8 ways to improve Your mental health in a workplace.

The mental health of workers is very important in managing safety and health at work.

For me and most of us, we spend a greater portion of our time at work and even more than the time we spend in our various homes with our families. And this has made work to become a major part of our lives.

We receive payment in our work, either hourly, weekly or every month. While doing that, we are being exposed to different people as well.

Having a good job that guarantees our salary and ensures we have good colleagues can be a rewarding and fulfilling one and such can improve our mental well-being.

However, due to the demands of work, sometimes, life gets on top of us, maybe in trying to meet up with deadlines or in dealing with a difficult manager or a difficult colleague and these could lead to mental health problems.

So we must take vital steps in addressing issues around mental health at work and this is very important in managing safety and health at work.

Good mental health at work will ensure that we don’t have a toxic environment because such can be corrosive to our mental health,  leading to a decrease in productivity and defeating the purpose of managing safety and health at work.

With that being said,

In this article, I would be telling you what mental health is, the mental health problems, the signs and symptoms leading to mental health problems and the 8 tips on managing safety and health on-site while improving your mental health.

What is mental health?

Mental health is the way we think and feel and our ability to deal with our ups and downs. Just like the way we have our physical health, all of us have mental health.

In physical health, we keep fit and doing exercises and even eating good foods. It’s equally the same in mental health.

Our ability to deal with what comes to us and how we respond with our minds will help to determine what happens to us.

Good mental health entails us to have a sense of direction and purpose and an ability to deal with all life challenges whenever it happens.

Those enjoying good health will not have any problem with how they handle whatever life throws at them.

Just like our physical health can witness some illness, our mental health can have such as well.

Our mental health doesn’t stay the same always due to circumstances around us.

When we fail to handle our life challenges as a result of poor mental health, it could be said we are in distress and these often happen as a result of unmet targets, unfulfilled expectations, business or relationship issues

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Mental health problems.

Mental health problems can happen to anyone. Sometimes, when we feel sad or frightened, such can lead to mental health problems like anxiety and depression if not controlled. And may even aggravate complex issues which may require serious medical attention.

Things like poverty, discrimination from people or sickness will make it more likely for us to develop a mental health problem.

Signs and symptoms of a mental health problem

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health problems can be a good one for you because once a problem is recognized, it’s half solved.

Symptoms of mental health problems can have varying feelings ranging from having a suicidal thought, having a repeated mood swing, difficulty in associating with people and also allowing your work to be impacted negatively by your feelings.

Feeling tired at work, appearing to isolate yourself away from people, procrastinating on what you’re to do, repeatedly.

Late signs might be absent from work or show anger and not pay attention to their appearance again.

Most times, people with mental health problems are afraid to talk about them because they are afraid to feel shame and avoid discrimination

How you can improve your mental health.

1.Self-care

This involves taking steps to work on our mental health and also developing abilities in handling problems and challenges whenever it surfaces. This is a skill everyone needs to master and improve on it over time.

2. Engage in exercise.

Exercise has a way of boosting our confidence and improve our self-esteem. It can equally make you feel a lot better. You’ve to make it a regular one if you’re to the full benefit of it.

Exercising every day for up to 30 minutes of your time is being recommended by experts.

For some of us, we have that particular exercise we love to do, always try to engage in it and make it a part of your activity.

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3. Share your feeling with someone.

Find someone that you can express your feeling in the best possible way you can. Telling someone about the way you feel can help you to maintain good mental health.

Sometimes, people see that as a sign of weakness and it shouldn’t be so. However, ensure that you find someone who you can trust and you feel very comfortable sharing your feelings with a person.

And it should be someone who can encourage you to become better. It could be your line manager at work or your colleague at work.

4. If you can, avoid taking alcohol.

For some people when they are mentally troubled they resort to alcohol to change their mood but that’s a temporary approach to solving your mental health problem. Though most people don’t take alcohol at work but be very careful you don’t start it while at work.

5. Eat the right food

Eating the right foods has a way of affecting our mental health and not just our physical health. When you eat right, your body will be in good physical condition, which will equally be good for your mental health.

Try as much as possible to avoid taking junk foods.

Ensure you prepare your food at home to avoid being caught in the web of getting junk food.

If you must buy your food at a restaurant, ensure that you choose a healthy option in your diet. Don’t skip your meal. Always eat the time you’re supposed to eat.

6. Maintain a good relationship with people.

A good relationship can knock off mental health problems or prevent them from happening. loneliness is as bad as smoking. Having a good team that works with you in your workplace can make your mental health to be in order.

Toxic relationships can translate to mental health problems even though we don’t always decide who works with us in the workplace. But we can find a way to maintain a good relationship.

Always try and maintain a good relationship with your family and friends even when you have a workload to meet up.

7. Engage in whatever you love doing.

It could be taking a walk in your vicinity. It could be on swimming or going to see a movie. Just pick that thing that you love and enjoy doing and do it.

Enjoying what you love doing can go a long way to help you beat stress and improve your mental well-being. Your hobby can help you to forget all your worries.

8. Show care to others.

Caring for others will help you to feel better and it will encourage your relationship with people. Helping people can help improve oneself esteem and people will value you and it will equally make you feel needed.

Conclusion.

Mental health just like physical health is very important for every employee at work. Good mental health helps to increase productivity at work and ensures that we have a toxic-free environment.

Though the toxic work environment can contribute to mental health problems. It’s expedient that we engage in measures that will improve our mental health.

Managing safety and health at work involves promoting good mental health among the workers.

I know the list of things to promote good mental health at work is endless, if you’ve other tips to make the list as seen above, I would like to hear that soon from you.