LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Mental health struggles aren’t anything new.

In fact, it’s something everyone deals with, no matter the issue.

According to global mental health consultant Maya Bizri, in order to make a change, things must start from within.

“You really have to make it an active choice and an exercise to really practice it to be able to protect yourself,” Bizri said.

Though only the first step, Bizri says making that choice tends to be the most difficult one.

“Making that effort to take care of yourself; putting that effort to not let go of your basic needs,” Bizri continued. “To carve out the time during the day to be able to go back to your routines. I think these are important, despite the chaos that is happening.”

Bizri suggested staying active, eating well, taking care of others and staying connected with family as ways to get your mind off of things.

But there’s one in particular that Bizri said is good for being present.

“Yoga is very based in mindfulness and the present time, so I think that’s very helpful,” she continued. “Any mindful based activity will help.”

Instructors say yoga is one of the few practices when the intention is to focus on the inward mind and wellbeing.

“Finding that awareness of deep, deep breathing,” yoga instructor Preety Otal said. “That is really what brings down the nervous system from escalating from spinning from that rapid fire, which contributes to things like anxiety, depression and a host of other issues.”

Otal added that the benefits are endless.

“As a result, you find that clarity, that focus, and maybe even a little bit of softening mentally and internally,” Otal added. “To help you calm down, to find that awareness with your mental health. That really can do a wonder for you.”

Bizri said that it’s better to start thinking about these things sooner rather than later

“So, if you accumulate these and brush them off without really developing the skill set needed to deal with them and cope adaptively, you eventually are going to end up with negative mental health outcomes,” Bizri continued.