Focusing on You this World Mental Health Day

October 2021

All over the world people are coming together for World Mental Health Day to support a shared cause of raising awareness for mental health issues and encouraging efforts to improve mental health. This day provides an opportunity to look at how far we have come in terms of mental health awareness and how far we still have to go. Mental illness is common throughout the world and it includes varying degrees of severity depending on the individual and the diagnosis. In the United States alone, about one in five adults live with a mental illness. It’s important to understand ways in which you can work on increasing your mental health.

At Neo we encourage our employees to take care of their mental health, and we consistently provide helpful tips and programs built to promote wellbeing, which include – peerfit, free monthly meditation classes, employee assistance programs, and more. Employees can utilize their monthly benefits through peerfit to find local yoga, meditation, and group workout sessions. Our free monthly yoga sessions allow employees to take a break and get in a moment of complete relaxation during the day. Neo also offers employee assistance to any Neo team member that finds themselves in a stressful life situation and needs help.

Stress is a root cause of mental distress in many individuals. Whether that stress comes from work, school, personal relationships, etc., it all can have a strong impact on mental health. While nothing takes the place of seeing professional help, there are some ways in which you can decrease the presence of stress in your life. This decrease of stress will help increase your mental health and allow you to live a more balanced life. Here are some of the ways you can help decrease stress and increase mental health:

Exercise Frequently

Understandably, exercise might not be your most favorite activity, but it is one of the best ways to help decrease stress. You don’t have to be in perfect shape or do intense hour-long Peloton bike ride sessions for exercise to help you. Any amount, and type, of exercise can help to reduce stress and increase mental health such as – yoga, outdoor walks, swimming, and tennis. Finishing a workout can help you feel accomplished because you are completing a task you set out to do.

Try Guided Meditation

Work, school, life, and everything in-between can be a lot to handle. One of the best ways to take a step back and collect your thoughts is to try guided meditation. It’s estimated that about 200-500 million people practice some type of meditation in their lives. Meditation might be difficult for some individuals since it involves sitting still and focusing the mind. Guided meditation would be a great first step into the meditation world because the practice helps guide you to understanding what is happening in the present moment.

There are many different resources available online for guided meditation practices. Some tools available for guided meditation practices include Headspace, YouTube, and Let’s Meditate.

Talk to Loved Ones

Recently, it has been tough to stay connected with loved ones. We have shifted to a largely virtual world where we aren’t seeing faces in person as often. It’s important to stay connected in any way you can to the people you care about. When you are struggling, you should surround yourself with people who can help lift you up. If you are unable to visit face-to-face, there are plenty of other options to stay in touch.

Utilizing a video platform is one of the easiest ways to stay in touch such as Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime. Another fun way to connect with friends and family is to play games online, such as Codenames, Skribbl, and Mario Kart Tour. 

There are many other ways you can work on reducing stress and increasing mental health in your life such as connecting with your creative side, setting time aside for relaxation, journaling, and more. Also, if you find yourself struggling in life, please reach out to a mental health professional who can help.

Interested in joining the team at NeoGenomics? Browse our career opportunities and read more about the benefits available at Neo. You can also check us out on Glassdoor and watch a video about #LifeAtNeo.