Mental Health: Mental Maintenance - A Guide to Sustaining Mental Wellness

Mental wellness has become an essential topic, not only for our patients but for ourselves. For the families we serve, the academic pressures, digital overload and packed schedules often leave them feeling stretched thin. Yet mental wellness isn’t simply the absence of mental illness—it’s the active maintenance of emotional and cognitive balance.

Pediatricians can play a powerful role in helping families promote resilience and joy. This article outlines key components for maintaining mental wellness across the lifespan.

Defining Mental Wellness:

Mental wellness refers to the ability to manage stress, connect with others, and sustain a sense of meaning and purpose. It is supported by practical habits that strengthen emotional regulation and brain health—chief among them physical activity, creative expression, social connection, mindfulness and gratitude.

When practiced consistently, these habits serve as protective factors against anxiety, depression and burnout in both children and adults.

Physical Activity:

Exercise remains one of the most effective and underutilized tools for mental health. Regular physical activity increases dopamine and serotonin, improves concentration, and reduces stress reactivity.

Encourage families to keep it simple:

• Children: Aim for at least 60 minutes of play or movement daily. Involvement in sports is an easy and consistent way to achieve this.
• Adults: Even 20 minutes of walking, dancing or yardwork can improve mood.

The focus should be on enjoyment and consistency rather than competition or performance.

Creative Expression:

Just as the body needs movement, the mind needs expression. Engaging in creative activities, such as drawing, painting, singing, playing music, writing, gardening, crafting or cooking allows individuals to externalize emotion, explore ideas, and experience a sense of mastery.

Creativity activates brain regions associated with reward and problem-solving, providing a natural outlet for stress relief and self-reflection.

Encourage families to:

• Designate regular “screen-free creation time.”
• Encourage children to pursue interests in art, music or imaginative play.
• Remind parents that creative hobbies can be restorative and meditative, even when skill level is minimal.

Research shows that creative engagement lowers cortisol, enhances mood, and supports long-term resilience. For many, creative expression provides both structure and freedom, a combination essential to mental balance.

Social Connection:

Loneliness and social isolation are strong predictors of emotional distress. Children who feel close to at least one supportive adult are significantly less likely to experience anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts.

Pediatricians can encourage families to:

• Share “tech-free” time together and ask open-ended questions (e.g., “What made you laugh today?” or “What was one good thing that happened today?”).
• Participate in shared activities—board games, volunteering, faith-based gatherings, or community events.
• Maintain positive relationships by spending time with friends who uplift and inspire.

As my mother used to remind me, “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Parents who model empathy and openness teach their children that expressing emotions is safe and normal.

Mindfulness and Gratitude:

Mindfulness, the practice of focusing attention on the present moment, helps reduce stress and improve self-regulation. It can be introduced through simple techniques like deep breathing, mindful eating, or sensory awareness exercises (“What can I see, hear and feel right now?”).

Alongside mindfulness, gratitude is one of the most evidence-based habits for emotional wellbeing and happiness. Studies show that regularly reflecting on what we appreciate strengthens neural pathways associated with contentment and reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Practical ways to integrate gratitude:

• Families: Share one event from the day that you are thankful for.
• Teens: Keep a short gratitude list in a phone or journal.
• Parents: Express appreciation to a friend, teacher or coworker.

Even brief gratitude practices can shift focus from stressors to strengths, promoting optimism and emotional stability.

Sleep and Nutrition:

Although often overlooked, consistent sleep and balanced nutrition remain foundational for mental wellness.

• Sleep: Maintain regular bedtimes, limit evening screen use, and promote consistent quiet routines.
• Nutrition: Encourage regular meals, adequate hydration, and a healthy diet rich in whole foods and colorful produce.

Parental Wellbeing:

Parents often prioritize their children’s needs at the expense of their own. Encourage caregivers to view self-care as part of effective parenting. When adults practice mindfulness, gratitude or creative hobbies themselves, they model resilience and emotional awareness.

Even small “recovery moments”—a pause before responding to conflict or a few deep breaths before school pickup—can reset the nervous system and demonstrate calm under pressure. I’ve heard it said, “If you don’t practice what you teach, then you’re teaching something else.”

Clinical Takeaways for Pediatricians:

• Mental wellness can be taught, modeled and reinforced across the lifespan.
• Physical activity, creative expression, social connection, mindfulness and gratitude are accessible, evidence-based practices.
• Encourage small, sustainable habits rather than perfection.
• Supporting caregiver wellness often yields the greatest benefits for children.

References:

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