akistan may not have come out as a prozac nation yet, but if you’re reading these words, take them as a reminder that taking care of your mental health is as important as taking care of your physical health. But it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Mental illness can be seen as a construct of the mind with you in complete control while physical illness is, well, like a physical wound and can be seen – if not overtly, then on charts such as MRIs, scans and any number of other tests, depending on the illness.

So, pretend for a moment that you’re asked by your physician to avoid certain fatty foods because of a weak liver, which is determined by, say, a liver function test. The same cannot be said for mental illness in its various forms. But research in the category has led to several breakthroughs. The real test is implementation of certain behavioural guidelines on the part of the patient or those who hope to not become a patient.

For example, research says that iron deficiency can be a mitigating factor for those who suffer from depression and anxiety, two of the most widely known forms of mental illness (under which other mental illnesses can also emerge).

Often, the correlation between iron deficiency and mental health is not known by a patient, confirms Stephanie Weinberg Levin, M.D., a psychiatrist at Michigan Medicine and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Noted an article on the subject in SciTechDaily: “Eating iron-rich foods is important for everyone, and many people don’t get enough iron as it is. But people with mental health conditions may specifically want to ask their doctor or other health provider to order a blood test that measures their iron levels in a particular way.”

Mental illness can be seen as a construct of the mind with you in complete control while physical illness is, well, like a physical wound and can be seen, if not overtly, then on quantifiers such as MRIs, scans and any number of other tests, depending on the illness. Making sure you attend to your mental wellness is as important as taking medicine for a physical wound. One is visible, one isn’t but remember: both are very much real.

We know some things about mental health like the importance of dopamine and whether it is either on the lower side or the higher side, and how it is among reasons for a mental health condition or one that is out of control.

However, there are personal tools that help in increasing dopamine levels. Major rules include making exercising a part of your day, following a balanced diet and maintaining structure in daily life such as waking up at a certain hour and getting the right amount of sleep, which means sleeping for a minimum of six hours, at least for adults.

These routines, which lead to higher levels of dopamine not only help with depression and other mental health conditions but can help in keeping other forms of illnesses away including Parkinson’s Disease.

A report by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, says exercise increases dopamine (a neurotransmitter in the brain) levels, which leads to higher motivation and reward-seeking behaviour. However, physical exercise may not come intuitively to you. And you are not the only one.

“Researchers have long been trying to understand why some people find physical effort easier than others,” says study leader Vikram Chib, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and research scientist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

“This study’s results suggest that the amount of dopamine availability in the brain is a key factor.”

So, making sure you follow a structured lifestyle on most days is as important as taking medicine for a physical wound. One is visible, one isn’t but remember: both are very much real.