When you or someone you love is dealing with a mental health concern, sometimes it’s a lot to handle. It’s important to remember that mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable. A healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions, as well as chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. It can also help people recover from these conditions. For those dealing with a chronic health condition and the people who care for them, it can be especially important to focus on mental health.

May is Mental Health Month and the Southern Ute Health Center is raising awareness about the relationship between physical health and mental health. The goal this year is to highlight importance of work-life balance, pets, spirituality, humor and recreation, as well as social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

Finding a reason to laugh, going for a walk with a friend, meditating, playing with a pet, or working from home once a week can go a long way in making you both physically and mentally healthy; it’s all about finding the right balance to benefit both the mind and body.

The Southern Ute Health Center wants everyone to know that mental illnesses are real, and recovery is always the goal. Living a healthy lifestyle may not be easy, however, it is achievable by gradually making small changes and building on those successes.  Finding the balance between the ups and downs of life, physical health and mental health, can help you on the path towards focusing both #4Mind4Body.

For more information, call Mary Trujillo Young, Jennifer GoodTracks, or Ryan Sullivan at 970-563-4581 or visit www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may