Improving my MH

[ImprovingMyMH]

I'm just starting this thread for some accountability really.

So, things that make my MH better:
Getting enough sleep
Eating properly
Exercising
Mindfulness
Feeling on top of things (although this is a bit chicken and egg)

Things that make it worse:
Getting my period
Lack of sunlight

I want to do everything that I possibly can to improve my MH for ~3 months.

Does anyone fancy joining me?

Thanks Anxious , I've felt like a daftie since I posted that. Its true though, so maybe it's a positive thing to acknowledge it.

Just a quick bump to see how everyone is doing .

I also feel sad about not having anyone to see Bridget Jones with.
I'm confident enough to go by myself, it would just be nice to have the option of going with a friend.

Meditated on the bus on the way to work last 2 days and had much better days. Not sure if its coincidence or if thats whats made the difference. Not meditated yet today and had a little anxiety, so could be it! Also still going to gym regularly.

read this thread and reminded me when i felt really low before, there are good drs though , if you can find some good ones, i found one that helped that does student discount as some clinics cost over 400£ for just a chat, if you google dr silvert in london he was my shrink, really nice guy, and it took a while to get there but it was worth it, other things that i found helpful was meds, talking to my partner and going for walks and planning things like holidays, hope that helps!

Tropicana, we should go together ! I feel the same - I could go by myself, but I'd quite like to go with someone else.

I'm feeling a bit low at the moment. Onwards and upwards though.

I'm feeling ok. Still doing headspace, still tired, but can see that the more tired I am, the worse my mental health is.

Therefore I don't worry about crap mental health days, I see them as "I'm tired" days and therefore just less able to cope on that day. I can cope on other days, just need to be consciously aware of and to put measures in place for the days that I'm tired. Does that make sense, or am I waffling?

Yes, you're definitely making sense Chance . My sleep and MH seem to be strongly linked as well.

Hi all, just found this post. Can I join? Have suffered with MH issues most of my life, it seems to go in cycles for me. As long as I recognise it before it gets too bad it's easier to deal with. Things that help me are:

• Regular exercise
• Eating well
• Keeping the house tidy and clean(ish) -I've lowered my standards quite a bit since having DV
• Keeping on top of stuff that needs doing, mainly admin
• Getting enough sleep
• Keeping focused at work. I find that if I can get into something and stay focused on that for a few hours it gives my brain a bit of a rest from all the other crap that goes round in my head.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to do many of these things lately as I'm 7 months pregnant and have SPD. Haven't exercised for months, I'm struggling to sleep with the pain and I just feel too exhausted to do anything other than the basics of going to work and taking care of my daughter.
Am trying to eat well, although both DH and I were too exhausted to cook last night so we got a takeaway!

Hi welcome sleepyhay.

I'm hacing some good days and some bad days. Swam yesterday, meditated on way to work again and had a good day. On way to councellor appointment now. Had loads of sleep last few days but still feel exhausted oh well .

Going to start a mood diary to see if theres any common links for good days and bad days to help me get on top of this.

Can I join?
Things that help me:

1. Psychotherapy every week - a lot of processing of childhood stuff to (still) be done. Sigh.
2. No alcohol. I had a glass of red last night and I can feel it's impacting on my mood today.
3. Walking at least 10,000 steps a day.
4. Logging food on MyFitnessPal - overeating as a comfort and then self hating is a cycle I've started to break over the last 3 months
5. Time alone to recharge- just an hour a day is enough but hard sometimes with life/kids/work
6. Writing down my thoughts/feelings and tracking with my menstrual cycle. When my cycle is longer than the usual 27 days, the pmt symptoms are intense
7. The holy grail, sleep. Difficult with my early waking dc
8. Today, having a coffee in a beautiful local cafe alone.
9. Watching my beautiful boy play football tomorrow

That feels better.

Also feels good to read different ways of managing and feel like I'm not alone with these feelings. Sometimes I feel like there's such a big disconnect between my face to the world and my inner sadness. Psychotherapy is definitely helping because a couple of years ago I felt inner terror and anxiety which I seem to have replaced with sadness! It's a process right...?

My councellor taught me a techneque called EFT (emotional freedom techneque) yesterday so been practicing that and it does help. Also meditation on the way to work again today has helped.

Meditation before work conbined with eft really does seem to be helping with my anxiety. Continuing with the regular exercise too. Was bad at the weekend, not sure if that was lack of meditation or exercise or just too much thinking time. Had a good chat with DH though about how I've been feeling which was really helpful. Seeing CPN again tomorrow. Keep on working on things, just wish things would improve.