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Looking after our mental health as a young man, written by a young person from The Mix 🧡
Gemma
Community Manager Posts: 1,138 Wise Owl
Tell us below what your top tips are for looking after your mental health 💛
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You can also view the post over on our Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/themixuk
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How I look after my mental health as a young man
For me, the most difficult moments have always occurred when I had nothing to work towards. By setting yourself flexible and regular targets, you give yourself a 'why' in life, which motivates you to get out of bed every morning.
Once you identify what gives you purpose, you likely won't care too much about what others things of you. This is because your self-worth will be based on what you are achieving, rather than the opinions of others.
Remember that even the most dedicated people have days where they can't perform to their usual standards. It helps to keep perspective on days where things don't go to plan.
Never become so focused on the end goal that you lose sight of the process needed to arrive there! While you should always be looking to improve, you should also credit yourself for any accomplishments along the way.
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has a great mindset in this respect. Replying to a question on whether he is looking to go better than his 52 goals last year, Haaland stated:
"I cannot think too much about this - if you think about this, you will go crazy. We just have to try to chase things again."
It also helps to break your goal down into manageable pieces. For example, I have been a gym regular for three years and can now lift 'intermediate' level weights. By focusing on doing a few sessions a week, I was able to break my longer-term goal into a series of manageable segments that took me to where I wanted to be.
I adopted this mindset having been inspired by formed England cricketing great, Alastair Cook:
"I think the beauty of it is to not think you've got to concentrate for six hours. I just break it down into really short little segments, and that's how I can concentrate for long periods."
It's difficult to have peace of mind at times when you lose your sense of morality. Take some time to question if your behaviour aligns with your principles. If you find that it doesn't, consider the reason for this, and take steps to change this.
Forgive yourself for past mistakes, provided they have been learnt from. Guilt and regret are natural emotions which motivate us to do better, but we can't let them paralyse us.
Having been diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder in 2019, I have naturally felt the need to seek ways in which I can lower its impact on my life.
My advice to anyone with this condition is to embrace the way you are feeling, as this allows you to understand what you need to do during the tough times.
Engaging in goal-oriented activity, such as weightlifting, is the one of the greatest ways to reduce feelings of self-doubt. As hard as it may seem, it's possible to reach a mindset where you can accept the difficult emotions you may be experiencing, while not allowing them to stop you moving forward.
I hope this advice has been useful to you. Of course, I am aware that everyone's experience with mental health is unique in one way or another, and so I would never expect that this will all apply to every reader!
Keep moving forwards while lifting others up along the way.
Above all, remember to be kind to yourself.
For me, the most difficult moments have always occurred when I had nothing to work towards. By setting yourself flexible and regular targets, you give yourself a 'why' in life, which motivates you to get out of bed every morning.
Once you identify what gives you purpose, you likely won't care too much about what others things of you. This is because your self-worth will be based on what you are achieving, rather than the opinions of others.
Remember that even the most dedicated people have days where they can't perform to their usual standards. It helps to keep perspective on days where things don't go to plan.
Never become so focused on the end goal that you lose sight of the process needed to arrive there! While you should always be looking to improve, you should also credit yourself for any accomplishments along the way.
Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has a great mindset in this respect. Replying to a question on whether he is looking to go better than his 52 goals last year, Haaland stated:
"I cannot think too much about this - if you think about this, you will go crazy. We just have to try to chase things again."
It also helps to break your goal down into manageable pieces. For example, I have been a gym regular for three years and can now lift 'intermediate' level weights. By focusing on doing a few sessions a week, I was able to break my longer-term goal into a series of manageable segments that took me to where I wanted to be.
I adopted this mindset having been inspired by formed England cricketing great, Alastair Cook:
"I think the beauty of it is to not think you've got to concentrate for six hours. I just break it down into really short little segments, and that's how I can concentrate for long periods."
It's difficult to have peace of mind at times when you lose your sense of morality. Take some time to question if your behaviour aligns with your principles. If you find that it doesn't, consider the reason for this, and take steps to change this.
Forgive yourself for past mistakes, provided they have been learnt from. Guilt and regret are natural emotions which motivate us to do better, but we can't let them paralyse us.
Having been diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder in 2019, I have naturally felt the need to seek ways in which I can lower its impact on my life.
My advice to anyone with this condition is to embrace the way you are feeling, as this allows you to understand what you need to do during the tough times.
Engaging in goal-oriented activity, such as weightlifting, is the one of the greatest ways to reduce feelings of self-doubt. As hard as it may seem, it's possible to reach a mindset where you can accept the difficult emotions you may be experiencing, while not allowing them to stop you moving forward.
I hope this advice has been useful to you. Of course, I am aware that everyone's experience with mental health is unique in one way or another, and so I would never expect that this will all apply to every reader!
Keep moving forwards while lifting others up along the way.
Above all, remember to be kind to yourself.
You can also view the post over on our Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/themixuk
♡♡♡
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