Taking your mental health to heart
Looking after your mental health
Taking your mental health to heart
Looking after your mental health
Authors: AMÉLIE SEIDAH, PhD, and ISABELLE GENINET, PhD, PSYCHOLOGISTS
September 2020
The teenage years are often a fun and exciting time, but there can also be times when you might feel depressed or anxious. To help you stay balanced, here are a few tips that you can apply to your everyday life.
MAINTAIN HEALTHY LIFESTYLE HABITS:
😴 Try to get enough sleep
Chatting with friends, gaming, watching videos . . . it can sometimes be hard to resist the urge for a late-night lights out. But did you know that your sleep affects your concentration and memory? Not only that—it also impacts your mood and general enjoyment of life. Consistently getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night can help you stay positive and make the most of your day.
🚲 Take care of yourself
Getting regular exercise and eating healthy foods will help you feel good about yourself—both physically and mentally—and allow you to spend more time with your friends.
📵 Take a break from screens
Social media and video games provide ample opportunities to have fun and stay in touch with others. But too much screen time can affect your mental health: For instance, it can cause you to have trouble concentrating and prevent you from being active or getting quality face time with your friends. Decide how much screen time you really need each day, and make sure to set some time aside for the people you care about.
TAKE A STEP BACK:
Find a trustworthy adult to confide in
Talking about things like love, sex, alcohol, or depression can be hard—it’s natural to worry about letting people down or being judged by others. But talking openly and honestly about these tough topics will help you feel better and make healthier decisions.
Use stress management techniques
When your emotions are getting the best of you and causing you to feel sad or anxious, practices like meditation and self-reflection can help you lower your anxiety and better manage your relationships. Below are a few exercises you can do every day for better mental health.
Treat yourself the way you’d treat a friend:
Be mindful of your self-talk
Try to think of the last time you were faced with an obstacle or felt overwhelmed with anxiety. Were you overly critical or hard on yourself?
As you’ve probably noticed, we can sometimes be pretty harsh on ourselves when we’re going through a rough patch. However, the “tough love” approach is rarely effective, nor is it sustainable. So why not show yourself the same level of compassion and kindness that you’d show a friend?
Self-compassion is a way of finding the courage to face your problems head-on instead of ignoring or running away from them. It doesn’t mean that you’re passively addressing the issue or giving up. It’s a way to actively relieve your suffering and improve your mental health.
🤔
Do you have questions about self-compassion?
Try taking this short quiz on common misconceptions. ↓
• PRACTISE POSITIVE SELF-TALK:
Observe ton discours intérieur quand tu vis une difficulté
To start with, try to take stock of your thoughts and feelings, without judging them. Remember that doubts, fears, and painful emotions are part of the human experience.
It’s quite possible that someone, somewhere, is experiencing the same feelings as you. Instead of criticizing yourself or getting angry, try to be comforting and talk to yourself as though you were talking to your best friend.
And remember that you won’t get there overnight; you need to work at it. To help you learn to be kinder to yourself in moments of distress, try to take a moment to practise self-compassion. Don’t worry, you have nothing to lose by trying!
Need to talk about how you feel?
Talk to a Tel-Jeunes worker: It’s anonymous, free, and accessible 24/7
Learn about the contributors’ book
TOUT savoir pour composer avec les turbulences à l’adolescence – Isabelle Geninet, phd, and Amélie Seidah, phd, Psychologists
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