Being fit and healthy is very good for your mental health. In the UK at the moment, we are currently in the middle of an epidemic of depression. Depression was the most commonly treated disease in the UK last year with nearly 3 million people asking for help from their GP. It is becoming increasingly clear therefore that something needs to be done to improve the general mental health of the nation.
Mental health has long been a taboo subject in Britain. The idea that we can suffer mentally just as much, if not more, than we can physically is fundamentally not a very British attitude but it seems that finally mental illness is being given the attention it deserves. We still of course have a long way to go, but when you consider that it was less than a hundred years ago that soldiers suffering from shell shock were actually shot for being cowards, at least we are moving in the right direction.
One of the keys to keeping yourself mentally well is by exercising. Humans are naturally hunter gathers and genetically programmed to live active lives where we get plenty of exercise. In modern society this is not always easy with many jobs involving being sedentary for large periods of the day. It is important, especially if your job does involve being passive a lot, that you do what you can to keep active outside of work. Exercise releases endorphins into the body and brain, which act as the body’s natural defence against depression. Eating well can also help to keep the body and mind in a good condition.
Besides staying healthy, it is also important that we are happy with the way we look and feel about ourselves. This could involve making some changes to your appearance, especially if there is something that makes you self-conscious. This anxiety can cause stress, one of the main contributing factors of depression. It may be that you need to improve your smile with a tooth whitening procedure or that a rhinoplasty surgery would help to improve the shape of your nose that you have never been comfortable with. Cosmetic surgeons are capable of making natural and stunning changes to many different areas of your body. Feeling good about your appearance could be the key to making you happier in both the long and short term.