Young Adults
Being mentally healthy is essential for overall wellbeing. It’s about being able to take pleasure and satisfaction from life and cope with hassles and challenges.
How to keep mentally healthy
Being mentally healthy is essential for overall wellbeing. Good mental health is more than just the absence of mental illness. It’s about being able to deal with life’s challenges, maintain relationships, contribute to the community, and take pleasure and satisfaction from life.
Life is full of ups and downs, especially when you’re young! Every day we experience minor hassles that can stress us, impact our mood or cause us minor anxiety. These can include time pressure, job dissatisfaction, trouble relaxing, concern about gaining weight or worrying about the environment.
At some point we will also face more challenging life events – a relationship break-up, unemployment, serious sickness, or the death of a loved one. People with higher levels of mental health are better equipped to cope with these life stressors, as well as life’s smaller hassles.
While many things in life are beyond our control, when it comes to our mental health, there are known and trusted things that we can do to help keep mentally healthy.
Being proactive and prioritising our mental health and wellbeing is key. The most effective way to promote and support your mental health is found in the principles of Act Belong Commit.
Being active, having a sense of belonging and a purpose in life all contribute to good mental health.
What matters most is putting these three words into action.
Act – Do something
Keep active in as many ways as you can mentally, physically, socially, spiritually, culturally…
Go for a walk or a run, spend time with your family, meditate or try some yoga, or get creative through the arts.
For inspiration or tips on how you can keep active, check out the Activity Finder that has hundreds of ideas that may suit you.
Belong – Do something with someone
Keep connected – to friends, family and community.
Join a sports team or club, check our live bands with friends, host an online community around something that interests you, enrol in a class with a friend or form a study group.
For inspiration on where you might find organisations or groups for you to belong, check out the Activity Finder that has hundreds of ideas that may suit you.
Commit – Do something meaningful
Do something meaningful, important and valuable to you.
Volunteer for a good cause, learn something new like circus training, take on a challenge, mentor or help out someone younger than you.
For inspiration or tips on how you can doing something meaningful or challenging to you, check out the Activity Finder that has hundreds of ideas that may suit you.
The Act Belong Commit sponsored Pulse Perspectives yearly showcase event celebrates WA’s talented young artists aged 15-21.