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Self Care

People who are emotionally healthy are able to handle life’s challenges and build strong relationships. Improving your emotional health can benefit all areas of your life, including your mood, your resilience, and your overall enjoyment of life.

Boosting Your Emotional Health
To have good mental and emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body. That includes:

  • Get Your Sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally.
  • Eat Well. The more you know about what you eat and how it affects your energy and mood, the better you can feel.
  • Move Well. Exercise can help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. Look for ways to add activity to your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going on a short walk. To get the most mental health benefits, aim for 30 minutes or more of exercise per day.
  • Limit alcohol and avoid cigarettes and other drugs. These stimulants may make you feel good in the short term, but they all have long-term negative consequences for emotional and physical health.

Here are some other things you can do to boost your emotional health:

  • Talk about your feelings. Spend some time with a family member or trusted friend.
  • Ask for help. We all need help from time to time!
  • Appeal to your senses. You can boost your mood by focusing on your five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Listen to music that lifts your spirits, place flowers where you will see and smell them, massage your hands and feet, or relax with a warm cup of tea.
  • Take time for FUN. Leisure time is important for our emotional health. Go to a funny movie, take a walk in the park, play a game with the kids, read a good book or talk to a friend.

Resources