You may think that you’re fine, but the truth is that you’re more likely than not to experience some form of mental distress at some point in your life. In fact, depression and anxiety are estimated to affect over 20 percent of Americans each year—that’s almost 50 million people! And even though we’ve come a long way from when these disorders were considered “normal” conditions for human beings (think Freud), they can still be seriously debilitating if not treated properly. Fortunately, there are several things we can do on our own to help boost our mental health:
Connect with friends and family.
- Connect with friends and family.
- Make sure you’re getting the right kind of support.
- Examples of how to connect with others
Embrace your emotions by naming them.
Emotions are a natural part of being human. They help us process information, make decisions and feel connected to other people.
It’s important to name your emotions because it helps you understand them better—and then use those words when you’re in a stressful situation or having an argument with someone else.
For example: if you feel sad when someone dies, then say “I’m sad about the death of my friend.” This gives yourself some time to think about what happened before letting the sadness fully grip your body and mind; after all, there’s no need for an emotional meltdown over something so trivial!
You can also create positive affirmations based on these feelings: “I love myself”; “I am beautiful”; etcetera…
Learn how to accept yourself.
Accepting yourself is a process. It doesn’t mean you have to like everything about yourself, but it does mean that you accept that you are a work in progress and not perfect.
Accepting yourself means accepting that there will be times when your self-esteem takes a hit, but it’s important to remember that this happens for lots of reasons other than just low self-esteem—for instance, maybe your friends have been gossiping about how they think someone else totally zinged them at work last week; or maybe someone has told them off for something they didn’t do (and now they’re feeling like crap); or maybe one of their classes is really boring and difficult right now. Whatever the reason might be, it’s best if we try our best not just because there are no consequences attached but also because it helps us feel better about ourselves overall!
Practice self-compassion.
When you’re struggling with a problem, it can be hard to remember that you’re human. You may think that if you make one mistake, your entire life will fall apart and everything will go wrong. But this is not true! Everyone makes mistakes—even famous people like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky! Even though they are some of the greatest athletes ever, they still made mistakes as well.
So how do we practice self-compassion when we mess up? There are many ways:
- Recognize that everyone makes mistakes (and no one is perfect).
- Don’t beat yourself up for making a mistake; instead, try learning from it so that next time around things go better for both yourself and other people around you!
Be kind to yourself through journaling.
Journaling is a great way to express yourself and process your thoughts, feelings and emotions. It can also help you identify patterns that may be holding you back from reaching your goals.
When we write down our thoughts, it’s easier for us to identify the things that are stressing us out or keeping us stuck in negative self-talk. If a situation arises where there’s pressure or stress at work, write down all of the things going through your mind before reacting in any way (or even thinking about reacting). This will help prevent unnecessary stress from building up over time.
Practice gratitude and savor the good moments.
Gratitude is a powerful tool for mental health. In fact, many studies have shown that being grateful reduces depression and anxiety symptoms by as much as 40 percent!
Here are some ways to practice gratitude:
- Start each day with 5 minutes of gratitude journaling (see this article for more tips). Write down 5 things you’re grateful for in the last 24 hours. Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem like much at first—it will add up over time!
- Make a list of all the good things that happened today before bedtime or when waking up in the morning. This helps prevent you from ruminating on negative thoughts while going through your day (like “I wish I hadn’t said that” or “I wish I were better at this”). You can also write down things like what fun conversations/events happened today, how well everyone was treated by others during their interactions with them today/yesterday/last week etc., which may make everything seem better after reading over these lists later on down the road when looking back over past events with more clarity than usual due to having had no distractions interfering during those moments themselves
Do something nice for someone else.
You can do something nice for someone else. It doesn’t need to be big or expensive, and it doesn’t even have to cost you anything at all. A simple compliment, a small gift (or two), or even just spending time together will make someone’s day and give you the chance to feel good about yourself in return.
If you’re looking for something more substantial than just being kind: volunteer at an animal shelter or homeless shelter; help out at an organization that helps people with disabilities; tutor kids who haven’t gotten into college yet—the possibilities are endless!
If there’s one rule of thumb when it comes down to how we treat others: choose kindness over anger every single time!
Make time for what matters most to you today.
It’s easy to overcommit yourself and feel guilty about saying no, but it’s important to remember that everyone has their own unique set of priorities. If you have a lot on your plate, make sure to take care of yourself first. Give yourself permission to take some time for yourself—or even better, schedule some quiet time for yourself in the evening. Read an epic novel or explore the outdoors if you need an energy boost; go for a walk around the block (or run) before dinner; meditate; listen to music—whatever works best for you! It doesn’t matter what kind of activity it is so long as it helps keep your mind from becoming negative thoughts in disguise.
Small changes can have a big impact on your mental health
Small changes can have a big impact on your mental health. For example, if you make one small change to your diet, it may seem like nothing at first. But over time, it could add up to a massive improvement in your overall well-being and overall happiness.
It’s not always easy to make small changes in our day-to-day lives because we often don’t know what those changes should be until we’ve tried them out for ourselves. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about positive energy hacks (and there are lots), it’s that they’re incredibly easy to implement when you just start small—especially if those changes align with what works best for YOU!
Conclusion
If you’ve been thinking about trying something new to boost your mental health, it doesn’t have to be complicated. There are plenty of ways to practice positive self-care, from making time for friends and family to practicing gratitude and savoring the good moments. It may take some work at first, but with a little bit of commitment each day, you can see results in no time!
