Habits To Improve Mental Health
Our mental health rules our world. It affects everything we do so keeping it in optimal condition is essential to live a full life
Mental Health
Good mental health equates to positive psychological and emotional wellbeing. It affects our behaviour, mood, feelings and thoughts. It has an impact to all areas of our life including our relationships, physical wellbeing, day to day life and overall health. Keeping it in good order allows us to live a full, happy and peaceful life. The benefits of good mental health and 83 simple habits to improve it below
"Mental health…is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going"
Noam Shpancer
29 Benefits of Good Mental Health
Keeping our mental health in good order means keeping our world in order. Some of the benefits of having good mental health include;
- Coping with the stresses and strains of life
- Improved moods
- Reduced anxiety
- Clearer Thinking
- Reduced levels of depression
- Lower levels of stress
- Resiliency
- Increased levels of self-esteem and confidence
- Enjoyment of life
- Ability to contribute to Society
- Feelings of wellbeing
- Living to your Potential
- Adaptability to Change
- Having a sense of contentment
- Experiencing positive feelings such as joy, happiness and gratitude
- Inner Peace
- Inner strength
- Higher levels of productiveness
- Ability to learn new skills
- Greater calm
- Ability to express emotion (both positive and negative)
- Higher levels of engagements in activities (such as work or school)
- Increased Creativity
- More settled behaviour
- Better Relationships
- A sense of meaning and purpose
- Increased life span
- Ability to move on from difficult situations in life
- Physical benefits such as; decreased risk of
“Change what you can, manage what you can’t.”
Amit Ray
83 Simple Habits To Help Mental Health
There are many habits we can adopt to help with our mental health. We can look at the things that we put it into our body, the things we do & the way we do them, the way we think and how we interact with others and the environment. 83 simple habits below and plenty of further examples in the further exploration section;
- Mindfulness: Stay in the present moment. There are no problems in the present moment. Our mind only worries about past or future experiences. Focus on the things around you, the sights and sounds. Bring yourself back to the present.
- Meditation: Stop the thoughts and calm the mind. Try Peaceful Soul Meditation 101 here
- Sleep: Be well rested, fresh and alert. Get just enough of it. Between 7-9 hours. Peaceful Soul guide to sleep here
- Exercise: A natural endorphin producer boosting mood and making us look and feel too
- Thoughts: Don’t let your thoughts control the person that you are. Be aware of and analyse them. Look at your thinking patterns. Peaceful Soul guide to thoughts here
- Stop Overthinking: Overthinking and mulling things over too much is an inevitable way to negatively affect our mental health. There are many ways to stop overthinking from meditation through to making a thought journal. See Peaceful Soul guide to stopping overthinking here
- Reduce Sugar Intake: Reduce the short time “high” and the inevitable crash
- Reduce Social Media: Try to avoid the “fakeness” (yes, that is a made up word!) of social media. Get into the real world and spend time with real people
- Technology: Stop staring at the smart phone and look at the beautiful world and people around you
- Get Out Into Nature: Get out into the great outdoors for a natural mental boost. See Peaceful Soul forest bathing guide here
- Get Nature In: Make your home an indoor sanctuary. Bring the natural soothing of plants in to your home
- Sunshine: Get in the sun to get your vitamin D which has been shown in studies to boost mood and overall levels of wellbeing. Plus it’s fun in the sun
- Drink More Water: Being dehydrated can affect mood and energy levels. Keep hydrated in order to feel good
- Smile & Laugh More: If you need a little boost, trick your brain into thinking you’re happy with a little smile or laugh. Or just be happy and smile & laugh more. Try it.
- Help Others: Do good for others and help your own wellbeing & sense self of worth in the process. Peaceful Soul guide to helping others here
- Positive Affirmations: Try a couple of minutes of positive affirmations every morning to get yourself into a good mindset
- Eliminate Negative Self-Talk: Ever told yourself, “You’re so stupid!” or “Why on earth did you do that?!” Well stop doing that! You will become your thoughts, talk to your self in a nice and supportive way and…
- Be Your Own Best Friend: Treat yourself the way you would treat a best friend. Give yourself a pep talk when you need it
- Aromatherapy: Certain smells can help to lower stress and anxiety levels. Give Lavender, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang or Rose a try
- Peaceful Surroundings: Make your surroundings peaceful to support your overall levels of wellbeing. Peaceful Soul guide to surroundings here
- Assertiveness: Don’t let people tell you what to do. Be assertive and don’t feel pressured into doing things you don’t want to
- Confidence: Have confidence in yourself and the things that you do. Try Peaceful Soul’s guide to confidence here
- Hang Inspirational Artwork & Pictures of Loved Ones: Surround yourself with art and people who inspire you and they will lift your mood when you see them
- Concentrate on One Thing At a Time: Multi-tasking can confuse us and put more pressure on us than we need. Cut down the multi-tasking and try concentrating on one thing at a time
- Get Out of Your Head: Our reality is made up in our mind. Going over things again and again in our head rarely leads to happiness. Get out of your head through techniques such as mindfulness and meditation
- Have Goals: Having goals gives us a focus and something to work towards, i.e. a sense of purpose
- Don’t Put Too Much Pressure on Yourself: A little pressure might be good for motivation however too much can have an adverse affect on our mental health. Be realistic in what you can achieve
- Write Things Down: If you have anything buzzing around in your head, try writing it down. It can help you understand what it is bothering you and form a game plan to solve it. It can help us to see our problems in black and white
- Have Boundaries: Know your boundaries and stick to them. Don’t let yourself or others push you into things you don’t want to do
- Say No When You Need To: When you have set your boundaries, be strong and say no when you don’t want to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable
- Practice Breathing Exercises: Bring natural peace and calm to your world through breathing exercise. See Peaceful Soul guide here
- Change The Mindset: Change from a static to a growth mindset. Don’t see yourself a certain type of person who always acts in the same way. Change to realise that you are someone who is always evolving in both their actions and words
- Have a Plan: Like goals, plans help focus the mind and provide us with a sense of ease that we know what we should be doing and when
- Forgive: Don’t carry grudges. There is no point. As the old quote goes, “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die”
- Stop Procrastinating: Take action and get things done. It feels good to accomplish stuff. Peaceful Soul guide to stop procrastinating here
- Posture: Our mood and confidence can boosted by the simple act of sitting up straight and having correct posture
- Eat well: Leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices can all contribute to increased levels of wellbeing and mental health. Get a balanced diet to help boost mental health
- Know Your Values: Knowing who we are and what is dear to us can help us to live those values. Know your values, write them down and live by them
- Talk: The stigma around mental health has decreased and people are now a lot more open and receptive to helping others with their mental health. Find someone trusted to share your concerns with. A problem shared really is a problem halved
- Have Strong Relationships: Build strong relationships with people. The reassurance and sense of contentment that having strong relationships brings helps enormously with mental health
- Cut Out Toxic People: We all know people who bring us down and make us feel negatively about ourself. Talk to them about your concerns or cut them out, you don’t need them
- Speak to Friends: They know us inside out and will want to help if we are ever feeling down. Give them a call, be honest with them about how you’re feeling. They will help put things into perspective (and a smile on your face)
- Speak to Family: Our family, our support network. Talk to trusted family members if there is anything you need to get off your chest
- Takes Small Steps: Look at those big daunting things you need to do in life and chunk them into smaller, more manageable pieces. They will seem much simpler when you do
- Do Your Bit for the Environment: It feels good and you can help save the world. Peaceful Soul’s environment guide here
- Be Kind To Yourself: Treat and look after yourself well
- Take a Vacation: Take time off from work and get away from the day to day stresses and strains. We often have a different perspective when we return from a well deserved break
- Take Mental Wellbeing Time: Dedicate time to look after your mental wellbeing. Give yourself 30 minutes a day to just concentrate on you
- Stop Feeling Guilty: Guilt can overwhelm us and take over our life. Only feel guilty about the things you should feel guilty about and even then, only allow your guilt for a suitable period of time. See Peaceful Soul guide to guilt here
- Have Down Time: Take time to have breaks and relax. Trying to always be on will learn to burn out and exhaustion
- Listen to Uplifting Music: We all have songs that instantly put us in a good mood. Put them on and feel the lift
- Dance: Not only good for exercise but also a bit of fun. Have a bit of a dance to boost your mood
- Sing (Out Loud): No matter how shocking you may think your singing voice is, try belting out a few tunes. Singing improves mental alertness, concentration and memory (and it’s also fun)
- Learn: Learning increases our knowledge but also increases our feeling of self worth and contentment. Peaceful Soul guide to learning here
- Dress in What Makes You Feel Comfortable: Feeling uncomfortable in what we are wearing can have a negative impact to our mental wellbeing. Dress (where possible) in what makes you feel comfortable to help you relax
- Draw or Paint: Relieve some stress and get creative
- Know Your Skills & Abilities: Know what you are good at. Write down your skills and abilities and feel good about them
- Use Your Skills & Abilities: Put those skills to good use and feel the positivity you get from it
- Look For The Good: There is always a silver lining or at least a lesson to be taken in every situation. Look for the good in everything that happens
- Work / Life Balance: Work to live. Don’t live to work. You only live once and you’ll regret it
- Enjoy Your Job: We spend almost a third of our life there Find something that you want to do and do it. Peaceful Soul guide to occupation here
- Get a Pet: Studies have proven that getting up close with animals naturally raises dopamine levels and reduce levels of stress, anxiety and depression
- Have a Bath: Relax in the tub and soak the stress away
- Read A Good Book: Take your mind off things and relax with a good read
- Avoid Alcohol & Recreational Drugs: They might provide a temporary boost however will bring you down in the long run
- Avoid Debt: Debt and the associated worry can be all consuming. If you are in debt, look at your situation and how you can work your way out of it. There are many forums on the internet where people who are in debt can discuss and find comfort with those in a similar situation
- Practice Gratitude: Reminding ourselves of the positive things and people in our lives helps our brain toward a positive outlook on life. Spend 5 minutes each morning and remind yourself of all the good things that are happening in your world
- Reminisce: Similar to practicing gratitude, remind yourself of the good times and good people in life. There have been good times before and there will be many good times ahead
- Don’t Worry About Failure: Everyone fails. All the time. Don’t worry about it, the only way we can learn and grow as a person is by failing. Some of the greatest people in the world have only succeeded by failing multiple times first
- Give Yourself Rewards: When you do something good, celebrate it and reward yourself. Plan the reward in advance and give your something to look forward to
- Treat Yourself: Every once in a while give yourself a surprise treat. Doesn’t have to be anything big, a bar of chocolate, a night off of the chores, a trip out for the evening. Just have a little treat
- Be Content: Look at the things and people in your life and stop wanting more. Understand that you most likely have enough already
- Face Your Fears: Fear can hang over us like a bad smell. Work out what your fears are and what might be concerning and make a plan to beat it. Peaceful Soul guide to stop living in fear here
- Reduce Media: The media are there to sell stories and their brand so will use the most dramatic headlines and words available. They often have an agenda too. Take everything you read with a pinch of salt and if possible, cut it out completely
- Exercise The Mind: Keep the mind exercised and alert by doing things such as solving puzzles and playing games (and they’re fun)
- Get Creative: Creativity allows the mind to concentrate on the task in hand and helps reduce stress in the process
- Do Something Fun: Plan a trip with friends, go to the cinema, go bowling.. Whatever floats your boat. It will give you a boost and
- Cut Down Caffeine: If you’re feeling anxious or feel on edge the stimulant in caffeine will exacerbate the issue. Cut down on it to bring your natural calm back into balance
- New Experiences: They give us a boost and a new perspective on life. Peaceful Soul’s guide to new experiences here
- Past Experiences: Look at how your past experiences are affecting your current mental state. Peaceful Soul guide to past experiences here
- Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: It’s not until we step out of our comfort zone that we really start living. While it may seem daunting the first instance, in the long run putting ourselves out there will dramatically boost our mental health
- Get Professional Help: If you are concerned about your mental wellbeing, get some professional help. Your doctor can point you in the right direction or look up a trained therapist or counsellor
- Don’t Take Yourself or Life Too Seriously: You won’t make it out alive anyway
Further Exploration - Articles & Media
Article: 8 Powerful Mental Health Habits from a Professional Psychologist
8 habits from Nick Wignall including sleeping like a robot and practicing intermittent fasting
Video: 8 principles to achieve optimum mental health
TedX talk by Dan Banos talking through neuroplasticity and 8 principles ranging from temperament to rest
Book: Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life
Highly acclaimed book from Gary John Bishop leading us through 7 assertions to boost self-empowerment and stop self imposed limitations
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Article: Good mental health
Health Direct discusses what good mental health is and provides a checklist and information around building resilience
Article: 5 steps to mental wellbeing
5 steps from the UK's National Health Service (NHS); Connecting with other people, being physically active, learning new skills, giving to others and paying attention to the present moment
Article: The Importance Of Good Mental Health
Caminar article looking at what good mental health and suggestions to sustain it including diet, physical activity and mental exercise
Slideshow: 10 Facts of Mental Health
Slideshow from the World Health Organisation detailing facts about mental health including that around 1 in 5 of children have a mental disorder & that people who have a mental disorder die on average 10-20 years earlier
Article: 31 Tips To Boost Your Mental Health
Mental Health America's 31 tips from experimenting through to working your strengths
Article: Benefits of Good Mental Health
The Canadian Mental Health Association look at mental and physical benefits of good mental health. Also includes 3 ways to improve mental fitness; getting physical, eating right and taking control of stress
Article: 31 Tips To Boost Your Mental Health
10 pieces of advice from the UK's Mental Health Foundation including talking about your feelings and keeping in touch
Forum: What are some GOOD mental health habits?
Thread from Reddit with many suggestions including doing a rubix cube daily and practicing mindfulness exercises
Further Mental Wellbeing Guides from Peaceful Soul
Mind Guides
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