These 5 habits ensure good mental health

In seeking to determine what people can do every day to take care of their mental health, Nick Titov, professor of psychology at Macquarie University (Australia), has identified five essential habits for feeling good in mind and in life. . He nicknamed them “The Big 5”.

Healthy thoughts, planning, exercise…: the routine that boosts mental health

Nick Titov’s work has shown that having activities that bring a sense of accomplishment, joy or satisfaction is beneficial for mental health. Doing something you love helps reduce stress. The Australian expert suggests, for example, listing activities that are appreciated – but sometimes abandoned due to lack of time – and integrating them into your schedule. It can be simple things that relax or make you smile or laugh like listening to your favorite music, reading your favorite book, watching your favorite movie…

To boost your physical health, you also need to adopt healthy thinking, according to him. “It involves thinking realistically about ourselves, the world and the future, and treating ourselves with respect, especially in difficult situations”explains the expert in his communicated.

The other element to living more peacefully is to have a goal that is motivating and makes you want to plan ahead. “When we feel stressed or depressed, we tend to think about the past or our current problems, not the future”, indicates the “Big 5” program, established after evaluating data from more than 20,000 people. And if you don’t have big plans for your future… don’t panic. The expert suggests setting three pleasant goals for tomorrow such as reading the newspaper, taking a walk, getting up early and then enjoying their achievement.

Of course, good mental health also requires healthy routines and a good lifestyle such as eating healthily, going to bed at a regular time, getting enough sleep and exercising.

And finally, we must not forget that Man is a social being. Thus, interacting and meeting friends and family regularly are very effective ways to maintain good psychological balance.

For the expert, you must integrate these activities into your schedule at least four or five times a week to ensure optimal mental health.

A rapid decline in well-being when these activities are limited

Professor Titov’s latest study, published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy, confirms that these five activities are essential for psychological well-being. He asked 26 people without the disorder to limit all their Big 5-related activities for 4 weeks. Volunteers received regular phone calls and answered questionnaires about their activities as well as their depression symptoms and well-being. The results were so pronounced that it was decided to reduce the sample size to 12 and the study duration to two weeks.

“For people who restricted their Big 5 activities by at least 25%, we saw a significant decline in mental well-being,” explains Professor Titov. “No one used the word depression, but they all told us says: I’m fighting.”

The condition of one participant had deteriorated so much in one week that he was asked to immediately begin the recovery phase which marked the resumption of Big 5 activities. Among those who lasted the two weeks, only four Participants remained within the healthy range on the depression measure. Five were classified as mild depression and three as moderate depression. Which is associated with an increased risk of clinical diagnosis of depression.

Their condition began to improve as soon as they were able to return to their wellness routine, but getting back to baseline took longer for some people. “We expected a slight decrease in well-being, but we did not expect it to decrease so quickly, nor that it would take as long as it does for some people to recover”concludes the main author.