Looking after your mental health is one of the most important things in life. There are too many suicides because people feel alone but there not alone they just need to know who is there to help including ways to help themselves. So here are some ways to help yourself and others to improve mental health.
Accept Yourself
It’s easy for people to tell you to accept yourself, but it’s not quite as easy to do…
Always worried about what people think of you or what they are saying?
If you worry about what everyone else thinks, you will never be able to accept you for you. It’s a hard thing to do, but you need to forget what anyone else thinks – once you can accept yourself then you will be happy with yourself.
You can also take steps to remove toxic relationships from your life.
Accept your mistakes because they can’t be changed – life still goes on. Just try to be thankful for the things you have.
Eat Properly
If you’re eating the wrong foods, you won’t be getting the nutrients that your body needs, and this can make it harder for you to keep healthy.
Food that is high in fat or sugar, even fried or processed foods, are bad for you and your mental health. Fruits, vegetables, fish, and even high fiber are all good – if your body is healthy, it’s easier to have a healthy mind.
Eating junk food or unhealthy foods can cause obesity, which often makes it harder to accept yourself. If you don’t like the way you look, this can affect your mental health.
Looking for some healthy eating tips?
Here are some to get you started:
- Try salmon, which is high in omega 3 and vitamin D, both of which are good for your mental health.
- If you like to eat snacks, instead of unhealthy snacks why not try some dried fruit and nuts? Even baby tomatoes can be good as a snack.
- If you still feel the urge to have chocolate, why not try dark chocolate? It has a high level of flavonoids, which is an antioxidant – great for enhancing moods.
Eating a small amount of junk food is still acceptable as a treat, so there’s no need to cut it out completely.
Drink Responsibly
Never try to drink away your problems or feelings. Drink, drugs, junk food, and self-harming may feel like it will help for the moment, but it will cause more problems long term.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean don’t drink or eat junk food at all…
If you’re out with family or friends and have a drink, this is different from drinking to avoid your problems. Just make sure that you have a safe journey and a designated driver.
Ask for Help
Asking for help is not always easy, but there are a lot of people who can provide it. Your doctor is always there to help with any issues. There are also support groups that can help as well – there is no judgment there, just a group of people all going through similar things.
Here are some of the groups you can turn to for help:
Talk to Someone
Asking for help doesn’t necessarily mean talking to a stranger about your problems.
Sometimes, just talking to anyone can help, whether family or friend or medical professional.
Some people feel like talking to their loved ones is better for them because it can help if you feel alone. Knowing your family or friends are there for you can help you avoid feeling alone.
While some people feel the opposite and don’t want to talk to or burden their family, family and friends are always there to help. They only want what’s best for you and it can sometimes help to talk to someone you trust.
If you feel like you still don’t want your family or friends to know what’s going on, there are always health professionals who are there to help and advise you, as well as support groups.
Spend Time With Loved Ones
Sometimes, the best therapy is spending time with loved ones.
Whether it’s a quick visit or a longer vacation, just spending time with the people you love can be the best therapy. Just a walk in the park or a visit with family, hearing their laughter, seeing their happy faces. Doing things that make you happy with family or friends can sometimes be the best thing for you. Even just a cup of tea or coffee and a talk with someone can make you feel a lot better.
Why not watch a movie and have some takeout if you’re not in the mood to talk?
Just having someone there with you can make you feel a sense of love. If there are kids in the family, playing games with them or helping them achieve new goals can feel really rewarding.
Keep in Touch
Keep in touch with family or friends.
Whether it’s catching up or just a quick hi.
Maybe you’re not a very sociable person or you’re not ready to go out and see people – just remember that no one needs to see you to say hi, they’re just a phone call away. Plus, thanks to FaceTime, if you choose to, you can see them without actually having to be with anyone.
If you don’t want to actually phone, why not send a message instead? It might not seem like much, but just a quick message can be enough to make you feel better.
Me-Time
Spending time with loved ones is great, but always remember that looking after yourself is very important.
Plan a weekend away just by yourself, or give yourself an hour after the kids go to bed. Read a book, take up a hobby, enjoy a hot bubble bath, or just relax in front of the tv – it really is up to you how you want to spend it, since this is your time.
Care for Others
Caring for yourself and your mental health is important, and making sure you look after yourself keeps you feeling good.
But what about your family, friends or even neighbors?
Always be on the lookout for people in need of some help. If you see someone looking lost, maybe they just need someone to talk to. So, why not check on your loved ones and your elderly neighbor to see if they need help, or if they just need someone to talk to.
Exercise
Keeping fit and exercising is very important for your mind and your body. If you’re unfit, it can lower your self-esteem.
So, whether you’re a fitness fanatic or just like going for a walk, there’s a lot of different exercises to choose from.
There are gyms to go to for a workout or there are DVDs if you prefer working out alone. Or why not work out with a family member or a friend? Maybe a bit of friendly competition could help motivate you.
This doesn’t mean you have to change your whole lifestyle – why not just walk to the shop or school instead of driving?
Try parking a little bit further away from your destination and walk or jog the last part.
There’s also the option of having your own weight bench or even a set of weights, a treadmill, or a cross-trainer – there are so many workout machines that you can use without leaving your home.
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is our opinion of ourselves. Having low self-esteem can really affect your mental health because this is when you start to think more negatively about yourself.
Sometimes, just building your self-esteem can make such a difference.
If you have low self-esteem, you might avoid social situations, you might not challenge yourself and you might not want to try new things.
To raise your self-esteem, you could try doing something you’re good at and making it a bit more challenging until you feel better.
If you have relationships in your life that make you feel bad about yourself, then remove them from your life. Learn to say no – some people with low self-esteem feel the need to always say yes when they don’t want to.
So, if you really don’t want to do it, there’s no reason that you have to. You have to make your own decisions – it’s your life and you’re in charge of your own happiness.
Do Some Writing
Sometimes, just getting your mind off of everything and writing about something can help, whether it’s something you know about or something completely new.
You could try picking a random subject and setting a challenge on how many words you can write, or, if you struggle to make the decision, you can always ask a friend to pick a subject. So, whether it’s writing about something new or writing a story you made up, it can help to take your mind off of your life, even if it’s just for a few minutes a day.
Gardening
Gardening can be rewarding in different ways. It’s good for your mental health, keeping you active, and, while doing that, your garden will look amazing.
Just cutting your grass or doing some weeding can be great therapy, and it can really improve your garden too. If you’re feeling ambitious, you could redo your whole garden and do a whole garden makeover.
So, whether it’s a few hours in the garden or a few days, you can transform your garden and feel better about yourself while doing it.
Yoga
Yoga can be therapeutic with the way in which it reduces stress and releases tension from muscles. Yoga is something you can do by yourself or with a friend, or even join a yoga group.
Yoga can help with depression, anxiety, stress, energy, and more.
Meditation
Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety.
Find somewhere nice and quiet where you can relax and clear your mind. Make sure you’re wearing comfortable clothes. Sit down on the floor, cross your legs, back straight, close your eyes, and clear your mind.
Go to your happy place and forget the world around you, think only happy, soothing thoughts, and breath in and out slowly and calmly. Go into your deepest thoughts. If you are still unsure, there are videos and books available to help.
Think Only Positive Thoughts
Sometimes we put ourselves down and only see the negatives and the things we hate about ourselves. Learning to see the good in life and the positive things can be hard to do, but once you manage it you will be a lot happier with yourself and life.
So, instead of thinking about the things you don’t like about yourself, why not think about all the things that you do like about yourself? They might only be small things, like your hair or your eyes, maybe even the way you look in an outfit. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s positive thoughts about yourself.
When you wake up in the morning don’t think about anything that you don’t want to do. Instead, why not think about something you’re looking forward to?
Do Something You Enjoy
Find a hobby that you enjoy doing, whether it’s reading a book, going for a walk, skydiving, or spending time with loved ones.
If you enjoy doing something and it makes you happy, then make time to do it. It might only be a spare hour a week, but it will make a difference to how you feel and it can be something to look forward to each week.
Listen to Music
Listening to your favorite song or band/artist can brighten up your day.
Just the memories that a song can bring back can make a big difference to how you are feeling. Maybe it’s a song from when you were a child or your first date with your partner, or the song you sang to your child. Just one song can change your whole mood in an instant.
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