Small habits that can swing a good day
Photo by soheyl dehghani on Unsplash
When it comes to managing your own mental well-being, can be tricky.
I once heard someone describe mental health as a journey and it hit me right in the feels. You have good days, you have okay days and you have bad days.
These are the 17 habits that help me improve my mental health and turn okay days into good days.
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Read also: stop using this phrases: they are weakening your mind highly recommended
17 habits that improve my mental health
Get outside within the first few hours of waking up — Something about nature shakes me out of a bad mood.
Write out my thoughts the night before — If something is bothering me, writing it out helps alleviate my mind of the stress.
Tackle the hard things first — Big meetings stress me out, if I can I’ll schedule them early.
Get perspective — I zoom in and out regularly. I reflect on my life now and feel the stress of the day but then I zoom right out and remember I won’t remember this in a year’s time.
Read — Getting lost in a good book is great for the soul.
Reduce the caffeine — Coffee makes me jittery. If I’m already anxious it sends my mind looping. I’ll reduce my intake when I need to.
Avoiding alcohol — I like cider as much as the next person. Fizzy drinks make my stomach spin into overdrive but alcohol impacts my mood. Too much alcohol equals a sad Eve
Dog time — I simply adore my girls. They are the light of my life; without them, I’d be in a tailspin. Having time with them is a must for my mental well-being.
Working on my own thing — I feel genuine joy from writing on the internet. It makes me feel like I’m building my future.
Prepping — For some reason, preparing lunches, and thinking about outfits for the week gives me a sense of control that is comforting.
Cleaning — In a similar vein, a house free of clutter and one that isn’t harbouring mess puts my mind at ease.
Having something to look forward to — I took a Friday off this week and it was terrific. I’ve got a trip coming up and I’m excited about it. Having something to look forward to improves your mood.
Embrace new things — I’m starting a few new blogs. I’m dipping my toes into the water of SEO. A few weeks ago I tried writing for other people (I didn’t love it) and now I’m trying something else.
Set personal goals — I’ve recently got into running. Having a fitness goal is liberating.
Exercise — On the note of running, exercise of any kind is good for the mind. You’re so busy focusing on not passing out that you forget to worry about all the things in your life.
Spend time with people you love — being around the people that make your life is a superb use of time and does wonders for your mental wellbeing
Teach — Humans like to help others. It makes us feel useful. It also does wonders for your mental well-being to know that you helped someone else solve their problem.
Read also: 5 simple ways to slow down (highly recommended)
Adding it up
Maybe I should add an 18th to this list: to experiment.
This is just a list that works for me, it might be helpful to you (I hope it is) but it might not work so well for you.
I only got to these 17 things by testing and trailing things that worked for me. It’s not simple this mental health stuff, it’s nuanced, complex and different for everyone.
But I hope this helps even a tiny bit.
Contributed by Eve Arnold
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