| |
Improve Your Mental Health Improve Your Mental Health
 We all have little lapses in memory like leaving the keys in the door, forgetting someone's name or missing an appointment. Rarely do we think we are getting old or senile. Most times it's due to too much going on in that brain of yours. You have too much on your mind or you're stressed out. Maybe you didn't concentrate enough on what it was you were supposed to remember.
Research shows that brainpower can increase with mental activities in older people. Aging does not mean automatically losing mental capacity. The National Institute of Aging has conducted a series of tests that prove most dramatic memory decline occurs around age 70, if it occurs at all. Even though memory may fade with time, thinking ability remains strong. Vocabulary and reasoning skills often improve with age.
No matter what your age, exercising your brain may make the difference between using it and losing it. Or if you are young and have older family members or friends who seem to be losing memory, encouraging brain activity can help.
Activities such as doing crossword puzzles, playing word games or cards strengthens the synapses between brain cells in memory transmission areas. Physical exercise can increase mental abilities 20% to 30 %, according to recent studies. Journal writing and working with your hands to build or create can help as well.
For older adults who sense memory loss occurring, use mental helps such as calendars, calculators, list making, and group discussions. And relax. Worrying about what you're going to forget can cause a mental block.
Ten Tips for Mental Health
Build Confidence - Identify your abilities and weaknesses together, accept them, build on them and do the best with what you have.
Accept Compliments - Many of us have difficulty accepting kindness from others but we all need to remember the positive strokes when times gets tough.
Make Time for Family and Friends - These relationships need to be nurtured; if taken for granted they will not be there to share life's joys and sorrows.
Give and Accept Support - Friends and family relationships thrive when they are "put to the test".
Create a Meaningful Budget - Financial problems cause stress. Over-spending on our "wants" instead of our "needs" is often the culprit.
Volunteer - Being involved in community gives a sense of purpose and satisfaction that paid work cannot.
Manage Stress - We all have stressors in our lives but learning how to deal with them when they threaten to overwhelm us will maintain our mental health.
Find Strength in Numbers - Sharing a problem with others who have had similar experiences may help you find a solution and will make you feel less isolated.
Identify and Deal with Moods - We all need to find safe and constructive ways to express our feelings of anger, sadness, joy and fear.
Learn To Be At Peace with Yourself - Get to know who you are, what makes you really happy, and learn to balance what you can and cannot change about yourself.
|
|
