15 Things To Do To Drastically Improve Your Mental Health
During this process, it was hard for me to admit to myself how much negativity and toxic habits I’ve allowed myself to hold on to just because they feel comfortable.
For every toxic habit, mindset, and relationship, I always had a justifiable reason why I still need to hold on to it but the reality is, I actually really don’t.
I was just so afraid of making the change that I’d rather stay unhappy because they feel familiar. But the thing is we can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.
We can’t keep choosing to hold on to so much negativity and expect to wake up happier.
If you want to improve your mental health and change your life for the better, you have to let go of what no longer serves you. It’s important to be perfectly honest with yourself during this process and don’t beat yourself up.
Give yourself grace and compassion and congratulate yourself for taking the necessary steps needed to achieve your mental health goals.
4. Don’t Be Afraid To Reach Out
Do you also find it so difficult to reach out to other people and ask for help and support? I certainly do.
When I was going through the lowest point of my life, I was so overwhelmed with the stress and the constant problems that I had to face, and yet I refused to let anybody know what I was going through.
I kept pretending that I was fine and that everything was okay because I was so afraid of being a burden to other people.
I felt so isolated and alone and it just made me feel so much worse. If you feel the same way too, I want you to know that you will never be a burden to the people who truly love you.
The people who really care for you will be there to listen to you and support you. They may not always exactly understand what you are going through but they will be there to listen, to bring you comfort, and to hold your hand while you go through the storms of life.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness either. Sometimes there are just things in life that are too big for us to carry alone and that’s perfectly okay.
5. Make Self Care A Priority
Making self care a priority is definitely one of the best mental health goals you can make.
How many times have you chosen to put your needs on the back burner thinking that they are really not important?
I get it. When there are so many things going on in our lives, taking care of ourselves is probably the last thing on our minds. Well, to be perfectly honest, sometimes it doesn’t even make our to-do list.
Most of us are guilty of constantly taking ourselves for granted and always saying yes to other people thinking that our needs don’t matter.
But it does. You matter. There is certainly nothing wrong in making yourself a priority if it means protecting your peace, mental health and happiness.
Taking some time for ourselves is not selfish. For so long, I believed that it was too. But I’ve learned that it is actually a necessity.
We have to take care of ourselves and listen to our bodies if we want to be fully present and keep taking care of the people that we love.
Remember that self care is not always about spending so much money and all those grand things. It can sometimes be as simple as allowing ourselves the time to finish the book that we have been wanting to read for the longest time.
6. Practice Gratitude
I know that when everything around you is falling apart, finding something to be grateful for may seem impossible.
When I hit rock bottom, practicing gratitude was definitely the last thing on my mind. When you have to face so much stress, problems, and burden, it’s not always easy to be grateful for something.
This is what I felt. I let negativity take control and every time I woke up, I only allowed myself to focus on the bad things and all the challenges that I was going through. Doing that didn’t help me in any way.
It just made everything worse. It made me bitter and angry at the world and it just made me feel more hopeless.
I’ve learned that practicing gratitude doesn’t mean that you are invalidating the struggles that you are going through or minimizing the pain and heartbreak that you are feeling.
I believe that being grateful is acknowledging that though everything is falling apart, there is still hope and you can still find happiness even in the little things.
Practicing daily gratitude did not only helped drastically improved my mental health but it also helped me find hope even during difficult times.
7. Be Kinder To Yourself
Are you also guilty of constantly criticizing yourself and always beating yourself up for every little mistake?
Learning to be kinder to yourself and giving yourself compassion and grace does not only help drastically improve your mental health and overall well-being but it can also boost your self-esteem and confidence.
I know that sometimes tough love can be motivating and eye-opening. But the problem really starts when we constantly judge ourselves for every flaw and criticize every little detail of our life.
The more that we do this, the more we are negatively impacting our self worth and the easier it is to start doubting ourselves and questioning our capabilities.
Know that you as much as anybody else deserve kindness and compassion. It’s time to learn to be your own cheerleader and stop the negative self talk.
8. Set Healthy Boundaries
Setting healthy boundaries is another vital aspect in protecting your peace and mental health, making it a great mental health goal.
I want to ask you this, how many times have you overextended yourself to other people because you were so afraid of disappointing them?
How many times have you said yes to other people just to gain their approval and validation?
I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I have done this. I was guilty of constantly saying yes to other people without realizing that by doing this, I was also saying no to myself and my needs.
It was so hard for me to say no to other people, especially the people closest to me regardless of how burned out and exhausted I was because I have always believed that my worth and value are tied to their approval.
If you feel the same way too, I want you to know that that is not true. You are enough and worthy just as you are now and you don’t have to prove your worth to anybody.
The only validation that you will ever need is your own. Constantly overextending yourself to other people is just exhausting and mentally and emotionally draining.
It did not do me any good. It only left me with so much resentment and anger towards other people.
9. Learn To Be Present And Mindful
In today’s day and age where it is so easy to be swept away by the chaos and noise of life, learning to be mindful and present are more important than ever to cultivate and add to our mental health goals.
Most of us are guilty of spending all our time worrying about the future or reminiscing about the past.
I’m definitely one of those people. I was always guilty of either constantly rushing through my days or just spending my days on autopilot. I didn’t realize that by doing this I was robbing myself of the chance to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.
I was missing out on actually living every little moment of my life. Life is by far too precious and fleeting to spend all our time just mindlessly navigating through our days.
Being mindful and present not only help us make more meaningful connections but also helps us live a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
Here’s a blog post from Very Well Mind that’ll help you learn how to be mindful.
10. Limit Screen Time
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