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Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersWhile the majority of the people tend to like sticking to bettering their physical health, caring for mental health actually takes a backseat. In order to ensure an overall boost to one’s well being, it is necessary to improve mental health alongside physical health.
If you have been struggling collection and recollecting your thoughts, having a cacophony in your head, it is time to take a seat, calm the mind and think of ways for mental health improvement. You need a proper headspace to keep everything aligned in your life.
In this article, we are going to share some easy tips and ways to improve mental health for you to lead a blessed and happy life.
1. Consult and talk to a doctor
Mental health and mental well being are not always self-diagnosed. While you might think that you are suffering from a certain issue concerning your mental health, only a professional doctor will be able to point out the issue and help you get better with time. This is the reason why it is necessary to reach out a professional when needed.
Make sure to reach out to a general physician (R) at first to get good mental health tips. They are the one who are going to assess the severity of the situation you are in and then refer you to someone more specialized, if there are any requirements for the same.
2. Acknowledge the bright side
Even researches (R) show that being thankful for the current realm of thoughts and events and even appreciating your dog can be benefitting your mental health, primarily because of the fact that it instils a feeling of fulfilment which is very beneficial to improve mental health.
3. Do Something New and Exuberant
In the way of doing and achieving, we often forget to live which is what ends up causing the hollow depth in our mind that contributes to deterred mental health. If you are looking for effective habits to improve mental health, start by taking up an activity (R) that you haven’t done before. It could be a painting class, or even karate if that’s what you want.
Invest time in yourself and focus on things that will help your growth and keep you focused and engaged.
4. Try Some Meditation
Meditation is one of those activities that can help conjure all the scattered pieces and bring them to one single point for you to focus and then explore the options for your better well being. Meditating for even just a minimum of 10 minutes a day can actually help calm down your racing thoughts and provide you with better concentration and even more mental health.
What many people tend to do wrong is find a specific time to sit down for meditation. Instead of doing that, simply just sit down when you wake up in the morning and get on with the same. Close your eyes and bring your focus to one point and start your day on a positive note.
5. Dark Chocolate for that Extra Kick of Dopamine
Now, you might be here thinking about how will a piece of chocolate even help with boosting one’s mental health (R), right? Well, it is believed that chocolate (R) helps boost the secretion of dopamine which has profound impacts in lifting one’s mood up. Apart from that, the combination of flavonoids, caffeine as well as theobromine in the dark chocolate helps boost the mental skills and alertness.
So, for once, stop thinking about your weight and just munch on a few pieces of dark chocolate. Bonus, dark chocolate apparently has positive impacts on weight loss too.
6. Opt for therapy
Much like how you would consult a doctor for your physical problems, the same way, one needs to reach out to a therapist, if they are suffering from a distortion of their mental well being. There are several things to do to improve mental health and consulting a renowned and experienced therapist can actually help you feel better and stable.
Several experts have suggested stating that talking to a therapist (R) actually does help because it provides with a perception to the trail of thoughts and helps make everything a bit more organized in the mind. It is also believed that talking to someone helps retort to the signs and symptoms associated with any kind of mental health issues.
7. Be Around Positive People
Surround yourself with happy and positive people; people who are funny and can make you laugh your heart out. It is necessary for your mental health improvement that your overall well being is to take care of, primarily because of the fact that negative flooding thoughts tend to make one’s mental well being even worse.
Laughter is very effective in treating anxiety and if you don’t have many people to rely on, just rely on the good old YouTube videos because they tend to never disappoint in making you laugh.
Here’s one for you to enjoy.
8. Open up to Your Confidante
This is considered as one of the best ways to boost mental health, especially people who don’t want to start therapy or can’t afford the money that goes into getting one. It is important that you at least open up to someone and have a safe outlet for all your thoughts rather than bottling things up; it tends to make things worse than what you would consider.
After all, what are friends for, right? Sometimes all you need is for someone to lend you an ear (R) to listen to you rant and get everything off your chest.
9. Exercising Helps Too
When you indulge in some exercises, it triggers your brain to release the “feel good” hormones (R) that act as the instant mood boost. Research suggests that working out in the fresh air is also very beneficial in boosting your body with fresh and positive energy (R) that can push down all the negative thoughts in your mind.
It is often believed that once you feel better physically, your mental health automatically gets the much-needed boost.
10. Tweak Your Diet a Bit
Eating well is something the key to your good mental health (R) and while we tend to take it for granted, it is necessary to understand for a fact that eating well doesn’t necessarily mean that you are eating bland or non-tasty food. Tasty food can be just as healthy. Balance out (R) the fruits and vegetables in your diet and include some nuts too, trust me; a little goes a long way.
11. Take a Break and Travel
Involving yourself in some amazing and beautiful places and cultures can actually help you improve mental health status of yours and have fun much like you used to. Save up money and visit a place that you have always been and something that has been on your bucket list since eternity.
12. Sleep More
While consistent lack of sleep might not reflect much on your physical health, the same tends to always take a toll on your mental health (R) (knowingly or unknowingly). Not just that, even research claims that lack of sleep or insomnia tends to inhibit the regulation of emotions (R) which is definitely something one needs to be aware of.
Poor sleeping (R) can make you irritable and very conflicted. Try and get some proper sleep, at least 6-8 hours a day, for effective mental health improvement.
13. Get a Pet (if you can take the responsibility)
If you are financially capable enough and have good resources with you, chances are that you should adopt a furry friend for your company. They can bring down your anxiousness (R) and help keep you grounded and happy.
Not just that, walking your pets even boost in a new wave of energy in you and everything for the better. Adopt a dog or a cat, or even a hamster, whatever you want.
14. Dance Around Your House
You must be here thinking about how it happens, right? Well, dancing is believed to lower the levels of cortisol (R) in the body which is what is responsible for inducing the release if endorphins in the body which are considered as the feel-good hormones.
These contribute a hell lot in mental health improvement and this is why dancing is considered one of the best ways to let go and be free.
15. Digital Detox is the Way to Go
Well, social media is supposed to be an escape, something that strings reality and virtual world. It should not be the reason behind your increasing levels of anxiety and stress and sometimes, self-hatred. If this is what you are experiencing, it is time to simply cut those people out of your social media circle and make it a safe space for yourself.
Ensure that the online world (R) that you are indulging yourself in is equally safe for your mental health. If it gets out of hand, it is time for you to ditch those websites for good. After all, your sanity is not more important that your virtual presence, now, is it?
16. Be Kind to Someone Else
If you want to improve mental health effectively, start with being a little nicer to people and trust me, for the most part, you will have the same reciprocated back towards you and that is one of the best feelings ever.
Kindness is much like a cycle (R), you give some, and you get some. Happiness shared is happiness gained.
17. Practice Saying NO!!
This might seem easy but is one of the most important things that you could possibly do to help your mental health improvement. If you think that something that someone is asking you to do is negatively going to affect your mental health, it is time for you to stand up and say NO.
It is often hard for people to do that and trust me, I understand, but if you are adamant on doing something good for your well being, it is where you start and saying no is the first step to do so. Care about your own mental well being first and then think about the consequences.
18. A Warm Bath Helps
If not, drown everything in a tub filled with water and just let everything fizzle away. A warm bath with some bath bombs can actually be a boon for you. Lay down and just let everything go for that one moment, trust me, you won’t regret.
In order to improve mental health, it is necessary to not just open up but be very vocal about all the things that have been bothering you. Bottling things up is probably the worst thing that you could do to your mental health. Consult a therapist, eat your favourite food, and just indulge in some activities that you wouldn’t have done otherwise.