How to Improve Your Mental Health

Enjoying oneself is not the goal of mental health. It is a by-product of mental health. Gaining mental health does not mean complete freedom from everyday problems. This is not realistic, not possible. What mental health involves is the ability to cope with problems while keeping a good psychological balance.

How can you go about improving your mental health? There is no single easy answer. Still, there are some things you can do to promote your mental health. A number of important ones are listed below.

Set realistic goals for yourself, then achieve them.

Practice being alone without outside distractions. Learn to be comfortable with yourself.

Identify your good qualities. Be proud of them and of yourself.

Make the most of your physical appearance.

Be yourself. Express yourself openly and honestly.

Recognize and face your fears, guilts and hostilities. Accept these as part of being human.

Try to see the value in both good and bad emotional experiences.

Practice sharing your feelings with others.

Build friendships by giving and accepting affection.

Join in family, club, or other group activities. Share goals and values.

Maintain your physical health.

Accept responsibility for what and who you are and for what you do.

Develop worthwhile skills.

Take advantage of opportunities for new experiences. Learn to enjoy good experiences.

Learn from both successes and failures. Make full use of all your experiences.

When someone upsets or annoys you, try to put yourself in that person's place.

Allow yourself to be pleased with what you are and excited about what you are becoming.

Ask for help when you feel you could use it. Understand that accepting help may be good for the person who helps you as well.

Recognize that nobody's perfect, including yourself.

Exercise 1

Find in the text English equivalents of the following words and word combinations:

ставить перед собой реалистичные цели, гордиться собой, признавать свои страхи, разделять ценности, брать на себя ответственность, ставить себя на место другого человека.

Exercise 2

Complete the sentences:

1. Gaining mental health does not mean …

2. What mental health involves is …

3. Accept responsibility for …

4. Recognize and face …

5. Learn from both …

6. When someone upsets or annoys you…

Exercise 3

Answer the questions:

1.Is mental health important for us?

2. What does it mean to gain mental health?

3. How can we improve our mental health?

Discussion

Do yon agree or not? Comment on the following statements.

1. Health is the first and greatest of all blessings.

2. Having good health is very different from only being not sick.

3. Walking is the best possible exercise.

Role play

Keep Fit!

Setting: At the fitness centre.

Situation: A group of young people comes to the fitness centre and share their ideas how to keep fit.

Characters:

Card I — Tom, a professional sportsman. He is in a good physical form and tries to persuade his friends to visit fitness centre regularly.

Card II—III — Linda and Sally, the students. They prefer being on a diet rather than doing sport.

Card IV— Den, a student of the medical university. He knows a lot about the human body and the processes which occur in it.

Card V — Mary, a vegetarian.

Writing

Write an essay on one of the following topics:

1. Sports provide a person with a healthy body and a sound mind.

2. You should walk every day to keep fit.

3. Most sports help flexibility and stamina.

4. Absolute beginners should start with risky sports.

5. Swimming is undoubtedly an excellent exercise.