Mental Health

According to NIH (National Institute of Health)

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Ways to manage stress:

• Be observant. Recognize signs of excessive stress. These include difficulty sleeping, being easily angered or irritable, feeling depressed, and low energy.

• Exercise regularly. Just 30 minutes per day of walking can help boost your mood and reduce stress.

• Schedule regular times for a relaxing activity. Activities that use mindfulness or breathing exercises, such as meditation, yoga, or tai chi, may help.

• Get enough sleep. Adults need about 7 or more hours of sleep per night. School-age children need 9–12 hours, while teenagers need 8–10 hours.

• Set goals and priorities. Decide what must get done now and what can wait. Learn to say “no” to new tasks if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much.

• Build a social support network. Stay connected with people who can provide emotional support.

• Show compassion for yourself. Note what you’ve accomplished at the end of the day, not what you’ve failed to do.

• Seek help. Talk to a health care provider if you feel unable to cope, have suicidal thoughts, or use drugs or alcohol to cope. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Or text “HOME” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

Links

• Q&A: Dr. Richard Davidson on Reducing Stress

• Feeling Stressed: Stress Relief Might Help Your Health

• Dealing with Trauma: Recovering From Frightening Events

• The Benefits of Slumber: Why You Need a Good Night’s Sleep

• Mindfulness Matters: Can Living in the Moment Improve Your Health?

• 7 Steps to Manage Stress and Build Resilience

• 5 Things You Should Know About Stress

• I’m So Stressed Out! Fact Sheet

• My Mental Health: Do I Need Help?

• Taking Control of Your Mental Health: Tips for Talking With Your Health Care Provider

• Coping With Stress and COVID-19 (link is external)(CDC)

References

Daily stressors, past depression, and metabolic responses to high-fat meals: a novel path to obesity. Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Habash DL, Fagundes CP, Andridge R, Peng J, Malarkey WB, Belury MA. Biol Psychiatry.2015 Apr 1;77(7):653-60. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.05.018. Epub 2014 Jul 14. PMID: 25034950.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction-related changes in posterior cingulate resting brain connectivity. Kral TRA, Imhoff-Smith T, Dean DC, Grupe D, Adluru N, Patsenko E, Mumford JA, Goldman R, Rosenkranz MA, Davidson RJ. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci.2019 Jul 31;14(7):777-787. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsz050. PMID:31269203.

Breathing matters. Del Negro CA, Funk GD, Feldman JL. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2018 Jun;19(6):351-367. doi: 10.1038/s41583-018-0003-6. PMID:29740175.

The plasticity of well-being: A training-based framework for the cultivation of human flourishing. Dahl CJ, Wilson-Mendenhall CD, Davidson RJ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Dec 7:202014859. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2014859117. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33288719.

A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.Killingsworth MA, et al. Science. 2010. PMID: 21071660.