The Best Things I’ve Done For My Mental Health

Right after new year’s, I published a post listing five things I was planning to do for self-care in 2019. We’re a few months into this year now, and I wanted to check back in. I’m on a pretty good streak when it comes to how I feel, and there are definitely a few changes I’ve made in my life, not just now but over the years, that have contributed to better mental health.

I’m in no way a professional or expert, so please note this is just my personal experience. The very best thing you can do for your mental health if it’s really giving you a hard time, is to see a professional. Any kind of health takes constant care and maintenance, but these are the things I’ve found have made the biggest impact on my day to day life so far.

Exercise

I know, I know… I keep listing exercise as a wonderful way to relieve anxiety, stress and blues, but I’m just going to say it again. Getting a gym membership is the single best thing I’ve done for my mental and physical health. Working out regularly makes my head much clearer, it takes the edge off intense emotions, and makes me feel stronger in many ways. I feel more resilient now, and working up a sweat is the best way I’ve found to get out of your head and finally stop (over)thinking. Humans are made to be active creatures, and I truly believe our modern lifestyles contribute to many of the common mental health issues we tend to experience. Working out isn’t a magic cure for all problems of course, but it’s proven invaluable to me and I hope I never forget how much it has helped me feel better. I currently visit the gym twice a week, have dance rehearsals once weekly, and I generally squeeze in a home workout or long cycling session once a week as well.

Knowing My Basics

Being in my mid-20s and having done my fair share of soul-searching, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what my basic needs are. There are a few conditions that need to be fulfilled in order for me to be happy & healthy long-term, and I’m finally learning to accept that and design my life in a way that caters to my most important needs. Plenty of rest, sleep and alone time, a tidy environment and a bite of food at regular intervals might be of way lesser importance to someone else, but to me, they’re essential. It might not always make me the most fun and exciting person to be around, but not taking time for these definitely makes me worse. I now make sure I don’t go too long without meeting my needs as I know it’ll be detrimental.

Cutting Myself Some Slack

A while back I did a Tea Time where I reacted to people’s assumptions about me. Someone assumed I’m a perfectionist, and I quickly wrote that off. I didn’t think I was a perfectionist because I often don’t take things to perfection. The more I think about it though, the more I realise I definitely am a perfectionist. Whenever I leave something at “good enough” it’s not because I’m ok with leaving it there, but because I’ve given up on it. Lately I’ve been trying to go a bit more easy on myself and actually be ok with less than perfect performance. I like having my week planned out, but if I can’t finish all my to-do’s on time, I try to not beat myself up over it. Having more of a relaxed work and life attitude has really helped make me feel less pressured. I’m sure this’ll be one I have to remind myself of regularly, though.

Guarding My Limits

A few years back I decided to start saying yes to opportunities when they arise, if the only reason I want to say no is fear. It has brought me some amazing experiences and it’s definitely something I want to keep doing. However, as enriching as new experiences can be, too much is too much. When I’ve just taken on a huge challenge by doing something that scares me, I can’t schedule another one too soon afterwards. I’ll need a bit of time to recover, as it were. There are also some challenges that are just too big, or I simply don’t want to take on and in those cases, I need to be able to say no without feeling guilty. The same goes for making sure my basic needs, as mentioned above, are met. There are some instances when I need to put myself first if I want to be of any use to others and/or myself later. There’s a fine line between pushing yourself to expand your horizon, and taking things too far. It’s a difficult line to balance but it’s important to be mindful of.

Are there any steps you’ve recently taken to improve your mental health? What’s the best thing you’ve done?