Psychological well-being: 15 habits to achieve it

Much is said in our day about concepts such as psychological well-being or happiness, and it seems to be that, despite being a common desire for many individuals, not everyone manages to live in that condition.

Psychological well-being is a complex concept, but it has to do with feeling good in a general sense. That is, to be good with oneself, to be aligned with the motivations and objectives that structure one's own style of life, enjoy the emotional balance necessary to face the day to day and even have good health physical. The problem with these kinds of definitions, however, is that psychological well-being is actually an abstract and, of course, subjective concept.

What is psychological well-being?

This abstraction has to do with beliefs and expectations, with the empowerment of the person and with being surrounded by a context of tranquility and hope.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about the welfare society but, Who could have psychological well-being in time of war? Obviously the path to well-being depends on oneself, however, environmental conditions influence. Likewise, it should not be forgotten that the definition of psychological well-being may vary from one culture to another.

For psychologist Carol Ryff, professor at Pennsylvania State University (United States), psychological well-being is made up of six dimensions. They are as follows:

• Self acceptance
• Positive relationships with others
• Have a purpose in life
• Personal growth
• Autonomy
• Mastery of the environment

All of them would shape psychological well-being in an integral way, feeding back each other.

Habits to improve psychological well-being

Taking into account the previous points, below we have prepared a list of 15 habits that will help you have a greater mental well-being.

1. Accept what you cannot change and love yourself

As Carol Ryff puts it, the self acceptance it is key to achieving well-being. If we want psychological well-being to be more of an enduring trait and not a fleeting moment, we must learn to love ourselves and accept ourselves as we are. We must accept the things that happen to us, when they are unavoidable, and turn the page when we cannot control them. In short, if you can't change it, accept it.

2. do what you like

Logically, If you do not do what you like, you will hardly achieve psychological well-being or happiness. This refers to both your work and your hobbies. With regard to the latter, the more good times you have doing what you like, the better you will feel.

As for employment, if you do not enjoy what you do and you do not feel developed, your psychological well-being will be affected. People spend many hours at work, and if we get bitter every time we step on the place where we offer our services or products, this will affect our day to day and our emotional balance.

3. Sleep well

Sleeping hours are important. When we fail to get a good night's sleep or suffer insomnia, our quality of life, our emotional balance and our psychological well-being are seriously affected.

So, having good sleep hygiene is essential for good psychological health. Sleep hygiene is a series of practices that will help us sleep better.

• If you want to improve it, you can read our post: "10 basic principles for good sleep hygiene"

4. Forgives

Forgiveness is closely related to our mental health. This not only includes forgiving others, but also forgiving ourselves, something that is vital. importance if we want to restore emotional balance in our life and, therefore, our well-being psychological. In other words, If resentment takes hold of us, our happiness is hijacked.

• If you want to delve into this topic you just have to click on this link.

5. Have realistic goals

Wellness experts pay close attention to the importance of the purposes we have in our life and the goals we set for ourselves. This occurs mainly for various reasons, but mainly because the goals we set for ourselves are our vital motivation and are related to our happiness. However, these goals, if they are not realistic, cause us frustration, and in the long run we will suffer the negative consequences of having irrational expectations. The objectives must be achievable.

6. Surround yourself with friends

Carol Ryff already says, positive relationships are necessary for our psychological well-being. In fact, there are many investigations that affirm that having friends and an active social life has a positive impact on our happiness and our mental health

7. Be proactive

The people who enjoy the greatest psychological well-being are those who are always on the go, which are proactive. This means that they feel empowered and take certain risks. This is what Ryff means when she means autonomy.

8. Nourish yourself in a healthy way

Nutrition is also related to our mental and emotional health. As the psychologist Jonathan García-Allen affirms: “There is a reciprocal relationship between food and our emotions. What we eat not only affects how we feel, but how we feel also affects the way we eat ”. This explains why when we are stressed our eating habits change, or that eating well will also affect how we feel throughout the day.

9. Do sports

Another healthy habit is playing sports. Although we often associate exercise with physical well-being, this practice also has an effect on us on a psychological level. Sports practice causes us to release chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins wave serotonin. They make us feel better and change our perception of life for the better.

10. Reflect and connect with yourself

It is difficult to stop for a moment and reflect on who we are or what our emotional state is today. The fast pace of the society we live in makes it difficult for us to look within. We are always aware of what is outside.

Stopping for a second and reflecting is one of the best alternatives to achieve our well-being. To do this, you simply have to dedicate 15 to 20 minutes a day to yourself. For example, filling out an emotion diary before going to bed.

• You can find all the information you need to fill in an emotion diary in this article: "Emotional management: 10 keys to master your emotions"

11. Meditate

Another way to connect with yourself and your emotions is through meditation.. Meditation provides you with a moment of inner peace and helps you connect with yourself and with your body. Scientific studies show that people who perform this practice have greater psychological well-being, so the fact that learn to meditate it has a very positive impact on our well-being.

12. Practice gratitude and compassion

Today, psychologists use the Mindfulness as a therapeutic tool, aware of the benefits it provides for people's well-being. Mindfulness is a philosophy that uses meditation to be in the here and now, but which also follows a series of principles or values. These are: awareness, self-acceptance, non-judgmental mindset, compassion and gratitude towards ourselves and others.

13. Live the present

In addition, Mindfulness also it is a way of being in the present, of letting go of irrational expectations. It helps you become aware of your own emotions of knowing yourself. To be present. Because if you don't know where you are right now, you can hardly go anywhere.

14. Get out of the comfort zone

If before it was mentioned that people should be proactive to enjoy greater well-being because it was a symptom of empowerment, another reason to be proactive is get out of the comfort zone. The comfort zone is a zone of non-learning, non-growth and it limits you when it comes to growing and developing. Not developing yourself is not having psychological well-being. So staying in the comfort zone is not good for you.

15. Practice Emotional Intelligence

Emotions play a very important role in our well-being. Research shows that emotionally intelligent people have greater life satisfaction and are happier. Knowing your own emotions and those of others, and regulating them if necessary, avoids many conflicts and, ultimately, provides us with greater well-being.