Welcome back! In the last two blogs, we discussed the more tangible aspects of health like diet and training, but today we’ll be discussing the more intangible aspect of holistic health: mental health.

Mental health can be somewhat difficult to define. What does it mean? According to mentalhealth.gov, mental health is defined as a state that controls how we think, feel, and act, and includes “our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.” In other words, mental health sits at the core of everything we do, from the moment we think of it to after our thoughts have been executed and made reality. Our mental health is the point from which all of our motivations, actions, and thoughts originate.

Because our mental health is the center at all of our actions, it is incredibly important to keep your mind healthy and happy, because otherwise it is far more difficult to maintain a balanced, happy lifestyle with poor mental health. So, in that regard, what does poor mental health look like? It can vary from person to person, but typically, symptoms that can indicate poor mental health include: shifting eating and sleeping patterns, social withdrawal, having little to no energy, feeling “numb” or apathetic, and feeling “on edge” a lot, among other things.

Positive mental health is necessary in order for us to realize our full potential and chase our dreams and goals with full effort. Having a poor or diminished state of mental health can make it difficult to do the most basic things, like cleaning our living space or even getting out of bed in the morning. Knowing this, it becomes extremely important to make sure we are prioritizing the cultivation of good mental health and that we are doing things every day that can keep our mental state balanced, positive, and happy.

So how does one keep their mental state positive? For some, practicing good mental health can be harder than being physically fit or keeping their diet in line, though these two practices can help immensely in keeping your mental and emotional health in a positive state. But there are other things we can do to keep our mental health in order, such as socializing with others as much as we can; while this may be difficult right now due to the pandemic, there’s other ways to socialize, such as joining that Zoom happy hour that your office has been having or even just calling your friends every now and then. Other things we can do to help maintain our mental health involve drinking less alcohol, doing activities or participating in hobbies we really enjoy, and most of all, talking out how you feel. It’s very difficult to process some things on our own, and there’s no shame in trying to make sense of your thoughts with the help of others, be it your spouse, friends, or therapist. It may be hard to talk about our feelings but it’s even harder to go on not talking about what bothers us.

What’s more, it’s important to know that if you’re struggling, you don’t need to struggle alone. Many independent organizations have set up hotlines for people to call if they just need someone to talk to. These include services like The Samaritans (877 870 4673), The Trevor Project (866 488 7386), and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1 800 273 8255). Struggling with mental health is never something you should have to do alone, and there are always resources out there for you to access should you need them.

In conclusion, we’ve now covered all three bases of holistic health: physical fitness, dietary health, and mental health. These three factors, when taken care of properly, will lead to you being in the best shape you can possibly be and will help you live your best possible life! If you’re looking for more information on how to best live the Caveman lifestyle, you can check out some of the other blogs we’ve written here. We hope you enjoyed this four part series, and look forward to seeing you again. Until then, cheers to you and your holistic health!