Vital Rules To Stay Healthy And Happy

In our everyday life, no one is devoid of problems, but few people take a moment amidst their problems to take care of themselves. People want to be happy, cared for, and loved. But as we grow older, our problems increase and we end up losing ourselves. Let’s talk about mental health and why it is so important.

Why do we need to be mentally healthy? Some people even tend to forget that health means not just being physically fit. People still think that mental disease is not a disease. Good mental health is akin to being free. Being free of worries or being able to remain peaceful no matter what hurdles block our way, is a sign of being truly healthy. No one can be perfectly healthy but we can be healthier, if we take some measures.

We need to be free to be happy. Freedom from worries, cravings, or of fear of any criticism, and desire for any admiration, is a sign of a truly free person. The mind, the body and the soul need to be in a good condition for us to be truly free. But rarely that rarely happens, as we are infected by one thing or the other.

We know that people meditate, travel, donate and do a lot of things that end up making them euphoric and contented. That is really important to make us see the hopeful side of our lives, which brings out the good in us and the good in others. But the problem is people rarely want to do these things. People just want to enjoy, live in luxury and satisfy their desires. They think that they are superior to others, and fool themselves into being happy. Little do they know, that happiness comes from within. Being loved and cared for fill us with joy and increase our passion for spreading more love. And that, most call God, which I want to call the soul. We must never tarnish our soul with evil intentions, temptations, or puny desires. Our conscience comes from our mind, but also from our soul. 

Staying healthy requires taking measures to prevent diseases, be it in the body or the mind. A healthy body is very important but our mental health is just as important. A bright atmosphere, souls who help us forget our traumatic experiences, a positive outlook towards life, peaceful moments, and friendly surroundings are necessary for us to be happy. Being free and happy takes us to a new level of confidence and empowers us to tackle our problems. If there is at least one person who listens to us, we become free of worries, and insecurities. But that doesn’t happen and we get disappointed. Some people expect too much, some trust too much, some love too much and others may even hate too much. They build up tension in our minds when our expectations are not met. 

Some people are bullied, some have been tortured and abused and others are ignored and do not find anyone to talk their hearts out to, all of which end up making those people feel worthless and lonely. Those who are physically or mentally abused  have trauma that can grow more if left unnoticed, and people end up suffering from anxiety, depression, mania, sleep disorders and eating disorders. If we can care for mentally unhealthy people or people who are alone or needy, we might be able to save them from the worst. The least we can do for them is listen to what they may have to say and give them a shoulder to rest their weary heads.

Some people are disturbed by external things and others by internal factors. Some are affected by other people’s actions and others from their own. There are people who succumb to bad company and situations. 

But there are those that resist too. Some do crome for money, power, or pleasure, some start substance abuse and others develop a sense of hatred towards any individual or community due to any traumatic experience they have had. They make people’s minds gloomy, dark, and unhealthy. Though heredity can also be a factor responsible for mental disorders in people, bad company is more responsible for taking a person on wrong path. changing a person. A person’s preferences such as music they listen to, the books they read, the movies they watch and the food they eat can have an impact in a person’s life.

Healthy food, along with an organised daily routine is also vital for a healthy mind. There is a concept of three qualities of energy, which we call ‘Guna’ in the Eastern Vedic philosophy. They are Sattwa, Raja, and Tamasa, which are directly linked with our food, routine, thoughts and the actions we do. Sattwa is the quality of purity and virtues and is associated with knowledge, conscience, and wisdom. Morning activity increases Sattwa and a Sattwik diet is a diet that benefits us, such as fruits, milk, curd, grains, and vegetables. 

Rajas is the quality of action and passion. Daytime activity increases Rajas and a Rajasik diet is not necessarily harmful to us but not useful to us as well. 

Rajasik food is distinguished by a matter of taste and those that are addicted to tasty food have a high level of Rajas. Tamasa on the other hand is a quality of pure negativity and is associated with ignorance and lethargy. Night-time activity increases Tamasa. A Tamasik diet is a diet that usually harms our body and fills us with negativity, such as meat (which comes through killing) and intoxicating things like alcohol. People today focus more on taste than health and spend on expensive liquor on every occasion. This will help us understand why there is so much chaos in the world nowadays and so much chaos in our minds.

Optimistic thoughts and positive actions make us mentally healthy. People have agreed to it and acknowledged it to be true but still, they divert from it, and that poses a big problem. 

Economic crisis, the need to compromise for safety and facing dangerous challenges, will also unstabilise a person. But when they feel they can’t find any shoulder to lean on, they take drastic steps even when there are people that care for them. A similar thing happened to a close person of mine right after the second Covid lockdown in Nepal. He could no longer bear it and his life ended unexpectedly. He had forgotten the family, his responsibilities and the dreams he had due to pain and gloom. It is in these hard times that we must support one another and take notice of our dear ones. So, listening to and being able to convince people to share their stories, is an important skill in life to help others. 

Then what can we do to help ourselves? And what can we do to help others? And yes, we have to discuss these things and be open minded about mental health, as people often don’t like to talk about their mental issues or illnesses thinking it will pose a big problem in the future. Practicing Yoga and meditation, reading inspirational stories, listening to good music, watching beautiful views like sunrises and sunsets, visiting a place of natural beauty, painting or observing paintings, staying away from overthinking and sharing our feelings and thoughts with a close person help us ease our minds. 

People diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, and other complex personality disorders, need to take measures to make themselves healthy and must be guided by those that need to take care of them. 

Meditating, engaging in creative activities like art, music and literature, keeping oneself busy doing something, consulting a good psychiatrist and socializing, are some of the ways to keep oneself mentally well. Not keeping feelings bottled up will help people a lot. People should be willing to help others as everyone needs help, so we should be ready to listen to family, friends, and even strangers for we might be of help to them too. 

To conclude, we need to open up and remove the stigma we have, and we need to remove the discrimination and taboo regarding mental health. As everyone must be mentally healthy to make a healthy society, we must take measures to make ourselves and help others be healthy. If listening to someone helps them, why not do it? If sharing a little, helps, why not? We should make it easier for everyone to talk about their mental problems and issues. We should make it easier for them to get access to mental treatment. We must have hope within and spread love and keep a positive outlook toward life. And let’s smile, as a smile is the best medicine for the mind.

(The auther is a freelance writer.)