So often in our culture today, we focus on our physical bodies. We fixate on fitness, down the diets, and explode with exercise. Frequently, we do what we can to take care of our bodies. But do we take the same care of our minds? Today’s post is going to give you 5 simple tips to help your mental health- right here and right now. The best part about these intentional living tips is they are attainable and easy enough for anyone to try! Shall we begin?
1. Take it Seriously
This first tip may seem simple, but you would be amazed at the amount of people who don’t take care of their mental health. One of the best ways to combat mental illness is to take your mental health seriously. What do I mean by that? For as much time as you spend on your physical wellbeing, you should spend the same amount (if not more!) time on your mental and emotional health. Give your mind the credit that it deserves. Yes, our body does quite a lot to keep us operating well, but our mind does so much behind the scenes that we aren’t even aware of!
Ssometimes it baffles me how easy it is for people to forgo taking care of their mental health when in reality, their lives would probably be so much better if they actually took it seriously. So, do what you can to take care of your mental health! If you are interested in a great book about learning how to notice and take control over your thoughts and toxic thought patterns, check out this book by Jennie Allen.
2. Figure Out What You Need for Mental Health
This became pivotal for me in my journey to taking care of my mental health. I took some serious time discovering what I need when and for me, being around people is life-giving and energizing. Sometimes though, I need to distance myself from people and spend time either with myself, or with one to two other people for instance. Some of my friends need way more alone time to feel good.
Take some time, now or later, and think about what energizes you. Do you feel excited and happy after spending significant amounts of time with people? Or does that drain and exhaust you? Do you like to listen to music to destress or do you fancy going for a walk? Would you rather share a coffee with a friend or bake a cake by yourself in the kitchen? Figuring out what you need and how you handle stress can be immensely helpful to your mental health.
For people that need guidance in mindfulness, this is a great book that has over 70 different mediations to practice.
In addition, therapy is a fantastic way to help mental health. I’ll link a great Ted Talk by Psychologist Dr. Emily Anhalt all about therapy and its benefits.
Do you need help mapping out what you need? Enter your email below to get a Free PDF download of the “Mental Health Check-In” sheet!
3. What Are You Telling Yourself?
A counselor I was seeing at the time told me some of the best advice I’ve heard in regards to my mental health. She said “you have the power to change how you feel with what you’re telling yourself”. At first I thought “well duh” but the more I reflected, the more it made sense. Often, I get down on myself or beat myself up for something I didn’t do well when instead, I could be celebrating the accomplishments I’ve achieved. Sometimes we need to focus on the positive more to outweigh the negative.
Think of it this way, when we take care of our bodies, one of the best ways to do that is to supply it with good fuel. A healthy meal filled with proteins and veggies is going to help the body run exponentially better than three packs of Twinkies and a bag of Doritos. The same thing goes for our minds and mental health. If we want our minds to operate well, we should “feed” it well i.e. positive, gentle and kind thoughts. We can’t expect our minds to run well on negativity and downtrodden thoughts.
4. Be Patient & Allow Time for Mental Health
Sometimes even the best of us, with our lives “in order”, experience moments when we feel out of sorts. I know I can get into periods of time that I feel like everything is going wrong and I’m failing. *there’s a perfect example of me feeding my brain the wrong kind of thoughts!* But honestly, there is a saying my mom shared with me when I was little that still rings true today- “it will all look different in the morning.” I can’t even begin to tell you how often I felt at rock bottom, went to sleep, and woke up the next morning feeling like I had a brand new perspective on everything. Sometimes, the best possible thing you can do for your mental health is to be patient and allow some time to pass.
I remember one time I felt like one of my favorite friendships was on the brink of ending. Ugly tears had been shed and I had lost all hope of saving the friendship. Then, I went to sleep and when I woke up, I felt completely different. I realized I had misinterpreted some things and that I had communicated poorly. In order to see that though, I allowed some time to pass and waited to “ride the emotion wave” out a bit. Sometimes we just need to be patient.
5. Breathe. Just Breathe.
Now, you may be thinking, “really? after those other tips you’re going to tell me to breathe?” Ok, truthfully I probably could have started with this point. In all the years I’ve spent dealing with my own mental health and even the mental health of people I know, one surefire way to help almost any situation is to breathe. That’s right- take a super deep breath in and let it all the way out. In addition, if you want to get really fancy, you could even box breathe. That’s when you inhale 4 counts, hold 4 counts, exhale 4 counts, and hold 4 counts. You can even change up the length of the counts too.
Really, whatever way you do it, breathing can be hugely helpful. I think sometimes, if our world seems like it’s spinning out around us, taking a moment to stop and breathe can be really grounding. Breathing is (obviously) also good when nothing is going wrong. Taking a second to give your brain and body a little extra oxygen can’t hurt right?
Want a Free Printable to help you Check-In with your Mental Health?
All in all, when it comes to living intentionally, we have to take care of ourselves in order to be intentional with others. A fantastic way to start that process is to take care of your mental health. In conclusion, take it seriously. Figure out what you need to feel good. Take care of what you’re telling yourself. Allow some time to pass and take a solid, deep breath. These 5 simple things can do a world of good when you need to take care of your mental health.
Hugs,
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Love the tips about breathing and being patient! Your mom’s words are wise and convicting! Thanks for sharing!
They truly are super helpful tips! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. 🙂
Wow, awesome ideas that – like you said – anyone can try!! And I like that you differentiated mental health and mental illness.
Hey Julia! Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it!