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Mental health refers to a person’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and behave, and it influences how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. We all have mental health, is our ability to engage with our emotions, thoughts, interactions with others, and the world around us.

Key Aspects of Mental Health:

1. Emotional well-being: The ability to understand, manage, and express your emotions in a healthy way. It involves feeling happy, content, and having positive self-esteem.
2. Psychological well-being: This relates to your ability to think, learn, and make decisions. It also covers how you cope with stress and manage your thoughts.
3. Social well-being: The ability to form and maintain healthy relationships, connect with others, and feel part of a community.

Experiencing poor mental health is not the same as having a mental health condition. A mental health condition, or mental illness, refers to a set of symptoms that have been identified by a health provider.

We all have tough days and weeks, and everyone manages their mental health every day. In difficult times is normal that we experience change in emotions, thinking, and/or behavior. For some, this means extreme and unexpected changes in mood, like feeling more sad or worried than usual. For others, it means not thinking clearly, pulling away from friends and activities you used to enjoy. This does not necessarily mean that we have a mental health illness, but we could still benefit from the support of a professional than can help us to identify the resources for coping with our daily life challenges.

Mental health challenges don’t define who we are. Just as someone with a physical illness isn’t defined by their condition, someone with mental health struggles is more than. Mental health problems can affect anyone, regardless of age, background, or circumstances. It’s normal to face mental health challenges, and seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Receiving support from a professional can make a huge difference. Listening, showing compassion, and offering help can go a long way in someone’s recovery.

Mental health and physical health are equally important. Taking care of your mind is just as necessary as taking care of your body.

How to improve our Mental Health?

Connecting with yourself

Self-connection, or self-care, is about finding practices that help you thrive, and it can include a range of things. Prioritizing time to connect to yourself doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive, and it is important for you to find out what works best for you. Below are a few different ways to engage in self-care from to the Mental Health Coalition:

▪   Physical: Notice and address the stress that shows up in your body. Notice what physical activities reduce or alleviate physical pain, tension and mental stress for you. Some common activities are massages, hugging loved ones with their consent, fitness, sports, dance, resting.

▪  Emotional: Involves tending to your own internal emotional world – especially your mood and feelings. Ways to tend to your emotional self can include connecting with others, naming and acknowledging your emotions, psychotherapy, journaling or creative writing, art, and setting boundaries for your emotional well-being.

▪  Cognitive: Engages in activities that are intellectually rewarding and/or stimulating. This can include reading, writing, listening to books or podcasts, watching films, psychotherapy.

▪  Spiritual: This can take many different forms and does not have to be tied to formal religion. It means getting in touch with the less tangible aspects of yourself and the world around you. This can include meditation, breathwork, prayer, connecting with a spiritual or religious community, mantras.

Identify a few ways you’d like to prioritize your own well-being. Set aside the time you need to do it, give yourself permission to embrace it if it is hard for you to prioritize yourself, and work towards adding these moments regularly into your life. Know that what taking care of yourself may look like can change over time, and it is okay to adapt to what activities you engage in to fit your needs.

Connecting with others

Social connection is a building block for mental health. People thrive when feeling socially connected to other people. Both casual connections, like waving to a neighbor, and close intimate relationships help us thrive and feel connected to others and our community.

Here are some ways to build your social connection ‘’muscle’’:

▪ Small acts of kindness. Find ways to connect with people you see in your community. Ask neighbors about their plans for the weekend, thank the grocery store cashier, ask a customer about their child’s soccer game, say hello to the people you pass on the way to the bus stop.

▪ Prioritize connection in real life. Building friendships will help your mental health thrive. Host a gathering, meet for coffee, send a handwritten note, or call someone – connection reduces stress and promotes mental well-being for both of you.

▪  Volunteer. Helping others creates opportunity for connection and sense of purpose.  Volunteering as a family is also a great tradition.

▪Create a culture of appreciation at work. Businesses that create a culture of appreciation, where employees feel valued and recognized for their contributions, have employees who are more engaged, productive and experience less burnout. Make it a priority to contribute to a culture of connection within your workplace.

▪  Get involved in community design, policies, and actions to influence social connections. For example, communities can prioritizes creating walking and gathering spaces, and shared-use spaces to promote social connection.

▪  Connected Communities to help you host a community conversation Action Guide for Building Socially Connected Communities - Action Guide for Building Socially Connected Communities (action4connection.org). 

Looking  for support

It’s normal to face mental health challenges, and seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Receiving support from a professional can make a huge difference. Talking about how we feel and what is worrying us it is important. There are various people and organizations that can provide support, depending on the nature of the issue and the type of help needed. :

Mental Health Professionals.

• Psychologist, psychotherapists and counselors: Trained professionals who provide individual or group therapy to help people manage mental health challenges and improve coping skills.
• Psychiatrists: Medical doctors who can diagnose and treat mental health disorders. They can prescribe medication if needed and provide therapy.

Helplines and Crisis Support Services

• Support for all who have applied

0 800 100 102 National Psychological Association (from 10:00 to 20:00, daily)

0 800 210 160 NGO "Person in Need" (24 hours a day)

0 800 211 444 NGO International Organization for Migration (10:00 to 20:00, daily)

5522 Psychological support for civilians "VARTOZHYTY" (from 12:00 to 19:00, weekdays)

• Support for parents, children and youth

0 800 500 225 NGO "La Strada-Ukraine" (24 hours a day)

0 800 210 106 Foundation "Voices of Children" (from 09:00 to 20:00, daily)

• Support for veterans and their families

0 800 332 029 Veterans Fund "Next to the Veteran" (24/7)

0 800 332 720 NGO "Public Movement "Women's Power of Ukraine" (10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, daily)

1547 Combating Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence (24/7)

7333 Lifeline Ukraine - Suicide Prevention Line (24/7)

Support Groups. Peer Support Groups: These groups provide a space for people facing similar mental health challenges to connect, share experiences, and offer mutual support. They can be in person or online.

Family and Friends. Support from loved ones can be invaluable. Family and friends can listen, provide encouragement, and help someone find professional resources or support networks.

Faith Leaders and Spiritual Guides. Religious or spiritual leaders can provide emotional and spiritual support, guidance, and a sense of community. Many people find comfort in talking to a trusted faith leader during tough times.