5 Habits to Help Protect Your Mental Health
Keeping positive and being mindful of our mental health has become an increasingly important habit we need to keep up with following the results of the United States’ most recent election. May is mental health awareness month so I thought it would be the perfect time to share a few things you can do to stay positive and stay sane during this time of stress.
1. Be Present
We often tend to think about the future and overthink everything that might go wrong. Learning to live more in the moment can help you combat feeling helpless. Trying to control the future before it happens only puts us more out of control with our present. Focus on what you can do right now that will help lead you to being prepared for the future you want.
2. Journal
Journaling for just a few minutes a day has proven to be a positive outlet for stress. It is a way for you to be able to get all of your negative thoughts, feelings, and worries out at once and stop obsessing over them. When you are able to externalize your negative thoughts you are able to process them more efficiently and free up space in your mind for more positive thoughts.
After writing down all of your negatives, try writing down a few positives to focus on instead. Practicing gratitude, creating solutions, and thinking of better outcomes are the easiest ways to do this. Writing down, one by one, all of the things you are grateful for helps shift your mind away from focusing on all of the negatives. Creating solutions to problems you have helps you think through things you can do to make things better for yourself. Lastly, thinking of good things that might come out of facing current challenges will help you look for a better future and create a better mindset.
So start taking a few minutes everyday to get out anything and everything that may be weighing on your mind and start shifting your mindset to a more positive one.
3. Stay Connected and Supported
Staying connected to your loved ones is a major way you can boost your mental health. Reaching out to friends and family can increase your access to stable support systems and help you regulate stress.
In today’s social climate, it can be easy to feel like you are alone but when you make an effort to engage in meaningful relationships you strengthen emotional bonds and connections which can help everyone feel less alone.
4. Limit Social Media and News Intake
Social media is a great way to keep up with friends, connect with new people, and stay up to date with world news, but it is also a place that harbors a significant amount of negativity. When you use social media you consume an overwhelming amount of information all at once. With the current state of the world and our government, most of this information being consumed can be negative and cause you to obsess over everything that is going wrong in the world. This only heightens feelings of stress and fear.
Limiting the amount of time spent on social media and news intake can help limit the amount of negativity you see and interact with. Take the time you would normally spend on social media and instead use it to do things you know bring you joy. Take what could be time spent on negativity and use it to create positivity in your life.
5. Volunteer
If the future not looking how you want it to is causing immense stress and worry, volunteer for an organization whose mission is working towards creating a future you want.
Volunteering is not only a good way to help build the future you want, it also allows you to create strong connections with like minded people and form meaningful relationships built on common moral ground.
Pick an issue that is important to you, find an organization working to combat its negative effects, and sign up to volunteer. This way you can be proactive, work towards a future you support, stay connected to the present, create relationships, and help others all at the same time.
Do not be afraid to seek professional help when needed. It is important we remember to take care of ourselves so that we can be ready to fight for the future we deserve. You have the power to stay positive. You have the power to create the change you want to see in the world. It's easy to get discouraged but remember that you have the power to push forward.
