- Acute Flaccid Myelitis
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Arteriovenous Malformations
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Back Pain
- Brain Aneurysm
- Brain Tumors
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Childhood Brain Tumors
- Delirium
- Dementia
- Hemorrhagic Stroke
- Ischemic Stroke
- Memory
- Meningitis
- Mild Cognitive Impairment
- Movement Disorders
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Neuroblastoma
- Neuromuscular Disorders
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Polio and Post-Polio Syndrome
- Speech and Language Problems in Children
- Stroke
- Transient Ischemic Attack
- Tremor
- Walking Problems
- West Nile Virus
- A1C
- Blood Glucose
- Diabetes
- Diabetes and Pregnancy
- Diabetes Complications
- Diabetes in Children and Teens
- Diabetes Medicines
- Diabetes Type 1
- Diabetes Type 2
- Diabetic Diet
- Diabetic Eye Problems
- Diabetic Foot
- Diabetic Heart Disease
- Diabetic Kidney Problems
- Diabetic Nerve Problems
- How to Prevent Diabetes
- Hyperglycemia
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Prediabetes
- Abortion
- Breast Cancer
- Breast Diseases
- Breast Reconstruction
- Breastfeeding
- Cervical Cancer
- Cervical Cancer Screening
- Cesarean Delivery
- Childbirth
- Ectopic Pregnancy
- Endometriosis
- Female Infertility
- Health Problems in Pregnancy
- High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy
- HIV and Pregnancy
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
- HPV
- Hysterectomy
- Infections and Pregnancy
- Mammography
- Mastectomy
- Menopause
- Menstruation
- Miscarriage
- Ovarian Cancer
- Ovarian Cysts
- Ovarian Disorders
- Pelvic Floor Disorders
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Pelvic Pain
- Period Pain
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy and Drug Use
- Pregnancy and Opioids
- Premenstrual Syndrome
- Prenatal Care
- Prenatal Testing
- Primary Ovarian Insufficiency
- Sexual Problems in Women
- Stillbirth
- Teenage Pregnancy
- Trichomoniasis
- Tubal Ligation
- Uterine Cancer
- Uterine Diseases
- Uterine Fibroids
- Vaginal Bleeding
- Vaginal Cancer
- Vaginal Diseases
- Vaginitis
- Vulvar Cancer
- Vulvar Disorders
- Yeast Infections
- Alcohol
- Calcium
- Child Nutrition
- Cholesterol
- Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know
- Cholesterol Medicines
- DASH Eating Plan
- Eating Disorders
- Food Allergy
- HDL: The “Good” Cholesterol
- High Cholesterol in Children and Teens
- How to Lower Cholesterol
- How to Lower Cholesterol with Diet
- Infant and Newborn Nutrition
- LDL: The “Bad” Cholesterol
- Malabsorption Syndromes
- Nutrition for Older Adults
- Pregnancy and Nutrition
- Toddler Nutrition
- Triglycerides
- VLDL Cholesterol
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
- Ataxia Telangiectasia
- Brain Malformations
- Cerebral Palsy
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
- Chiari Malformation
- Cleft Lip and Palate
- Color Blindness
- Congenital Heart Defects
- Craniofacial Abnormalities
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Friedreich Ataxia
- Genetic Counseling
- Hemophilia
- Huntington’s Disease
- Hydrocephalus
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Neural Tube Defects
- Neurofibromatosis
- Newborn Screening
- Osteogenesis Imperfecta
- Prader-Willi Syndrome
- Pregnancy and Medicines
- Rett Syndrome
- Sickle Cell Disease
- Spina Bifida
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy
- Tay-Sachs Disease
- Tourette Syndrome
- Tuberous Sclerosis
- Usher Syndrome
- Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
- Allergy
- Animal Bites
- Ankylosing Spondylitis
- Aplastic Anemia
- Asthma
- Asthma in Children
- Childhood Leukemia
- Childhood Vaccines
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- COVID-19 Vaccines
- Cryptosporidiosis
- Eosinophilic Disorders
- Eosinophilic Esophagitis
- Giant Cell Arteritis
- Hay Fever
- HIV
- HIV and Infections
- HIV in Women
- Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Infectious Diseases
- Infectious Mononucleosis
- Juvenile Arthritis
- Kawasaki Disease
- Lymphedema
- Lymphoma
- Multiple Myeloma
- Pemphigus
- Pneumocystis Infections
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Tonsillitis
- Vaccines
- Viral Infections
- Adhesions
- Ankle Injuries and Disorders
- Arm Injuries and Disorders
- Back Injuries
- Brachial Plexus Injuries
- Burns
- Chest Injuries and Disorders
- Concussion
- CPR
- Dislocated Shoulder
- Dislocations
- Elbow Injuries and Disorders
- Eye Injuries
- Facial Injuries and Disorders
- Finger Injuries and Disorders
- Foot Injuries and Disorders
- Fractures
- Hand Injuries and Disorders
- Heel Injuries and Disorders
- Hip Injuries and Disorders
- Inhalation Injuries
- Insect Bites and Stings
- Jaw Injuries and Disorders
- Knee Injuries and Disorders
- Leg Injuries and Disorders
- Mosquito Bites
- Neck Injuries and Disorders
- Rotator Cuff Injuries
- Shoulder Injuries and Disorders
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Sprains and Strains
- Tick Bites
- Toe Injuries and Disorders
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Wrist Injuries and Disorders
- Acute Bronchitis
- Bird Flu
- Chronic Bronchitis
- COPD
- COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019)
- Croup
- E-Cigarettes
- Fistulas
- Flu
- Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis
- H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)
- Legionnaires’ Disease
- Lung Cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary Hypertension
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections
- Sleep Apnea
- Smoking
- Tuberculosis
- Whooping Cough
- Anatomy
- Assisted Reproductive Technology
- Birth Control
- Chlamydia Infections
- Circumcision
- Erectile Dysfunction
- Genital Herpes
- Genital Warts
- Gonorrhea
- Herpes Simplex
- Infertility
- Male Infertility
- Penis Disorders
- Prostate Cancer
- Prostate Cancer Screening
- Prostate Diseases
- Reproductive Hazards
- Sexual Health
- Sexual Problems in Men
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Syphilis
- Testicular Cancer
- Testicular Disorders
- Vasectomy
- Abdominal Pain
- Bad Breath
- Bleeding
- Breathing Problems
- Bruises
- Chest Pain
- Choking
- Chronic Pain
- Constipation
- Cough
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness and Vertigo
- Edema
- Fainting
- Fever
- Frostbite
- Gas
- Gastrointestinal Bleeding
- Headache
- Heartburn
- Heat Illness
- Hives
- Hypothermia
- Indigestion
- Itching
- Jaundice
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Pain
- Rare Diseases
- Raynaud’s Disease
- Sciatica
- Speech and Communication Disorders
- Stuttering
How to Improve Mental Health
Summary
What is mental health?
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act as we cope with life. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood and aging.
Why is mental health important?
Mental health is important because it can help you to:
- Cope with the stresses of life
- Be physically healthy
- Have good relationships
- Make meaningful contributions to your community
- Work productively
- Realize your full potential
How can I improve my mental health?
There are many different things you can do to improve your mental health, including:
- Staying positive. It’s important to try to have a positive outlook; some ways to do that include
- Finding balance between positive and negative emotions. Staying positive doesn’t mean that you never feel negative emotions, such as sadness or anger. You need to feel them so that you can move through difficult situations. They can help you to respond to a problem. But you don’t want those emotions to take over. For example, it’s not helpful to keep thinking about bad things that happened in the past or worry too much about the future.
- Trying to hold on to the positive emotions when you have them
- Taking a break from negative information. Know when to stop watching or reading the news. Use social media to reach out for support and feel connected to others but be careful. Don’t fall for rumors, get into arguments, or negatively compare your life to others.
- Practicing gratitude, which means being thankful for the good things in your life. It’s helpful to do this every day, either by thinking about what you are grateful for or writing it down in a journal. These can be big things, such as the support you have from loved ones, or little things, such as enjoying a nice meal. It’s important to allow yourself a moment to enjoy that you had the positive experience. Practicing gratitude can help you to see your life differently. For example, when you are stressed, you may not notice that there are also moments when you have some positive emotions. Gratitude can help you to recognize them.
- Taking care of your physical health, since your physical and mental health are connected. Some ways to take care of your physical health include
- Being physically active. Exercise can reduce feelings of stress and depression and improve your mood.
- Getting enough sleep. Sleep affects your mood. If you don’t get a good sleep, you may become more easily annoyed and angry. Over the long term, a lack of quality sleep can make you more likely to become depressed. So it’s important to make sure that you have a regular sleep schedule and get enough quality sleep every night.
- Healthy eating. Good nutrition will help you feel better physically but could also improve your mood and decrease anxiety and stress. Also, not having enough of certain nutrients may contribute to some mental illnesses. For example, there may be a link between low levels of vitamin B12 and depression. Eating a well-balanced diet can help you to get enough of the nutrients you need.
- Connecting with others. Humans are social creatures, and it’s important to have strong, healthy relationships with others. Having good social support may help protect you against the harms of stress. It is also good to have different types of connections. Besides connecting with family and friends, you could find ways to get involved with your community or neighborhood. For example, you could volunteer for a local organization or join a group that is focused on a hobby you enjoy.
- Developing a sense of meaning and purpose in life. This could be through your job, volunteering, learning new skills, or exploring your spirituality.
- Developing coping skills, which are methods you use to deal with stressful situations. They may help you face a problem, take action, be flexible, and not easily give up in solving it.
- Meditation, which is a mind and body practice where you learn to focus your attention and awareness. There are many types, including mindfulness meditation and transcendental meditation. Meditation usually involves
- A quiet location with as few distractions as possible
- A specific, comfortable posture. This could be sitting, lying down, walking, or another position.
- A focus of attention, such as a specially chosen word or set of words, an object, or your breathing
- An open attitude, where you try to let distractions come and go naturally without judging them
- Relaxation techniques are practices you do to produce your body’s natural relaxation response. This slows down your breathing, lowers your blood pressure, and reduces muscle tension and stress. Types of relaxation techniques include
- Progressive relaxation, where you tighten and relax different muscle groups, sometimes while using mental imagery or breathing exercises
- Guided imagery, where you learn to focus on positive images in your mind, to help you feel more relaxed and focused
- Biofeedback, where you use electronic devices to learn to control certain body functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and muscle tension
- Self-hypnosis, where the goal is to get yourself into a relaxed, trance-like state when you hear a certain suggestion or see a specific cue
- Deep breathing exercises, which involve focusing on taking slow, deep, even breaths
It’s also important to recognize when you need to get help. Talk therapy and/or medicines can treat mental disorders. If you don’t know where to get treatment, start by contacting your primary care provider.
National Institute of Mental Health
Teenagers
- 3 Ways to Practice Gratitude (For Teens) Nemours Foundation
- Gratitude (For Teens) Nemours Foundation
Start Here
- 31 Tips To Boost Your Mental Health Mental Health America
- Caring for Your Mental Health National Institute of Mental Health
- Live Your Life Well Mental Health America
- My Mental Health: Do I Need Help? National Institute of Mental Health
Find an Expert
- American Psychiatric Association American Psychiatric Association
- National Institute of Mental Health National Institute of Mental Health
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Related Issues
- Anger Management: 10 Tips to Tame Your Temper Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Care and Connection: Loneliness Affects All Ages National Institutes of Health
- Mind/Body Connection: How Your Emotions Affect Your Health American Academy of Family Physicians
- Resilience American Psychological Association
- Stress Management: Prevent Setbacks Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Specifics
- Building Social Bonds: Connections That Promote Well-Being National Institutes of Health
- Connect with Others Mental Health America
- Create Joy and Satisfaction Mental Health America
- Creating a Healthier Life: A Step-By-Step Guide to Wellness Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- Deal Better with Hard Times Mental Health America
- Eat Well Mental Health America
- Forgiveness: Letting Go of Grudges and Bitterness Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Friendships: Enrich Your Life and Improve Your Health Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Get Physically Active Mental Health America
- Healthy Sleep: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine
- Help Others Mental Health America
- Managing Daily Stress American Academy of Family Physicians
- Mindfulness for Your Health: The Benefits of Living Moment by Moment National Institutes of Health
- Nurture Your Resilience: Bouncing Back From Difficult Times National Institutes of Health
- Nutrition and Mental Health American Academy of Family Physicians
- Practicing Gratitude: Ways to Improve Positivity National Institutes of Health
- Relaxation Techniques: What You Need to Know National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Self-Esteem: Take Steps to Feel Better about Yourself Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Spirituality and Health American Academy of Family Physicians
- Stay Positive Mental Health America
- Take Care of Your Spirit Mental Health America
Treatments and Therapies
- For a Healthy Mind and Body Talk to a Psychologist American Psychological Association
- Get Professional Help if You Need It Mental Health America
- Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need to Know National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Tips for Talking with a Health Care Provider about Your Mental Health National Institute of Mental Health
- Yoga: What You Need to Know National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
NIH MedlinePlus Magazine
Statistics and Research
- Shake it Off: Boosting Your Mood National Institutes of Health
Women
- Steps to Support Good Mental Health Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health