Taking care of your mental health is so important but can feel overwhelming at times. Last week I made a blog post all about my mental health journey, specifically about my experience with BPD (read here if you missed it), so I thought it would be helpful to share some small ways you can gradually improve your mental health with ease. Try some of these out over the next few weeks and see how you feel.
Self Care
As Emma Thompson said, you’re body is your home. Look after it as best as you can. Self care can look different for everyone depending on what we want or need. Some see self care as the stereotypical face mask, nail painting, skin care conception. This is brilliant and works well for so many people, but self care is whatever you want it to be. For me, self-care may look different every day. In its core, self care is ‘the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health’ (Oxford Languages). It’s about looking after your body and remembering to thank it for everything it’s given you.
Wake Up Earlier For Work or School
I don’t know about you but the less time I have to get ready for work the more stressed I am, which then falls into the rest of my day. If you only give yourself, let’s say, 20 minutes to get up, eat, get ready and leave, it’s more than likely going to negatively effect your day and your mental health. Recently, I’ve been giving myself an hour to get ready after getting out of bed. This gives me enough time to make a nice breakfast, slowly get ready and not feel rushed. It instantly improves my mood and I feel prepared for the day. Try it out tomorrow morning and see how it works for you.
Journal, in some way or another
Having a place to get out your feelings is so important. The ability to outlet those somewhere and make your inner thoughts physical is so beneficial to your mental health. Physical journal works brilliantly for some, but not for everyone. When I was younger, I used to write in a physical journal as it was the only method ever really talked about, but it didn’t work for me. These days, if I write whatever I’m feeling in the notes app on my phone. It’s a quick and easy way to get out my feelings, allowing me to easily jot down feelings from anywhere.
Not big into writing? Try drawing how you feel! Anything that lets your inner thoughts become physical entities is so valuable.
Surround Yourself With Good People
It’s so incredibly true that the people you chose to spend your time with will have an effect on how you feel. For me, personally, the environment that I’m in can easily effect my mental health. In previous points in my life, I can often connect mental health downfalls to the environment I’m in and who I was surrounding myself with at the time. It’s important to feel encouraged and supported by those around you.
Be with people you feel you can talk to with trust. Make sure this is vice-versa. Try your best to be the kind of person those around you feel they can talk to and confide in.
Reduce Your Screen Time
I’m all too guilty of often having an embarrasing amount of screen time. That Monday morning notification that comes in to tell me how many hours I spent on my phone last week is always shocking. My mum always says ‘human beings were not designed to know everything thats happening to everyone all over the world, we were only ever meant to know about our community‘ and this is so true. Social media is a great way to keep in contact with friends from all over the world, but remember that you never need to know everything. Seeing what everyone is doing at all times can really effect you.
Screen time also includes things like your laptop and TV. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching new films and tv shows and am often on my laptop working on this website. However, I have recently become better at knowing when to switch off and focus on the world directly around me. Try reducing your screen time, even by an hour everyday, and see how you feel. No one needs to immediately be available to everyone at all times.
Exercise at Your Own Pace
Exercise is great for mental health *research here to prove this*. I’ve never been big into exercise. Some people love the gym, working out, etc. For others it can be a big commitment that doesn’t work for them. If you’re a gym person, that can really help your mental health and is highly recommended. For those like me that struggle, there are some small ways you can exercise that really help.
Is your workplace/school in walking distance? Try walking, even once a week, and see how it improves your mental well-being. Take the stairs instead of a lift or escalators. Explore your town by foot. Prefer staying home right now? Get up and stretch every now and then, find some easy/chill at home workouts or yoga/meditation.
Be Proud of Small Victories
Being able to recognise small victories is so important in encouraging yourself. I’ve been practicing this a lot recently. Those living with mental health issues can often struggle with small tasks that others may find easy, i.e. waking up, having a shower, brushing their teeth, getting dressed for the day, etc. There is a lot of value in being proud of those small achievements in order to motivate you to do more.
When I write my to do list for the day, I include these small tasks to help motivate me. In amongst my more important tasks, I will add ‘brush your teeth’, ‘shower’, etc. Being able to tick those off as well of my other tasks makes me proud of those small achievements.
Little Daily Treats
The phrase ‘little daily treats’ has been going around social media lately and I am obsessed. It’s almost like a little reward you give yourself each day. This can also link to the point above. If you achieved a small task, reward yourself that day. For example, whenever I finish writing a blog post I treat myself to watching a TV show. Or, if I’ve just done a deep clean of my flat, I’ll take a break and go get myself a coffee. Having these little rewards to look forward to it great motivation and is an easy way to improve your mental well-being.
Do Something You Enjoy
Try and plan something you enjoy doing into your daily life. If that’s a little tricky, just aim for a few times a week. For me personally, I enjoy art and blog writing. So, everyday I try and make time for one of the two. Doing something you enjoy can be such a brilliant way to relax and unwind, whether this is at the start, middle or end of the day. Give yourself a break and really induldge in something you love to do.
Take care of yourself, your body and your life. Appreciate the value in small victories. Surround yourself with the right kind of people. Give yourself a little treat every now and then. You deserve it.
What are your favourite little ways to boost your mental health? Let me know below, I’d love to try them out!
with love,
becky
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Sources:
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
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