem today is teenagers who isolate themselves from the world. This is mainly due to the rise of video games since teenagers no longer actually have to go outside to make friends—they can make friends on the internet. The problem with internet friends is that as they get older, their interest in video gaming wanes and they lose connection with each other. What this means is that at some point, your child will lose all of their internet friends. If they have spent their entire childhood making these connections, then by 20 years old they will have absolutely no real-world connections, and nobody online to talk to. Human connection is a very important part of mental hygiene.
Physical Activity
Exercise is just as important as making connections. Unfortunately, the importance of exercise is lost on a lot of people. Exercising is something that should be done on a weekly basis. Teaching your child about the importance of exercise from an early age will help to ensure that as they get older, they take exercise seriously and keep themselves physically fit. When one’s physical health begins to deteriorate, one’s mental health cannot possibly stay intact—the two are inextricably connected. With obesity and poor physical health comes depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Healthy Eating
If your child is to stay physically fit and in good health, then they need to eat healthily too. Various studies have shown that junk food can be very addictive, which can lead to some very serious mental health issues. Teaching your child to avoid junk food at an early age will help them to avoid ever becoming addicted to it, which will in turn keep them in good mental health. You should teach your child how to identify and prepare healthy foods. Teaching them about nutrition early on can set them up for a lifetime of healthy eating.
Learning Skills
Learning new skills and keeping their brain engaged will help your child to function well mentally. A lot of children today are so concerned with video games that their actual skills are meaningless to them. If you are able to teach your child real, valuable skills, then they will have things to fall back on and engage themselves with if they ever suffer from mental health issues in the future. Taking your child to clubs like rowing or sports clubs can also help them to make connections. Learning new skills is something that can benefit your child’s mental health and keep them happy and popular.
Practicing Mindfulness
Lastly, you should teach your child to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a fundamental part of Zen Buddhism, though you can practice it without practicing any elements of the religion. Mindfulness is a sense of awareness—it is knowing what’s going on around you. Mindfulness meditation can be a very effective way of countering mental health issues and grounding oneself. By joining an online Buddhist study group, your teens can practice mindfulness meditation and connect with like-minded individuals who offer support, resources, and teachings. It is advocated for by many of the world’s leading health experts, because of the tremendous success that they have had using it to counter people’s mental health issues. Mindfulness meditation is a gift that you can give to your child that will help them to keep grounded and counter mental illness for their entire lives.
If you are a parent, then it is your responsibility to help your child to overcome any mental health issues that they have and learn to deal with them as they get older. A child that isn’t taught how to deal with mental illness won’t be able to effectively overcome it if they are afflicted with it.