Nowadays, mental health is getting more attention than it used to be for which is a positive trend.
People are starting to acknowledge the fact that their mental well-being is just as important as their physical health. This is why it is crucial that you know every tactic you can use to care about yourself. Here are tools and tips for building good mental health.
#1 Keep A Diary to Track Achievements
Keeping a diary can be a great way to both track your achievements and simply record what you are doing daily. Afterward, it will be nice to go back and read what you wrote several years ago.
On the other hand, a diary can also help you to “pour out” your thoughts and impressions about whatever that is going on around you. Negative thoughts will have a way out of you which will help you get rid of them easier.
#2 Start Your Day with The Right Attitude
Though this might sound like a piece of general advice, starting your day with the right attitude is very important if you want to spend it well and be as productive as possible. The right attitude might actually be the one that saves your day.
If there is something small that upsets you in the morning, try to do something that will make your mood positive. This could be a cup of coffee or a jog in the local park – whatever you genuinely enjoy will definitely help you.
#3 Try New Things and Experiment
If you are tired of the mundane and what to change something in your life, trying new things and experimenting can be the right direction to take. After all, there is so much you still haven’t seen or done.
Think about a dream you had long ago but forgot already. This could be a country you wanted to visit or an extreme sport you wanted to try. Or you could take an easier path and simply try something new in your daily life: a different flavor of ice cream, adopting a dog, publishing your own memoir.
#4 Avoid Having Negative Thoughts
It’s much easier said than done but avoiding negative thoughts like the plague should be your number one priority. Think about how you can replace your negative thoughts with positive ones or at least get rid of the former ones.
As mentioned earlier, keeping a diary can help you get rid of the negative thoughts and changing your attitude in the morning can also help you to maintain a somewhat positive mood throughout the day.
#5 Give and Receive Love
Love is probably one of the best cures for mental health issues that you could find. No amount of medication can help you as much as love will which is why it is so important to understand its importance.
Some people enjoy giving love and feel perfect even if they don’t receive it in return while others need to get a fair amount of love in order to feel good. Whichever person you are, always try to give and receive love because it is an important part of your mental well-being.
#6 Do Some Physical Exercises
Physical health is directly related to mental health. This means that if one of the two is worsening, then the other one will probably worsen too. At the same time, improving your physical health can improve your mental health and vice versa.
This is why doing some physical exercises in the morning or even during the day can help you improve your mental health. Of course, you will still need to do something extra, but good physical health will be your foundation.
#7 Explore Your Surroundings
Sometimes being tired of mundane things can be the reason why you feel bad. The best solution would be to change your location or lifestyle, but when you can’t do that, exploring your surroundings and finding a new way to look at them will be the best way to go about it.
If you live in a city, visit all the historic places, museums, and galleries. You can also have a walk through the streets that you haven’t been to yet. If you live in the countryside, explore your local region as much as possible by car, on a bike, or even on foot.
#8 Spend Time with Your Loved Ones
As mentioned earlier, love is very helpful when it comes to mental health, so spending time with your loved ones can positively influence your mental state. Of course, not everyone has the time for it, but you can find a way to deal with it.
For example, if you or your loved ones have a lot of writing work, you could hire a writer from Online Writers Rating to do it instead that will give you some additional time to spend for yourself and with your loved ones.
#9 Have A Walk in Nature
Nature has always had a calming effect. Fresh air will help your lungs rest from the pollution of the urban areas, beautiful greenery will please your eyes while the chirping of birds and the wind shaking the trees will be a wonderful noise to your ears.
If there is a park not far from where you live, even having a walk through the park can have a positive influence on your mental state. Camping, hiking, and other long-term outdoor activities can all lift your spirits.
#10 Be Thankful
When your mind is populated with negative thoughts, it is very hard to be genuinely happy. This is why being grateful or thankful can help you redirect your attention to the good things in your life rather than the bad ones.
Ask yourself regularly, “What am I happy about? What, even if it is very small, makes me feel good?” Perhaps it is your cat lying on your knees as you stroke its fur or the chocolate you ate yesterday.
#11 Take A Good, Long Bath
Baths are great. In fact, they are better than you realize. Taking a good, long bath can significantly calm down your nerves, help you relax, and make you think clearer. After a long, difficult day, a good bath might be the thing you need the most.
#12 Recall the Good Moments in Your Life
Remember the diary mentioned at the beginning? It could be your guide to the past that will help you recall the good moments you documented yourself. A photo album can also help you recall the good moments in your life.
#13 Do Some Coloring
You might have heard about the practice of coloring for relaxing and reducing anxiety. There are special coloring books that you can purchase for a fair price that are specifically tailored to adults and have many details you will spend time coloring.
#14 Consider Meditation and Yoga
Meditation and yoga are not for everyone, but many people who were previously opposed to it discovered that they actually enjoy it a lot. In other words, until you try them, you won’t know if meditation and yoga are actually for you.
#15 Have A Getaway
A getaway could be something you do or a place you go to in difficult situations. Having a getaway will let you cope with hard situations easier which will reduce the amount of stress you get and will improve your mental well-being.
#16 Calm
Now that we have discussed the techniques you can use to improve your mental health, there are also some great tools and apps you can use for it. Calm, for instance, is a meditation and mindfulness app that helps you sleep better and reduces your anxiety.
You can do breathing exercises or go through guided meditations with a pleasant female voice explaining what you should do next. At the moment, it is one of the most popular apps for mental health.
#17 Happify
Another app for improving your mental health, Happify is quite different from Calm, because it takes a more gamified approach to the matter. Happify provides you with a variety of games that encourage you to think positively.
The app will set you on a certain track that will help you achieve a goal you choose (become more grateful, improve your confidence, etc.) With the help of these small games, you will be slowly moving towards your goal.
#18 Headspace
If you are a fan of cartoony-looking apps, then you will definitely enjoy the design of Headspace. This meditation and mindfulness app gives you a variety of exercises that you can complete to improve your mental health.
It can also help you to reduce anxiety and promotes happiness with the help of its numerous features. What’s nice about it is that it also has exercises tailored towards different life situations and even has a kid mode.
#19 Anxiety Couch
Anxiety Couch is the perfect app for those dealing with different kinds of anxiety. From social anxiety disorder to other types of anxiety, it addresses almost any problem you might have that is related to anxiety.
The app also provides users with different resources and information on anxiety while also letting you create a to-do list of things you are afraid of doing – even the smallest tasks – which will help you get through the day safely.
#20 Pacifica (Sanvello)
Now known as Sanvello, Pacifica is an app based on cognitive behavioral therapy which asks you to rate your mood and write an entry about how you are feeling (the second action is optional). Afterward, you can do some exercises within the app.
The activities include such things as meditation, relaxing, recording your thoughts, setting up goals, do breathing exercises, and so on. In other words, it is quite multifunctional and can be a great start for those who want to improve their mental health.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, it is very important to care for your mental and physical health and remember that your well-being depends on how much time you dedicate to them. Follow the advice in this article and you will be able to improve your mental well-being.
You make a lot of good points, Ms. Porter. I think the bottom line is that not all things work for all people and there are some things that some people like better than others. For me personally, it’s exercise. And as you get older you WILL find exercising and movement become even more important. I never take anything for granted. I give thanks every day. As for things like meditation and yoga apparently they have been found to have benefits. If you don’t like yoga then belly-dancing is supposed to be quite good as are things like Tai-Chi and Aikido. And if a person is drawn to the “hard” martial arts they would give you discipline, focus, self-confidence and of course a whole whack of exercise. And after that there’s a nice long steamy soak in a tub for those sore muscles. Remember the Epsom salts.
If people just knew it, the one really effective way to mental health is to become a real true follower of Jesus. All other ways will ultimately fail. “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. “
Thank you! There’s a lot of helpful advice here: start the day consciously, get out of your comfort zone, take walks. Mental health is something to prioritize in peaceful and relatively calm times. And there is a different way for everyone to relax and take care of themselves.