Psychological well-being: some habits to achieve it

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Psychological well-being consists of positive relationships with others, personal mastery, autonomy, a feeling of purpose and meaning in life, and personal growth and development. Psychological well-being is attained by achieving a state of balance affected by both challenging and rewarding life events.

Much is talked about in our days of concepts like psychological well-being or happiness, and it seems that, despite being a common desire for many individuals, not everyone can live in that state.

Psychological well-being is a complex concept, but it has to do with feeling good in a general sense. That is to say, to be well with oneself, to be aligned with the motivations and objectives that structure one’s lifestyle, to enjoy the emotional balance necessary to face each day, and even to have good physical health. The problem with this type of definition, however, is that in reality, psychological well-being is an abstract and, of course, subjective concept. Read more How to achieve a good coexistence.

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 a time of war? Obviously, the road to welfare depends on oneself, however, environmental conditions influence. Likewise, we must not forget that the definition of psychological well-being may vary from one culture to another.

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

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

All of them would shape the psychological well-being in an integral way, giving feedback to each other.

Habits to improve psychological well-being

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

Accept what you can not change and love yourself

As Carol Ryff says, self-acceptance is the key to achieving well-being. If we want psychological well-being to be more of a lasting feature 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 inevitable, and turn the page when we can not control them. In short, if you can not change it, accept it.

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 moments you have doing what you like, the better you will feel. As for employment, if you do not enjoy what you do and 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.

Sleep well

The hours of sleep are important. When we fail to have a restful sleep or suffer insomnia, our quality of life, our emotional balance, and our psychological well-being are seriously affected. Therefore, having good sleep hygiene is essential to have 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”

Sorry

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

Have realistic goals

Psychological well-being experts pay close attention to the importance of the purposes we have in our lives and the goals we set for ourselves. This happens mainly for several reasons, but mainly, because the goals that we propose are our vital motivation and are related to our happiness. However, these objectives, 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.

Surround yourself with friends

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

Be proactive

People who enjoy greater psychological well-being are those who are always on the move, who are proactive. This means that they feel empowered and assume certain risks. This is what Ryff refers to when he means autonomy.

Nurture in a healthy way a psychological well-being

Nutrition is also related to our mental and emotional health. As psychologist Jonathan García-Allen states: “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 have stressed our eating habits change, or that eating well will also affect how we feel throughout the day.

Play sports

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

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 accelerated rhythm of the society in which we live makes it difficult for us to look inside ourselves. We are always aware of the outside.

Stop a second and reflect is one of the best alternatives to achieve psychological well-being. To do so, you simply have to dedicate 15 or 20 minutes a day to yourself. For example, filling in a diary of emotions before going to bed.