The first step in taking care of your mental health, is starting to take care of your physical health. And to do this, you must make yourself a priority.
Your Physical Health Depends on You Making Yourself a Priority
Your physical health is so important to your well-being. By prioritizing other things in your life, over yourself, you can end up compromising your physical health. Prioritizing your job by working long hours, too often, or committing to too many things – can wear you out. It can leave you feeling exhausted and/or stressed. This can weaken your immune system and make you more vulnerable to illness.
Set Boundaries at Work
Prioritize your own well-being by making sure that you prioritize yourself over your job or other commitments. Set boundaries at work to prevent running yourself into the ground. This can help you stay focused on the most important tasks and you will likely find that you are able to accomplish more when you are well rested.
If you need help learning how to set boundaries and clearly communicate them to employers, counseling can help. But if your company doesn’t respect your boundaries, or your job leaves you completely stressed out and you aren’t able to find proactive ways to relieve that stress, then it may be time for your to start looking for other employment options.
Learn How To Say No
Learn how to say no to others to ensure that you make time for yourself. The people-pleasers of this world have a hard time saying no. They want to help everybody and make everyone around them happy. It’s a great quality to have – to want to love, help, and take care of everyone else. And because of this trait they are often the first person people reach out to for help and are also often taken advantage of.
Over-committing to others can also lead to exhaustion and increased stress levels, which can negatively impact your health. You need to ensure that you set time aside for yourself. Use this time to unwind or do something you enjoy. This can help you relax, feel more rested, and lower stress levels.
If you are one of those kind, generous, people-pleasers and you have difficulties saying no for fear of letting others down, counseling can help. In counseling you can learn different ways to say no, especially when faced with high pressure situations – when someone may be trying to take advantage of your kind nature. You can also learn tips and tricks to relieve stress, and how to re-prioritize things in your life so that you become your number one priority.
Mental Health Counseling Can Help You Learn How to Prioritize Yourself
Learn how to set boundaries and say no to others to protect your mental and physical health. Counseling can help you make yourself the priority. Contact Elemental Mental Health to learn more or schedule your first session.