Your mental health is a fundamental component of your overall well-being—unfortunately, we don’t always treat it as such. From work obligations to family stressors, your mental health may be the farthest thing from your mind (pretty ironic considering that’s where it lives).
Fortunately, there are ways you can prioritize your mind without changing your entire routine. Read on for a few handy tips that will make improving your mental health a little easier!
Make Room in Your Schedule for Alone Time
When you have a jam-packed schedule, alone time becomes a sort of mythical creature, like Bigfoot or Nessie—you think it might exist, but you’ve certainly never seen it firsthand.
Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, alone time is crucial to maintaining proper mental health. Spending some quality time in solitude can provide a plethora of mental and emotional benefits, including:
- Helping you get to know yourself
- Boosting creativity
- Learning what makes you happy
- Giving you time to focus on hobbies
If you’re struggling to make this time for yourself, try waking up an hour earlier or staying up an hour later. You can also ask your family to give you an hour of alone time after work if you’re too tired for early mornings or late nights.
Keep a Mental Health Journal
When your mind feels like a minefield, it helps to map it out.
Studies have shown that keeping a journal can help combat symptoms of anxiety and depression. Journaling also gives you a chance to gain a deeper understanding of your own cognitive processes.
If you’re looking to dive deeper and explore the details of your complex emotional states, try tracking these big questions when journaling:
- Notable triggers for your negative thoughts
- Your fears, anxieties, and worries
- What brings you joy and motivation throughout the day
You’d be surprised how much the simple act of writing can help you understand your own feelings. The next time you feel like there’s not enough room in your brain for how many thoughts you have, grab a pen, a mindfulness journal, and just give yourself free reign to write how you feel.
Try Natural Supplements
It’s okay if you don’t have everything under control all the time. You’re human, not a superhero. Even then, Clark Kent has a few bad days from time to time.
One of the most popular products in natural stress relief is cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive compound found in the hemp plant. Cannabidiol (CBD) is known for its relaxing and anxiety-relieving properties. CBD connects to the endocannabinoid receptors in the brain, which are responsible for regulating functions such as:
- Emotions
- Appetite
- Sleep
- Nervous system
So whether your mental health is taking a hit in the form of mood swings, anxiety, or sleeplessness, CBD can help. If you’re looking for a clean, affordable option, CBDfx makes a wide variety of natural, health-promoting products.
Set Boundaries For Yourself
Unsurprisingly, stressors can come in human form, too.
The people we interact with on a daily basis can take a major toll on our mental health. Learn to put up appropriate boundaries for the sake of your well-being:
- Learn to say no – If someone asks you to do something you’re truly not comfortable with, it’s okay to say no. Repeat the word “no” until you get used to it, even if it’s just in your bathroom mirror while you blow dry your hair. Don’t be so afraid of letting other people down—otherwise, you’ll continue to let yourself down.
- Ask for help – Knowing when to ask for help can be just as hard as actually asking for it. If you’re struggling, understand that it’s okay to reach out to a family member, friend, or a Brightside mental health professional for support. People lean on you constantly—it’s okay to do the same sometimes.
- Understand your needs – If you’ve noticed that something in your life is making you unhappy, don’t be afraid to speak up. Your needs are a priority, and you shouldn’t sacrifice your comfort or well-being out of fear.
Better Mental Health is Within Reach
It doesn’t take a psychology degree to start improving your mental health. With a few simple lifestyle changes, you’ll quickly see how easy it is to put your well-being first without an ounce of guilt.
No matter what technique you choose, any one of these mental health tips can put you on a path to a happier, healthier life. Good luck!
This is a collaborative post. All views and text are mine.
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A former school teacher, Jocelyn Brown created Hip Mama’s Place in 2007. Her motto for this blog is: get inspired, create and share! Jocelyn loves sharing about food and recipes, crafts, DIY projects and her random travels with her family. She also loves all things social media, but her latest obsession is Instagram.
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Mental health is my main goal
Though this is always important, I feel like this year it can’t be stressed enough!
Definitely going to use some of these tips for myself.
While taking care of everything, we always forget our mental health. It must not be, mental health should be prioritized.
Your post was really helpful. Just what I needed. Thank you!
I know about this app too and thanks a lot for sharing this information and remind us the importance of how to “manage” our mental health. – Knycx Journeying
What a great reminder to focus on your mental health. It really is very important.
This is a great reminder that even how busy we are on life. We dont forget to take care of ourselves.
I feel better already, just reading your article is relaxing. But, especially like the CBD type compound.
A really great post! Mental health is something we should learn to take care of. It is very important to learn to love ourselves. taking care of your mental health is a big start!
Self care is such an important thing, and I have to admit that I do neglect myself at times. This is a good reminder.
This is such great advice! I have started journaling and I’ve found that it has really helped me be aware of when I’m not doing a good job of getting enough self-care.
When we’re looking for ways to improve our mental health during these famously unprecedented times one of the most effective tools we have is exercise. Exercise can improve your mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and raising your mood
I usually keep an e-journal where I write all my thoughts and emotions. Also, it’s really important to set a schedule or pause. You need space sometimes.
These are some great ideas. It can be hard sometimes to help improve your mental health. I’m glad you shared these with us.
I totally agree with setting boundaries. I walked away from toxic people a few years ago and never looked back.
Oh man I needed to read this! Thanks for the reminder to take care of me!
Prioritizing our mental health is so incredibly important! It’s especially prevalent during these trying times that we are in nowadays.
These are great ways to improve our mental health. I always thought of keeping a journal, but I never done it. i think I will spend an hour before bed to jot down my emotional state and my thoughts.
Alone time is absolutely beneficial. It’s hard to think straight when you’re surrounded by noise everyday.
Keeping a health journal sounds like a great idea! Thank you for sharing this.
We all should prioritize our mental health. These tips are really beneficial and will definitely be a huge help for all of us.
I think what you are saying about alonetime is really important! I know that for me, that’s key to my wellbeeing. If I don’t get enough time to be alone in my own head, I get supermoody.
Thank you for sharing, great read! Mental health is so important
Alone time is so important! Especially when you have kids!
Yes! Definitely make time for yourself. I can’t wait my work break so I can finally dive into some of my other pursuits before we jump back into work again. Need to refresh!
I keep a mental health journal. I write on it whenever I’m feeling down and whenever I have to write down something important for my later therapy sessions.
Mental health is such an important topic and being purposeful with your own mental health is a must! Not always easy, but always worth it.
I think sometimes it is really hard to say no. I’ve started doing that more often and it has helped so much.
Scheduling it in has helped me so many times. There are always excuses to be made but putting it on my schedule makes it feel more real and important.
Oh yeah, so important to remember. I can feel it when I start to get overwhelmed, so I always try to take it easy for the benefit of my mental health.
Mental health is so important, but we often overlook it in ourselves. We have to remember that the only ones who can take care of us is ourselves.
It is so important to prioritize our mental health. Too many of us tend to stretch ourselves so thin, and we never stop to take care of ourselves.
Thank you so much for this. I don’t prioritize my mental health nearly enough. I just sort of put my head down and plow through everything.
These are great tips! Our mental health is so important. I think it is also important to surround yourself with happy, smart, and positive people. That helps me to be my best me!
Mental health is so important. Thank you for sharing this