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Mental health

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What changes have you made that have improved your daily life and happiness?

24 replies

Blossom4538 · 09/07/2020 21:24

Just this really!

I have a lot going on in my personal life at the minute and I’m a Mum of a gorgeous, buy complex little one who has special needs.

I am on SSRI’s and have been for a few years. They help slightly.

So, I’m interested in changes you have made which have helped your mental wellbeing and happiness, and other things which don’t help! I’ll start:-

Something simple - the other day we actually managed a blustery walk, along a lovely beach...It helped so much!

What doesn’t help...probably not getting enough sleep or out enough.

Interested in others experiences....

GO!!!

OP posts:
OneRingToRuleThemAll · 09/07/2020 21:26

I took singing lessons. Have been having them for a year now and they have done wonders for my mental health and sense of well-being.

candle18 · 10/07/2020 00:46

I agree with walking. I’m trying to go out for one hour each night and I think it really helps. We have a dog so that makes it a bit easier

maddy68 · 10/07/2020 00:50

I have made a positive effort to only say positive things.

cheezy · 10/07/2020 00:54

Watching with interest as my MH has tanked.
Drinking less probably helps, but I haven’t got around to trying it yet Hmm

Furrybutts · 10/07/2020 00:55

I started chanting and meditation.
Have suffered with metal health in varying forms and extents all my life ,and cannot recommend this highly enough.

BostonFernGreen · 10/07/2020 05:42

I bought some good quality magnesium glycinate (the type that isn't a laxative), some vitamin d3 and made a check list of the minimum to do each day.

The checklist is tiny things like:
one bicep curl, one pelvic floor squeeze, read one page of fiction, take a deep breath in and out every time I use the loo, 5 star jumps, one text,

It's more manageable if you're feeling a bit low. When things are bad obviously even those little things go out the window but doing them on good says has a cumulative effect IMO.

The magnesium seems to help sleep and the vitamin d I take massive doses (20,000 iu per day ish) and it really seems to help. I notice when I run out.

megrichardson · 10/07/2020 05:53

Another one for meditation - really worked for me.
Also, boringly, giving up drinking alcohol, cut down on caffeine, stopped smoking.
YY to Vitamin D - I have been taking one Vit D tablet a day for years now.
Also, this sounds crap but it helped - getting into the habit of having a smile on my face.
Best wishes OP

OneJumpAhead · 10/07/2020 05:59

Aromatherapy oils and lumie night light that does sunset and sunrise setting

HeartZone · 10/07/2020 06:03

Yoga
Healthy eating
Walking
Physical cuddles with family members
Routine days - not too many endless boring days

PurpleThistles84 · 10/07/2020 06:05

A daily routine, even if I don’t feel like it, forcing myself to shower, dress and do make up/hair every day. Getting up at the same time, going to bed at the same time. Making sure I eat properly, again forcing myself on days when it is hard to do so.

I took up a new hobby, dot art. It takes focus and basically is a form of mindfulness. It calms me and I feel a sense of achievement when I see the finished results of what I made.

Limiting screen time, being careful about what I watch or read. I do my best to watch things that make me laugh, read things that make me smile and try to avoid any type of media that provokes strong negative emotions.

Getting some exercise every day, usually it’s just a walk and throw of the frisbee with the dog but getting out of the house is so important to me.

Doing the organised mum method, which helps me keep on top of the house without running myself into the ground trying to do so.

Goal planning, having an idea of things I want to work towards and breaking it down into little steps. At the moment I want to start selling my dot art, so I am working on making enough pieces to have a good amount of stock to start with.

Listening to mindifi hypnosis app in bed to help me settle, this really helps me and does have an affect on my mood the next day.

Reading biographies and self help books.

Limiting caffeine and sugary stuff.

Having family time with my kids, usually board games or wii party.

Learning CBT techniques from online to stop myself dwelling on past things.

Buying myself a little treat from sites like everything5pounds once a month to give me a little pick me up.

Honestly some days I completely fail at most if not all of this, so the biggest thing I have learned is to be kind to myself. It’s just a bad hour, a bad afternoon or a bad day. It’s not a bad life and every single morning is a new day to get back on top.

31133004Taff · 10/07/2020 06:40

Thinking back to the days of toddlers which equalled no sleep and no me time; a perfect mix to equal low mood. We had a routine of meal times, daily trips out, bedtime bath and story. Lots of hugs. I did struggle with lack of sleep and this did make for a very low mood and I felt lonely as a consequence. In hindsight the things I could do with a minimum of fuss and really helped were:

Warm baths - felt like a totally one way, no strings attached hug.
Journaling - it was my ‘critical’ friend, particularly good at those times when I knew things were ok but didn’t feel like that.
Letter writing - a good way for me to keep in touch. I had to be upbeat about things even though I was struggling and this did lift my mood.
Going to the supermarket on my own. It was a great guilt free escape.
Getting a bus into town - I could just zone out.
Cup of tea in a cafe - I could people watch.

Interestingly, these really simple things remain so marked in my memory.

Chitlin · 10/07/2020 06:45

Deleted my Twitter account

abitfunny · 10/07/2020 08:07

Meditation. It’s a game changer

AlecOrAlonzo · 10/07/2020 09:11

Open water swimming. I have a wetsuit but I have been trying to swim in a bathing suit as much as possible because I think the benefits are greater.

Definitely going to try the magnesium. I take vit d when I remember but it's just struck me that I haven't had any in ages.

daringdoris · 10/07/2020 10:01

Some great ideas and reminders.
I too have been forgetting to take my vitamin D!
Journaling really helps me too, I must start again.
Having a good therapist has helped me in the past.

AlmondsAndChocolate · 10/07/2020 10:07

Furrybutts I would love to take up chanting and meditation! How did you get started?

31133004Taff · 10/07/2020 10:10

Yeh! Good counsellor - as a professional, friend or book. Never a penny wasted. We need these things to help us process our experience and make sense of our world.

Furrybutts · 10/07/2020 12:12

Almondsandchocolate

Look up Sadhguru on YouTube. He literally changed my life.

GreenPop · 10/07/2020 13:12

Things that have helped:
Rarely drink alcohol
Given up caffeine
Meeting up with friends (obviously socially distanced now)
Eating regularly
Learning to say no
Also learning to say yes sometimes when someone is offering help
Making myself get up at the same time everyday

Things that haven’t
The opposite of the above!

Pegs11 · 10/07/2020 16:20

Got on the right meds (NHS has been USELESS so I had to pay privately to explore what was making me feel so unwell... but it was worth it).

Took up walking (in the woods, as close to nature as possible), gardening and creative pursuits.

Meditation and sound healing.

Stopped doing the things I am pressured to do but that I know won’t make me feel good.

Magnesium and vitamin D and getting enough nutrients generally.

Cut down caffeine, sugar, alcohol and weed.

Got pets. Animals bring me so much joy.

Made my home as close to “perfect” as I can - I surround myself with things that please me aesthetically and spiritually (LOTS of plants!), and have created a calm and relaxing environment for myself.

Mindfulness - observing my thoughts and behaviours in a non-judgemental way.

When I neglect my meditation/ mindfulness and my nutrition, I always feel worse. It’s keeping up the routine I struggle with.

Blossom4538 · 10/07/2020 21:04

This is great!

I feel like I have no time - or I do only after 10pm and then I’m exhausted.

OP posts:
Pegs11 · 11/07/2020 06:30

“try to avoid any type of media that provokes strong negative emotions”

^ THIS!!

Also:

“Deleted my Twitter account”

Coming off social media was one of the best things I ever did.

TellySavalashairbrush · 11/07/2020 06:54

Great thread!

lifestooshort123 · 11/07/2020 07:05

Binning Mrs Hinch! How can obsessing over deep-cleaning every square inch of your life be healthy? 'Clean enough is good enough' does for me now.

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