Experts say there are a few simple activities that take just a few minutes each day and can improve your mental health, making you feel more energized.
However, our minds are different just as our bodies are different, so please feel free to pick the approach for you and share habits you already have that aren’t mentioned below. 🙂
Exercise 3 times a week for 20 minutes.
Did you know that the mood benefits for 20 minutes of exercise last for up to 12 hours? Exercise releases endorphins and other feel-good brain chemicals to reduce levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin. Exercising in nature – like walking in the park or taking a bike ride – has an even more powerful effect on mood than indoor exercise. As a proven treatment for depression and anxiety, exercise is great for your mental health.
Journal or draw about a positive experience.
Keeping a journal is a good way to spend time reflecting on the events of the day. Some people use words, while others reflect through images, photos, and doodles. A journal is a place to vent emotions in a healthy way. It’s a place to write down ideas and insights. If a journal is used regularly, it becomes the story of your life. With journaling, you can turn off your inner critic and get lost in your hopes, dreams, and good memories.
Random acts of kindness.
Helping others provides a host of benefits to the helper. It can raise your self-esteem, strengthen your mental health, help you build social connections and boost your immune system. Engaging children in random acts of kindness help teach empathy and compassion, and as a result, teachers have utilized lessons to transform school cultures using the power of kindness.
Deep breathing and meditation enhance activity in areas of the brain associated with happiness and compassion.
By practicing daily meditation, you will become less likely to panic or get upset. Marci Shimoff, author of the book, Happy for No Reason: Seven steps to become happy from the Inside Out suggests using the “Pause Practice.” She recommends pausing seven times throughout the day to “just be.” When you become aware of your breath and live in the present moment, you can quiet the brain’s alarm system and inhibit the release of stress hormones. When this becomes a habit, your brain will default to a peaceful state, rather than to states of fear and anxiety.
Don’t believe everything you think.
Make a habit of challenging your negative thoughts. By examining and undoing those thoughts, you can allow your mind to return to its true, awakened, peaceful, creative nature.
Talking to a friends
There’s a reason communication seems to be the solution to every problem. It’s because, more often than not, it works. There are many ways and reasons to communicate. Through communication, you can receive/give support and reassurance, solve problems, entertain, build intimacy, etc.
Therapy
Seeing a professional or some type of therapy is always helpful when dealing with mental issues.
I wish you a long and quality life.