October 16, 2023
1. Spend time with yourself
“Solitude, whether you’re physically alone or mentally separate from those around you, can have a restorative effect on mental health. You could be showing signs you need alone time without even knowing it.
There’s a difference between time alone and loneliness. Alone time is a healthy way to recharge, destress, and recenter yourself. Loneliness is unwanted mental or physical isolation that can negatively impact mental and physical health, sleep, and cognitive abilities. However, lack of alone time can affect your mental health, too.
Life is a balancing act where the scales can easily get tipped off center. Once you recognize the signs of overwhelm and stress that accompany a lack of alone time, you can regularly schedule some solitude to recenter and bring balance back into your life.”
More: https://psychcentral.com/health/signs-you-need-a-little-me-time
2. Take care of your physical health
“Physical activity is not only good for your body, but it’s also great for your mind.
Being active releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good – boosting your self-esteem and helping you concentrate as well as sleep well and feel better. Not bad for something many of us can do for free!
Being active doesn’t have to mean taking out an expensive gym membership or running marathons. Finding an activity you enjoy can give you a goal to aim for and a sense of purpose. It can also be a great way to meet people, have a break from daily life and gain confidence.”
3. Nurture healthy relationships
“Relationships, including the one you have with yourself, are vital to our mental wellbeing. People with healthy, positive and supportive relationships are more likely to be happier and healthier.
Creating and maintaining good connections with others can also help to combat loneliness and improve mental health issues, such as stress and anxiety.”
4. Make time to laugh
“Nobody knows precisely why we laugh, though suspicions are that it performed an important bonding and social function in early human groups. We do know something about what it does, though. Psychologically, it improves mood almost immediately and lowers stress and anxiety. Physically, it lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, while raising the “feel good” neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin.”
More: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/01/a-laugh-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away/
5. Go for a walk outside
“We all know that going out for a walk is good for our physical health, but it doesn’t stop there. Research shows that getting outside in nature has many mental health benefits as well.
Walking has been proven effective in reducing anxiety and depression, and there is further evidence that walking in nature improves those results even further. That’s because different parts of our brain activate in nature. Our mind calms, leading to physical changes including a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure.
But don’t think you have to hike a mountain to feel the results. Spending time outside at a park or any green space can have the same effect. Even if it’s only for a few minutes during a lunch break, getting out in nature can positively impact your mental health.”
More: https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/mental-health-benefits-of-getting-outside/
6. Get a good night’s sleep
“When we don’t get enough of the quality sleep we need for our bodies to function at its best, it can affect our mental health, too. Poor sleep can make it harder to cope with daily stress. We may be more impacted by minor negative things and less likely to notice the positive parts of our day.
Think about the last time you didn’t sleep your best. Did you feel irritable or short-tempered? It’s likely that you had trouble dealing with emotions that arose from minor challenges. Maybe you noticed that it was easier to slip into feelings of stress, worry or anxiety. And, getting too little or poor-quality sleep, for even a few nights a week, is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel: when we sleep well, we are recharged and ready to face the day. Following good sleep, we tend to cope better, process information in a more balanced fashion, and have a brighter outlook on life.”
More: https://www.thensf.org/how-is-your-sleep-health-linked-to-your-mental-health/
7. Set healthy limits/boundaries
“Setting boundaries aren’t always easy. The process itself—letting people know where your needs and limits are—can often be stressful, especially for those who aren’t used to it.
When people are used to relationship boundaries that are at a certain point, they can put up a fight if you try to change your boundaries with them, and people (like children) often try to test boundaries among one another. This can all be stressful, especially when you take into account the toll of conflict on stress levels.
However, the end result can be well worth it: relationships that involve greater levels of mutual respect, that meet the needs of all parties involved, and that create much less stress for everyone.”
More: https://www.verywellmind.com/setting-boundaries-for-stress-management-3144985
8. Ask for help when you need it
“It’s crucial to reach out when you are dealing with mental health struggles. This could include anything from suicidal thoughts to the feeling of loneliness or anxiety.
Reaching out is important even if, from past experiences, you don’t feel that doing so will make a difference.
By reaching out and being honest about what you are going through, you’re more likely to receive the correct guidance and support you need.”
9. Cry when you need to
“Crying is an important safety valve, largely because keeping difficult feelings inside — what psychologists call repressive coping — can be bad for our health. Studies have linked repressive coping with a less resilient immune system, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, as well as with mental health conditions, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Crying has also been shown to increase attachment behavior, encouraging closeness, empathy, and support from friends and family.”
More: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-crying-good-for-you-2021030122020
10. Help others
“Helping and interacting with others can positively impact your mental health. Connecting with another person is the best way to relieve stress. It has also been found that working with pets and other animals positively affects one’s mood and mental health.
Alongside, volunteering helps alleviate the symptoms of depressive disorders. Aside from that, it keeps you in touch with others regularly and aids in developing a solid support network, both of which reduce your risk of depression.
Similarly, researchers have discovered that helping others brings pleasure by improving hormones and brain activity. Nonetheless, helping is ingrained in the human psyche. So, when we give, our happiness increases.”
More: https://www.dorchesterhabitat.org/how-helping-others-can-improve-your-mental-health/
