There are many different ways that people take part in implementing ways to help their mental health that allows them to decompress and move away from their stressors for a time. Whether you do something relaxing, active, or thought provoking, self help comes in many different ways, shapes, and forms. These are just some examples that I do in my daily life that help me and also to remind me of all different things that I enjoy and I should do when I get overwhelmed. Please see the link to my Facebook post to see the pictures.
For each of these activities, they all hold an importance in my self help journey.
Firstly with reading, I was not a huge reader as a child. In fact, it was hard for me to sit down and focus on a story at hand. Once I got into it, I would get invested in the story, but it usually took a lot of me to sit down and read so I did not always read. In recent years, I have become more of a book worm. A lot of changes happened in my life in recent years with me graduating with my Bachelor’s, moving out of my parents home, getting my first full time position, and so on. These are all important milestones to happen in a person’s life, but I think because all of these things were happening all at once, my anxiety increased so much and I realized I did not have an outlet. Reading became a huge outlet for me that let me escape my world for a time and dive into another world. I also love to read poetry as well. I feel that poetry is very thought provoking and can make you see the world in ways that you haven’t thought of.
A more recent outlet that I have started doing more is working out. I only have been working out since the beginning of September with my friend. I still am working out my scheduling for when I can go, but when I do go, I feel so much more relaxed and my head clears up my scrambling thoughts of all the things I have to do when I get home. I have a goal of trying to be more active, but also to work with the balance of my own busy schedule and not beat myself up if I cannot go to the gym as much that week. I also have to remember that I can also be active at home when I go for a walk outside or do a work out or yoga video for movement. I think movement should be in everyone’s daily life because your physical movement actually really can impact your mental health in positive ways.
Music has such a big impact on your mental health. In my opinion, the music that you listen to really does impact your mood, whether that be dancing upbeat music or melancholy music. I listen to all different types of music, but I know when I am feeling down and depleted after a long day, sometimes I am too mentally and physically tired to do anything else and that is ok. What I will do is just listen to music and sometimes I listen to soft piano music. It helps me stay calm and feels like a meditation to me. Also, I listen to piano music when I need to focus on my studies. I keep it low in the background and it keeps me calm and centered and it helps allow me to just focus on the task at hand without becoming overwhelmed by the assignment. Also, if you drink a nice hot chocolate with whipped cream while you are reading the latest book off your list, it is also nice to have soft piano music playing as well. It helps even more so for me to escape for a while to have the soft piano music playing in the background for focus as much as relaxation.
Finally, gaming has such a big impact on your mental health. Sometimes my way of having fun does not involve reading or working out, but to play all different types of games. My favorite types of games are card games and board games. I love playing them with my family and friends. I love working my brain to help solve an objective and win. My favorite games are Rummy 500 in cards and the Game of Life in board games. I also like a good challenge like putting a puzzle together. I used to do them more whether that would have been a physical puzzle or a virtual puzzle set, but I have not done it as much. Honestly, I would love to get back into it. My Aunt got me this 500 Piece Puzzle set of the beach that I have been putting off doing, but I really want to make time for it.
There are many different ways that can help your mental health that includes solitary and social events. I think it is important to push yourself to do all different types of events and take up different hobbies because not only will it help your mental health, but you may also learn new skill sets as well as developing different interests that you never really thought you would.
