Tell me how you work on mental health. What do you do to help yourself work on confidence and lift yourself up?
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Get out of bed at 7am, stay in the rhythm of cat, shower, breakfast, etc. I force myself to go outside for a little walk when it’s not too cold and windy. I need the fresh air and sun. Play music while doing stuff in the house and trying to stay positive about the future without my husband. Every day I do one hurdle-chore – getting things done with bank, notary, insurance and all the other crap that needs organizing. I’ll get there, eventually. (And I love BP).
deleted all social media except YouTube reddit twitter and bored panda
I go into the outdoors. Far from people if possible. I only truly relax where I am more likely to meet a bear than a human. Find the "place" that does this for you, and visit it as often as possible!
My daughter and her extremely obnoxious, know-it-all boyfriend live with me at the moment so it's not easy. I try to take deep breaths when he's haranguing me and tell myself that his opinion of me does not define me. I explore Bored Panda, Quora, and Reddit, and sometimes vent about the situation by posting to one of them, like I'm doing now, and I try to take "me" time. I also have a keen interest in psychology. I've taken some classes, read a lot, and participated in a few group counseling sessions. I cook, and play or snuggle with my Maine C**n Cat Tildy. She keeps me from going off the deep end with her constant chatting (Main C**n Cat owners will know what i mean). I listen to music while taking walks to do my errands and have several streaming services with excellent content that I watch in the early morning and late evening. My world has shrunk considerably in my middle age, but I keep up on politics and world events, and hope each day will be better than the last.
I actively make time for my hobbies. I don't care what anyone says or does - I'm going to play that game or going for that bike ride. Everything else can wait.
I have an app called Finch. It helps with my mental health. It's a lot to describe it on here, so check it out and see what it is if you have anxiety/depression. Best part: there's a lot of stuff on it that is free, even though some is behind a paywall. Anyway, I hope this helps y'all.
I look at myself in the mirror and tell myself all the ways I am blessed. I also reflect on ways I can improve myself.
Have help remembering taking my medications and try not to miss anymore appointments.
I make it important to always take breaks, and just do what I enjoy even if for a few hours to get myself back into a good headspace. Spending time with family, cooking, writing, drawing, taking a walk and even just talking with friends and venting helps me a lot.
I paint or draw . Keeping my hands and mind busy by being creative
take a break. its okay to take a break from people. take a break from friends, they can cause you stress and i know for a fact that mine do cause me stress. i got grounded and my phone got taken away and i started feeling so much better. i didnt have to deal with everyone wanting to rant to me all the time, or with people calling me at 2 am because they couldnt sleep. or with people getting mad at me for leaving on read because i couldnt deal with it at the moment. it made me feel so much better. of course i still talk to them. just i dont have to deal with them telling me things i cant handle right now.
I feel like cellphones are both a blessing and curse. Obviously they're very handy for numerous reasons, but I've found that because we can instantly message now, that usually means that people want instant responses, at all hours, every day. It can really suck away your energy.
The Blues can go from small to medium to large and then the MEGA...and each has it´s own remedy..
small cuddle the dogs..
medium cuddle the dogs and take a walk around my garden...
large cuddle the dogs...call a good friend and sit in the garden while talking to her...
MEGA a warm foam-bath while sipping a glass of wine and listening to Mozart full blast...then cuddle the dogs and finally go dancing to African music all night...a cure-all-evils !!
I'm a mental health therapist. My son died a little over a year ago and these are the things I do.
1. I practice mindful self compassion (Kristin Neff's book) and this is the number one recommendation I have for everyone. She has a website with free information. I courageously feel my emotions and show myself kindness as I do so. I try to treat myself like I would a friend, particularly when I feel regret or sadness.
2. I teach and use DBT skills, such as radical acceptance and self-sooth. Everyone could benefit from DBT skills! You can learn about them for free online.
3. I practice accepting others as they are, noticing and letting go of judgement. This helps me set boundaries because I can focus on protecting myself rather than wasting energy trying to change others.
4. I set boundaries which require me to do something differently to protect myself (if the boundary relies on others to change, it will fail). I set boundaries with compassion and kindness, but hold firm to them, even when it's hard.
5. I write in my journal when I'm down, or talk to someone I trust. We all need social support; it's a part of being human.
6. I connect with my spirituality through prayer, mindfulness, and peaceful music. This gives my life purpose when everything feels pointless and overwhelming.
7. I prioritize stretching, moving around a bit throughout the day, and massages (even if it has to be with that handy self-massage tool called body back buddy).
8. I keep track of my mental health symptoms and activities so I can make correlations and gain insight about what helps and what actually makes things worse (I really like Daylio and it has a free version)
9. I use apps that help me stay organized and motivated to get things done (Habitica, TickTick).
10. I celebrate small wins and steps in the right direction.
11. I see a therapist monthly to help me cope with grief
12. I hired a cleaner to help me have more free time to do fun things like play video games.
13. I talk to my son all day long. I feel what he's saying to me in my heart.
14. I give myself time to cry and be miserable. I take a mental health day off, if I need to.
15. I schedule 3-day vacations throughout the year, even if I don't go anywhere. We all need break to recharge our emotional energy.
I truly can't imagine the pain of such a loss. I feel like that would swallow me whole. It sounds as though you are in excellent hands - your own. I hope you have much peace, and healing.
Meditate. Practice gratitude. Enjoy my dog. Volunteer. Spend time with my husband and friends. Read in my hammock and take breaks to look at the clouds.
I talk to people who are having the same struggle as I am, though I don't like interacting with others, I understand that someone who is going through, or has gone through, the same struggle as me may have tips and tricks that they used that helped them that might help me as well.
Giving myself space to relax. Allowing myself to put the work down for the night, and read a book instead. It isn't always easy as an unhealthy overachiever, but it makes a hell of a difference.
Start each morning by writing down 5 things you are grateful for. Outline your goals for the day, don't overwhelm yourself by making a unrealistic set of goals keep it simple. Once you finish a goal reward yourself by doing something nice for yourself. This can be something small like a diy facial or a foot soak in warm water. When you finish your list of things revisit your journal and write about your day. No matter what you're battling, depression, anxiety, stress or just your overall mental health, journaling is sure to help although it sounds absolutely dumb, I've spent years in therapy and have learned the power of journaling for self exploration and personal growth.
I try to go outside and listen to music for at least ten minutes a day. It’s not hard or crazy but it’s super life changing.
All of the classic stuff listed here - meditation, cats, music, exercise, therapy, etc. Still struggling with an issue from the past though. Has been extremely helpful to start reading every night, particularly about how the brain works and how we get wired a particular way.
Read fanfictions in the mornings, take cold baths in the summer and cuddle my cat when I'm cold or need comfort. Listening to music is also a way to tune out and just relax. Also, binge watching my favourite shows is a big help. P.S My cat's name is Charlie and he is black with gorgeous green eyes :)
ALONE TIME. Especially if you have social anxiety or don’t love being around people. Getting at least an hour a day to just sit and be by myself and get things done is amazing. Even if you like spending time with other people, you should try it. You can discover new things about yourself.
Exercise is a massive help for me. I go to the gym 5 times a weeks and go for regular walks. Meditation has also become a standard practice. It allows me to take time to center myself when I wake up and before I go to bed. I also cut out people who were having a negative impact on my mental health. Sometimes its great to have a detox of those around you.
Im gonna be honest, I dont. It won me over
I live each day as if it were the only day of my life and not as if it were the last, I wake up and go to sleep and during that time I do everything I can or I can do: work, read, talk , I take care of other people's health, I play the guitar, fix things, create tools, make art, laugh, cry... because the past is far away and the future is distant, so I only have the present.
I meditate, read, watch tv, play games, do art on procreate on my ipad, diamond paint, color, listen to music. Doing hobbies really help. I've also deleted social media, other than Instagram, YouTube, reddit, and bored panda. I do use the funny filters on Snapchat, but that's the only reason I have it. Deleting social media has really helped my anxiety and mental health.
Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!!!!!
I'm a cutter, when it gets so bad and the voices do not stop I add to my scars. For me I would rather hurt my self then someone else.
I'm sorry you're hurting. It would be great if you could find a therapist to talk to. They can be a great help, and we all need help sometimes.
Over many years I have trained myself not to think when I go to bed, so I don't spend half the night awake worrying and making myself unwell. I fall asleep pretty quickly, my husband says he's very jealous that I'm able to do this.
I'm in a 12 Step program, so I go to lots of meetings and work the Steps to the best of my ability. I sponsor people and help guide them through the Steps. I meditate (Jon Kabat-Zinn is great for mindfulness, esp. for chronic pain). I get kitty cat therapy daily from my "monsters." I stay connected to people. Recently, I disconnected from following the news on FB, incl. watching Stephen Colbert, who I love. I don't watch the news on TV. I have an email subscription to the Washington Post. This gives me the freedom to let me take a break from the news for a day or two or more if I need to. It also gives me the ability to just read headlines. Lastly, it gives me the ability to choose whether or not I want to mentally engage with a specific topic. Choosing what part of the news I'm up to following on any given day has helped me a lot.
I was taken to the mental hospital when I was in 7th grade, and I've been diagnosed with many things:
-Autism
-Anxiety disorders
-Depression disorders.
I have to take multiple medications to keep me stable. But I learned that petting my cat, hanging out with best friends, exploring for rocks out of doors, running away from bees, playing my instrument, and singing releases some of my stress. Thanks to this, and other things, I've been able to cope with the nightmares around me.
Take breaks for critter cuddles. Sometimes I just need a lapful of cat - or dog, or rat - to re-center myself. Also, taking the time to get my meds ready in their box for the coming week, appts, etc, so I don't miss anything important. I'm really bad about that, so I ask my family to remind me. A good support system should never be taken for granted! Also, bathing is said to cure mental illness for at least a couple of days ;D never underestimate the power of a nice, long soak and hair washing. Spoil yourself with the good soap and shampoo. Get a candle.
All seemingly simple things, but they work for.me. Maybe they'll work for you, too
Writing positive affirmations in my diary.
Time with my kids. Talking to my best friend.
When I'm feeling good, I'll play with my dogs, go for a walk, work in the garden or create something in my studio. When I'm depressed... it's a whole different ball game with no easy or quick answers. Usually therapy and/or meds.
Church. Not the everyone is okay and you should love them just as they are church. The kind of church where you are a sinner and Jesus loves you anyway kind of church. Then try to be like Him.
I make time to do some reading in bed at night before going to sleep. But I also give myself the "OK" to skip reading if I'm very tired or just don't want to read.
I became my own therapist. I was broke and no insurance for a long time. I already had diagnoses by professionals, so I researched the causes and treatments for my various acronyms. I've done it for so many years now it's natural to set aside some quiet time and have a session with myself every so often. When I hit a wall due to lack of knowledge, I learn about it and treat myself.
Hey Pandas, What Was The Most Chilling Moment You’ve Ever Had
I go out back and hit baseballs until I hurt. I also write letters to my brother whom I lost 4.5 years ago
I go out back and hit baseballs until I hurt. I also write letters to my brother whom I lost 4.5 years ago
