How morale affects your health

Mental health is about finding the right balance in all aspects of your life: social, physical, spiritual, economic, and mental. Achieving this balance is a learning process. Because to be in good health, body and psyche are just as important. Hence the essential role of our morale on our form.

At times the scale may tilt more to one side, and you will have to work to regain your point of balance. Each person's balance is unique. You will need to maintain this balance to stay mentally healthy.

Various definitions

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his capacities, can cope with the ordinary stresses of life and can contribute to his community".

The health policy authorities recognize a triple dimension to mental health: positive mental health (personal development), reactive psychological distress (induced by trying situations and existential difficulties), psychiatric disorders of variable duration, and more or less severe and/or disabling. These disorders refer to diagnostic classifications based on criteria and to targeted therapeutic actions.

Essential factors

Our health depends on a host of factors, the effects of which add up to one another. Stress, income, education, social relationships, environment, work, genetic background… all of this - and much more - influence our state of health. These factors are called "determinants of health". If they are favorable, our chances of being in good health will be high.

Several variables influence mental health: biological factors (stress, heredity), personal factors (experiences during childhood, self-esteem and other personal resources, lifestyle), and the environment, both physical (place of residence, neighborhood) as well as social (ties with family and community) and economic (socio-economic status, living conditions).

To keep in good mental health, we can:

• Maintain good lifestyle habits: eat well, exercise, get enough sleep.
• Enjoy positive relationships with family members, with friends.
• Discover the leisure activities that we like and find time to indulge in them.
• Develop strategies to deal with stress, particularly in the workplace.
• In difficult times (bereavement, job loss, etc.), ask for support from loved ones or help from a specialized organization.

Mental health is not just about individuals, however. Public policies aimed at improving living conditions (income, housing, etc.) and living environments (school, work environment, work-family balance, etc.) significantly influence the mental health of the population. Population.

Work-life balance

Today more than ever, must play multiple roles. They are workers, parents, spouses, partners, and friends, caring for their aging parents and volunteering in their community. They must also find the time to take care of their own physical and mental well-being. It isn't easy to find the right balance among all these priorities.

What is good morale?

 It is a cocktail of positive thoughts such as joy, enthusiasm, happiness, satisfaction, and, more broadly, feeling pleasant emotions. The effect of sport on morale is often reported.

A study from the University of Pennsylvania assessed the impact on two gentle physical activity programs' mental and physical well-being, one based on walking and the other on yoga. The middle-aged women (42 to 58 years) invited to the trial were expected to have very little activity and be bothered by symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes or night sweats. As a result, both groups showed improvement with both fewer bothersome symptoms and better morale than the control group who had not done yoga or walking.

Having good morale predisposes to having a behavior that is also more "positive" in terms of health. Indeed, studies show that this frame of mind is accompanied by more virtuous behaviors: better sleep, less tobacco and alcohol, and… more physical activity. Nevertheless, the beneficial effect of morale persists after one has statistically "eliminated" these behaviors' impact.

"We do not fall ill only because of stress, our emotions or our thoughts", recently wrote Dr. Nathalie Rapoport-Hubschman in the book Taming the spirit, healing the body (Odile Jacob) and added, "We can henceforth affirm that many symptoms and illnesses are affected by our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors".

The links between food and mood

While there are various theories as to how diet and mood influence each other, some serious studies have proven that diet helps stabilize mood. Indeed, as long as your sources of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids ... in short, as long as your sources of essential nutrients are sufficiently diverse, your body is strong enough to naturally resist anything that promotes bad moods.

Some deficiencies directly lead to depression phenomena:

• Vitamin B12 (main food sources: meat, poultry, and fish)
• A lack of iron
• Not enough B vitamins
• In omega-3 (main source: oily fish)
• In folic acid (especially present in green vegetables)
• Too low a selenium intake (dairy products, vegetables, meats, oilseeds, etc.)

For a foolproof morale

Think about your emotional well-being. Regularly assess your emotional health. Consider the particular demands and stresses you face and determine how these affect you. Permit yourself to take a break from your worries and concerns. It is essential to give time daily to your mental and psychic good shape. You will feel stronger and more confident.

Join the recovery groups in Louisville, Kentucky, provided by Kentucky mental health care.