People Share 30 Changes They Made And Things They Did That Greatly Improved Their Mental Health
According to WHO data, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25% in the first year of the pandemic.
While we've learned to fight Covid much more effectively, other collective challenges like the war in Ukraine and looming economic uncertainty aren't making things easier.
Now, about 1 in every 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder, which causes disturbances in thinking, emotional regulation, and behavior.
We have to fight. And this viral Reddit thread is a great reminder that everything starts with healthy habits. It asked the platform's users, "What is something that drastically improved your mental health?" Here's what they wrote.
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Boundaries and living alone.
Also…ANIMALS. Cannot say it enough, my dog is my savior.
Dr. Jodie Skillicorn, who is a holistic psychiatrist and strongly believes in the body's innate healing power, agrees that collective challenges affect everyone's state of mind. "Your mental health and well-being influence me and mine influence you," she told Bored Panda.
"We are social beings and connected in ways understood by many indigenous cultures but largely forgotten by most of us, except in the language of spirituality, but now more and more research is affirming this profound truth. In one interesting study, strangers were asked to meditate together for twenty minutes. They were then each hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to monitor their brain waves and placed in separate Faraday chambers, which is basically a small cage blocking any electromagnetic or sensory communication between the partners. Their only instruction was to 'maintain a sense of their partner.'"
"Amazingly, the researchers found that while one partner was exposed to random flashes of light the other person's brain responded in a similar pattern despite being separated and not exposed to the light. With just twenty minutes of mutual meditation, their brains had become connected and entangled. Think of the implications of that on a collective scale."
Stopped paying close attention to the news. I realized I wasn't going to be making a big change in the world and all it was doing was getting me upset so I stopped. The world is just as messed up and/or ok as it was then and I'm much less stressed about it all.
Saying no to things that I don't actually want to do instead of trying to help everyone out
Skillicorn said the Framington Heart Study provides further evidence of our connections.
"As part of this study, a group of participants were followed for over 20 years to explore how their moods influenced those around them. The researchers found that if one person's happiness increased, the odds of those around them also being happy increased by 34%."
"One's odds of being happier increased by 25% if living within one mile of a happier friend. Better yet, even if a friend’s friend’s friend becomes happier, your chance of happiness increases by 15%. Clearly, we are inextricably linked together for better or worse. This evidence suggests that the power of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions has a ripple effect that we are only beginning to understand."
"If this is true, then it becomes our individual responsibility to center, balance, and heal ourselves so that we are less reactive, more focused, and present, so we can make wise, clear-headed decisions for ourselves and others," the psychiatrist explained.
Moving to a place that wasn't winter 8 months of the year and I was close to the ocean. Haven't felt suicidal in over a year and a half, probably for the first time since i was 16.
Makes me happy to hear this, glad your doing well. I always found it peaceful and calming near the sea.
Joining a D&D group. I don’t have much free time because I’m my mums carer but getting out for those few hours a week and just having fun really makes a difference. Plus I’ve made some really great friends that have become vital parts of my support network.
"Social media provides another window into this phenomenon," Dr. Skillicorn added. "Facebook conducted an experiment in which an automated system shifted the emotional content of different user’s newsfeeds. They discovered that those who received more negative news posted more negative feeds, while those reading more positive posts tended to post more positive feeds."
"This shows the power (and danger) of how what we read and focus on during the day can shift our perceptions and mood, and how these choices have a significant impact not only on ourselves but those around us. It benefits all of us to become more aware of what we are sending out into the world."
Getting a job that paid a living wage improved my mental health 1000%.
Getting a cat
Taking vitamins every morning
Being honest about my feelings
Setting clear immovable boundaries with my family
In the United States, 45% of individuals with a clinical-level mental problem do not seek professional help.
Overall, the primary reason for not seeking professional help for a clinical disorder is a preference for self-help (36%), when people try to manage their challenges on their own or don't think they needed any mental health treatment. This explanation is followed by:
- a lack of knowledge of what kind of help to seek or where to get it (34%);
- a lack of confidence in mental health treatment (28%);
- about one in five (22)% did not seek help because of stigma or fear of not wanting people to know;
- and 17% were deterred by a lack of affordability.
Knowing it's okay to leave some people behind
On a warm summers evening, on a train I met an old timer who gave me a great bit of advice, he said " You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run ".... granted the old timer was talking about gambling, but in that advice I found an ace that I could keep! 😁
Silencing my activity on social media, and replacing my time spent on there by reading books instead. I’ve finished 6 books since the start of January. I feel so good about myself because of it.
... especially if you position yourself on the couch as in the picture!
"The earlier you can seek help, the better," Skillicorn said. "It is far easier to prevent a downward spiral if caught early than to wait until there are few options beyond hospitalization and medication. If you are struggling to function, to get out of bed in the morning, if you find yourself ruminating over dark, despairing thoughts, then the best first step is to find a therapist who can offer support and guidance."
Although debatable as to what extent, Skillicorn said that, "medications have a place, but other options may be worth trying first, including therapy, mindfulness techniques, exercise, establishing better sleep hygiene, getting outside in nature, and connecting with others."
"All of these have been found in research studies to be effective tools for preventing and treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues," the psychiatrist added. "The problem, of course, is that the depressive mind often rejects that these things can be effective and avoids doing the very things that might be most helpful. That is why having support from a therapist, close friend, or support group is important."
I take ten minutes a day (usually before bed) to tidy things up. I'm always surprised at how much I can get done in just ten minutes, and it's so much easier to keep the place clean that way. When things start getting really bad, the fact that I've always got a clean place is incredibly helpful.
Waking up in the morning to a pile of dishes in the sink doesn't help start the day, I admit. Maybe that 10 min evening cleanup is not a bad idea after all.
Exercise
I get plenty of exercise: jumping to conclusions, pushing my luck, and dodging deadlines.
Sleep.
Not always easy... If you hurt sleep can be hard to get enough of. Last night was bad and so I was going to make myself a hot drink and then dropped something heavy on my foot! THAT made it even more difficult! 😡 My doggies will be getting a shorter walk than normal today...
Being honest and transparent about how I'm feeling. "I'm not mad at you, my brain just hates me right now," has helped mitigate lots of fights and awkward conversations.
Helping people in general. Today someone dropped their credit card on the train so I picked it up and ran outside give it to her. Just hearing them thanking me makes me feel a lot better about myself and encourages me to be a good person in general
Hehe sometimes it backfires ... the card machine at the coffee shop broke and an elderly guy in front of me was struggling to find the change to pay the rest of his bill. Something and nothing like only 50p short. Anyhow, he was holding the queue up so I offered him the money he needed. .. Only his wife slapped my hand away and shouted "my husband doesn't need help from strange women!"... I wasn't expecting anything in return but I certainly wasn't expecting that 🙄
Quitting online arguing. It sounds obvious, but once I started telling myself "just block it out, it's not worth the effort" and becoming more apathetic about dumbasses online, it genuinely helped things. I didn't realise how stressed seeing dumb opinions made me.
Also, I don't use Twitter. Which helps. Next platform to hopefully kick is Facebook.
Working from home. In the office I have to be "on" for 8 hours, regardless of whether I'm on break or not. At home I can relax in a comfortable space without spending any "social energy".
Stopping hormonal birth control. Didn't realize how much it was messing with me.
For some women this is definitely needed though. A hormonal cycle needs to be regulated for reasons ranging from helping with irregular periods to managing the emotional roller coaster to helping with cramping. There are certainly risks and they aren’t for everyone, but that’s a conversation to have with your physician.
Getting a dog my dog I just love him. House training was a struggle but he actually caught on in a surprising way, saw him peeking out from the door when I was cleaning I saw his expression and he was somewhat ashamed he got a lot better after he saw me and had that realization.
Another little story about my dog
My brother used to set like 10 alarms in the morning and wouldn’t wake up. Well after the the first few ones I started to get a little groggy and upset, my dog got up and went to my brothers room and I just heard “hey tit... stop titan, no stop” then my dog came back in the room and slept with me.
He’s a Rottweiler mixed with another dog not sure since he was bought from a third party
Kicking the toxic abusive ex out.
Drastically improved my physical and financial health too!
This! Divorcing my abusive, toxic ex. And after seeing a pattern of dating similar men… I decided to see a behavioral therapist, who helped me to break the pattern. Once I realized I needed to go after the completely opposite type of guy… I found my current partner… someone who is loving and caring… and exactly the type of person I wanted all along.
Taking vitamin D and B supplements and getting enough sleep. Really helped reduce excessive thinking and fixating on negative things from my past.
Understanding how my mental illnesses worked (anxiety and depression) and noticing when I was experiencing symptoms.
Then learning how to mitigate them.
Went to therapy, and I'm now on antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds.
I'm not in therapy anymore, but I still kinda do like, therapy sessions with myself. These are basically just me going through how I'm feeling and holding up at the moment, and you know, just trying to figure out how I'm doing and then trying to solve any problems I have.
Learning and understanding my triggers really helped me. I now avoid caffeine and alcohol as well as trying to get more sleep and avoid stressful situations (where I can) which helps (with my meds) to cut down the number of major episodes and makes me feel more able to function on a daily basis.
Eliminating negative self talk. Instead of “oh god I said something stupid, now she thinks I’m an idiot, why am I so dumb” I just tell myself “it’s ok, I misunderstood what she was asking, everyone does this sometimes and it’s no big deal” which usually stops the shame spiral before it can form.
I was severely depressed before trying this. It didn’t fix everything but it made my life a lot better. Worked at least as well as antidepressants honestly.
Also remembering that people focus and remember what THEY do that embarrasses THEM. Most people don't give a second's thought to stuff others do - bar maybe thinking 'glad that wasn't me' in the moment. No one else is remembering that ten years ago you said something stupid, that's only in your head.
Quit having grudges with people. Let them go and you’ll be relaxed
Eating breakfast.
I'd often describe to my boss and coworkers that I'd have a really bad brain fog that I sometimes couldn't think at all. I usually wouldn't eat until around 1pm or 2pm when I'd been up since 9am. I had to start getting up around 8am or sometimes 7am and I would have extra time to get food.
Once I did, the brain fog went away and the change was immediate.
Adult hobbies. Surfing. Fishing. Running. Mine are solo activities, but you just need something challenging that you have to work at to get better. It gives you little things to look forward to so you’re not focused on all the depressing bs.
Something small that has helped me is saying aloud “What a beautiful day, today is”. It’s small but I have better outlook
Getting rid of Instagram
Unpopular Opinion: It's not instagrams faul - it's somehow your own. If you only interact with accounts of people showing their perfect life, perfect relationships or perfect body of course you'll feel bad. I don't follow any of those overly edited, posed insta models. I only follow thing I enjoy looking at like memes, jokes, animals, movie accounts, food accounts (not diet accounts!). Keep these insta models out of your feed. Instagram has options to hide specific accounts or to say you don't enjoy a specific catagory of content. Not saying that social media isn't/can't be toxic but it obv get's worse when interacting with these accounts because Instagram will show you even more because the algorithm thinks you like it.
Note: this post originally had 39 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Accepting that I am actually weird and treat it as a compliment when people say so. That it's okay being called arrogant, rude, anti-social, ungrateful, because I don't feel like hanging out. That it's okay if I don't reply those messages right away and disappear for a while until I am ready to reply. That those who stay with me are my real friends instead of those who asking me to change.
Same here. Also, the realization that I am an introvert who just needs alone time to recharge my batteries.
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For me, it was getting on medications finally and deciding to ignore all the people who told me that antidepressants didn’t work, that you could have the same effect by going jogging, or that they’d turn you into a zombie. I’m now on several different psychiatric medications and I don’t have suicidal feelings 30 times a day anymore.
YES- there is still such stigma about being on psychiatric meds. I am taking two together and they've saved my life. BUT initially I was so ashamed, thinking, "wow, something is really screwy if I need not one but two medications". Now I am feeling so much better and I just think, "well, I'm glad that we found something that's working for me". Everyone's brain chemistry is different, and it takes time and trial and error to come on a solution that will help
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Accepting that I am actually weird and treat it as a compliment when people say so. That it's okay being called arrogant, rude, anti-social, ungrateful, because I don't feel like hanging out. That it's okay if I don't reply those messages right away and disappear for a while until I am ready to reply. That those who stay with me are my real friends instead of those who asking me to change.
Same here. Also, the realization that I am an introvert who just needs alone time to recharge my batteries.
Load More Replies... For me, it was getting on medications finally and deciding to ignore all the people who told me that antidepressants didn’t work, that you could have the same effect by going jogging, or that they’d turn you into a zombie. I’m now on several different psychiatric medications and I don’t have suicidal feelings 30 times a day anymore.
YES- there is still such stigma about being on psychiatric meds. I am taking two together and they've saved my life. BUT initially I was so ashamed, thinking, "wow, something is really screwy if I need not one but two medications". Now I am feeling so much better and I just think, "well, I'm glad that we found something that's working for me". Everyone's brain chemistry is different, and it takes time and trial and error to come on a solution that will help
Load More Replies...