7 ways to improve your mental health
Nowadays there is a lot of discussion surrounding the theme of mental health. That it needs to be taken care of is an undeniable fact, since it is just as important is physical health, it even influences it (as a proof, we could use the neverending list of psychosomatic disorders and illnesses that start “in the head” and show on the body). For many people, the ideal solution lies with a consultation with a professional, or regular sittings with a therapist. However, we do realise that not everybody has such a choice or wants it, or they simply have a feeling that they do not need it. That is why we offer a few simple tips that anybody can try. They only require a change of view, but they can help you upkeep your mental health and calm mind.
Get rid of toxic people and habits
Try to think about all the things that left behind a bad feeling about yourself. Also think about people who, after meeting them, made you feel totally under the weather. You have to realise that you are not the one to blame. It is the people and the particular actions that are at fault. You should know that there are people who enjoy the feeling of having control over others and revel in the way you are gradually falling apart right before their eyes. Perhaps, you became a victim of their pettiness as well. However, no one is entitled to act like you were garbage. That is why, for your own good, I recommend you to remove those people from your life as fast as possible. The same goes for toxic habits, like for example self-depreciation. Stop offending yourself, stop talking about yourself in a manner that suggests you to be the worst person in the universe. Be aware of your worth and be proud of yourself.
Focus on your personal growth
We often tend to put the needs of others before our own. And that is a mistake. To want to satisfy others and to try to help them at all times is a good trait. However, you need to set up your boundaries, which can help you avoid situations in which you forget about yourself while helping others to thrive. This narrows our personal development. Let us look at an example of this from school. It often just so happens that a student is so blinded and focused on aiding others that they totally forget that they need some time for themselves to revise the given topic. The result of that can be a worse grade, although the student understood the subject, but they just did not have enough time to revise well, or other, even less pleasant problems arise. Miraculously, the person who they helped excelled. That is the reason why I am telling you, it is alright to be selfish sometimes and say no. Let’s learn to prefer our own needs and only then to open our arms to the ones who ask for our help. I am not implying that you should refuse every single plea. Think about, if by giving this helping hand, you could limit your development, and then decide if you will take up this request.
Find trust in yourself
It is already enough that our decisions are being questioned, we do not need to pour more fuel into the fire. Yes, we made decisions in our lives that did not turn out exactly well, we later started regretting them and blaming ourselves. And that is the point where you should make a change. These situations ought to be seen as learning opportunities. Stand behind your decisions, but be ready to consider the opinions of other people, which might be more correct than yours. When someone tells you that the thing you did was wrong or that you should have done it some other way, it does not mean you have become the stupidest person in the world and you will never do anything well again till the end of time. Take it as an opportunity to realise what you should be keeping an eye on in the future. Encourage yourself into activity and do not hesitate to do something just because you are afraid of making a mistake. And most importantly, you do not need to be worried if you did make a mistake after all. Make a small mental note and keep going.
Focus on small aims rather than the big ones
What I mean by this tip is to take baby steps. Do not give up your dreams, no matter how big they are. However, do not expect that things will just fall into your hands by themselves either. Set up smaller aims that should be fulfilled so that you can gradually move closer to what you are dreaming of, what you want to achieve. And most importantly, when you establish smaller goals and expectations for yourself, you will avoid the disappointment of failure and the probability that you will succeed in these smaller ones is higher. Focus on the present. If you want to be, for example, a doctor, do not expect to take a shortcut to it. Hours of studying and examining and hard work will be necessary, but if you don’t give up in this phase of preparation, you will more easily handle the bigger steps that you will need to take to accomplish your dream. Do not give up, if one of your ten set objectives does not work out. Learn from it and continue fighting for what you want to achieve.
Find something that will fulfill you
You have been surely confronted with the saying that “a busy mind is a happy mind”. It actually means that if you are constantly occupied by something, you have no time for overthinking, which is always guaranteed to lead to a bad mood. It is really true that if you are perpetually busy with something, you simply do not have any space to deal with negative thoughts, which is something your mental health will be very thankful for.
However, it is not about forcing ourselves into all possible occupations just so we would not have time to think. The point of this “therapy” is to find an activity that we will enjoy and feel satisfied by. There is nothing better than putting all your effort into your passion. Whether it is drawing, singing, musical instruments or even exercising. Everybody will find themselves enjoying something else and that is the exact pursuit that can serve as the best and most efficient therapy. I am sure you will later agree that life is suddenly completely different when there is something which you absolutely adore doing, which fulfills you and motivates you to constantly move forth and become better.
Learn to be with yourself
It is true that humans are social creatures, and that will probably never change. On the other hand, it is not good to be completely dependent on the presence of other people. It is really necessary for each one of us to spend time by ourselves without feeling irrevocably lonely. We must realise that often the only person we can turn to or rely on is ourselves, and there is nothing wrong with that. Furthermore, by learning to spend time in our own presence, we get to know ourselves better, we realise and reconsider many things and the best thing that can happen to us is finding a best friend within ourselves, which I daresay is one of the biggest pleasures in life.
Learn to find joy in small things
You might tell yourself that this overused sentence is just some kind of a phrase that is extensively used by overly optimistic people, and it does not actually work, but you might be in for a surprise. It is just unbelievable how it can influence our mood and how we start taking joy from things that, at first glance, do not mean much. The time spent with family or friends, beautiful weather, sunsets, or simply that we are healthy and can do almost anything. All of these are ideal examples. Numerous things that can make us happy happen daily, but we don’t do it, because we got used to taking them for granted, and that robs us of a bit of happiness. But I believe that after this unpleasant situation that has been happening for the past year disappears, every single one of us will be looking forward to coffee with friends in your favourite café, or to a movie in a cinema with fresh popcorn. It is said that to enjoy little things is a luxury, which is really true, but I think that this type of luxury is affordable to all of us, you just really have to set your mind to it.
We hope that these simple tips have helped you or that they have at least spiked your interest and you will keep a backdoor to them open for the future. Maybe you will see, just as we did, that the journey to a peaceful mind is often right in front of our nose, and to start, it is enough to start with small steps such as these. We wish you a lot of patience with learning to care for yourself and most importantly, firm health.
