Vusumuzi Dube
MENTAL health is a state of psychological well- being involving how people feel, think and behave.
It also includes how one handles stress and how they relate to others. The brain suffers from illnesses that can be due to a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. For example, during the Covid-19 lockdowns, young people had psychosocial problems that included isolation and loss of freedom.
It has been reported that the pandemic led to a rise in mental health issues that included high rates of depression, anxiety eating disorders, suicidal behaviours, and substance abuse among the youth in Zimbabwe.
Young people spend more than six hours of a day stressed out. They are mainly stressed about money, appearance, careers, and fear of the future. Most youths have an average of 165 friends on social media.
Social media adds worry and stress to young people and leaves them under pressure to keep up. If these above-mentioned experiences are not well managed, they may result in psychological problems.
Mental health self-care tips that might help the youth to cope:
Be Knowledgeable
Studies have shown that young people have low or no knowledge of what mental health is, where to get help if needed and what coping skills they can employ when suffering from mental illness. Knowledge about mental health can be found in various sources on the internet for example the Friendship Bench Facebook page and Mental Health Practitioners who can be found in Mental Health Institutions like Ingutsheni Hospital and other private hospitals.
Invest in a Journal
A journal is a safe space where one can write their thoughts and feelings about anything, it might be writing down about how the day went on and it can help one feel calm after a rough day or rough situation. Journaling has been known to improve your mental health, helps achieve your goals, enhance critical thinking, and encourage emotional intelligence.
Exercise
Exercise allows people to be outdoors. The interaction with nature and the fresh air in the morning makes one feel good and connect with nature. When most people hear of exercising, they think of the athletic exercises that can be downloaded from the Nike and Adidas apps, but just a simple walk for a km or more per day can be therapeutic.
Getting enough sleep
Lack of adequate sleep has negative consequences on our thinking and physical and emotional being. With tight academic, social, and recreational schedules most young people end up not having adequate sleep. A person is supposed to sleep for 8 hours to have adequate rest. This promotes mental health.
Meditation
Meditation is a practice of focused concentration that involves clearing your mind and a combination of mental techniques. It is a good way to relax and reduce, stress, anxiety, and depression. There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube and Apps on phones that can help.
Hanging out with friends
One should be highly selective of the friends they have; they should be supportive and willing to listen. The secret is having a few friends that one can connect and share with. A problem shared is a problem half solved.
Turn off your phone
It is advisable to take a break from the virtual world and have some time to yourself. When you try this, you will see that the excess amount of time you spend on your phone sometimes is not necessary and these social media platforms might give you pressure and get you stressed up.
Making a positive impact on another person’s life is impactful on both the giver and the receiver of the good deed. Doing good gives you fulfillment that is in turn therapeutic to the mind.
Cathrine T Macherera is a Masters in Counselling Psychology student at Great Zimbabwe University. She writes here in her personal capacity. She can be contacted at [email protected].
Online Reporter