Things you do to improve your MH

[jamrolypolyandcustard]

Hello,

Just for a bit of background, I've taken some time away from my student nurse university course as I felt emotionally and mentally drained.

I'm trying to think of ways I can improve my mental health (I suffer from low mood, anxious feelings and some stress) and I need to use the time away wisely to improve these things, I return back to university in January 2024.

For anyone that's tried and been successful, what could I do to improve things?

Thank you!

Walking.
Mindfulness exercises.
Drinking water, and tea with no milk.
Talking therapies.
Bed rest.
There's a book my best therapist recommended, 'Mind Over Mood' by Greenberger and Padensky.

When and why did you start to feel this way? Finding, and dealing with, the root cause is the best way of stopping it.

Anytime spent outdoors helps enormously

Join a choir

Walking
Adult colouring book
Sudoku
Swimming
Deleting Instagram

Out of necessity when our hot water was broken/not easily fixable I had to have cold showers on days I couldn't go to friends/swimming pool. Absolutely found them to be so good at setting me in a positive mood after I'd forced myself, I've added them into my routine- whole body and mind feels rejuvenated long after

Getting outside. I walk a lot and drive an hour each way sometimes to beautiful places to take in the scenery and fresh air. I always feel better after a walk.

Ive also started couch to 5k recently to work on my stamina which I think is positively helping me

Self care days, where I have a bath, moisturise, face mask, hair mask, do my nails etc

Reading, I limit my screen time because when I’m low mood I’ll waste the evening on my phone. Reading is a great escape

My most recent thing is doing more things myself… I’ve been to the cinema on my own, sat in the pub garden alone with a book, even flew to visit my grandparents abroad alone. I feel so empowered

I wish you all the best and hope some of the suggestions help x

Antidepressants

exercise

talking therapies

Going out for a walk
Having a bath
Forcing myself to get up/ showered/ dressed on days off
Small wins- mini daily projects like cleaning out a drawer or giving myself a manicure
Meditation

Not reading the news
smashing it really hard at the gym (this has helped me more than words can say, better than any therapy I’ve ever had)
enjoy sex and intimacy with a loving partner

Being outdoors. If you can't have or don't want a pet then offer to walk a neighbour or friends dog.

Make sure your diet and exercise are the best you can manage so that you don't become overweight or you lose extra weight.

Low mood is often associated with its feelings about your body image and if you're overweight this will only make you feel worse.

When I was beginning to feel down when I was unemployed I listened to my dad wrote a porno. It just kept my head above water by making me laugh a lot.

Before I go to sleep I try and think of 3 positive things about the day and hold that in my head. Praise myself to offset negativity. It can be anything. Recent actual examples have been
I dealt with a difficult situation at work today
My sweet peas are flowering
I did some stretches to keep flexible
I remembered to post those letters
My friend messaged with a funny joke
Saw loads of bees in the garden
Took a load of stuff to the charity shop
I ate healthily today.

Gardening

Getting a pet, my pet is very good at listening 🤣
Forgiving myself for not being perfect, tidy, taking an easy option, having a box set day, and for things that happened in the past.
Volunteering on a charity outdoors project regularly.
Volunteering helping at events with above charity.
Walking daily.
Eating well and lots of veg and fish ( following the Glucose Goddess now)
Taking part in craft events, made me try something new.
I think all of the above have had an equal positive affect on me, I realised I was driving along just smiling for no reason to myself for the first time in a long time the other day.
Good luck, it takes time. Celebrate small wins.

Things that give me a feeling of control, keeping the house clean and tidy and eating healthy and moving lots to maintain a weight I'm comfortable with. Also time enjoying something for myself, including studying, reading or watching TV. I also need to be productive to feel good about myself so I keep a to do list to keep me focused on what I want to get done and tick stuff off. I always feel better when I'm not on social media for more than a few minutes a day too.

So not long ago I took 6 months out from work due to mental health. .
I took a break from things like false nails and lashes and makeup, I just used nice skin care every morning and night
Joined the gym and started going 4x a week
Took long walks in nature
Met friends for coffee or lunch
Rested my mind and body
Got into a clearer routine for cleaning etc
Practiced yoga and stretching
Watched mindless crap on Netflix
Got into a better sleep pattern

Still can't really focus to read a book or watch anything that requires concentration though

Walking every day
better diet
lost weight
spoke more honestly to my DH about my feelings
reading
exercise

I took up archery last year. It's been wonderful. No matter how anxious I am I get on the range and it's set in beauty countryside right on my doorstep. I shoot arrows at a target, sometimes photos/zombies/balloons and it's like an off switch for my racing mind. Everything goes still and I can breathe again. I'm not especially target driven but keeping records of my scores and starting to work my way through badges has been ray good for my self esteem too.

I am very creative. No matter how miserable I am feeling if I can make something it sorted me and mages me feel productive. So I have craft room crafts , crafts I can do on my lap watching tv and baking/cooking/gardening type stuff. For extra chilll out pads an Audio book or a pod cast while my haha are busy and I feel double productive and less guilty as I'm not frigidity wasting time

Every single day I write a list. I try to quite 2-4 things that need to be done that are high priority, then 2-4 medium and 2-4 low priority. I make myself do at least one on each section. On a good day I can clear a lot. But at the end of every day whatever is left gets carried over onto the next day, and new jobs added. Some things may become higher priority and that's ok. That way everything eventually gets done .

I think the biggest charge for me though was totally stopping watching the news. I've completely stepped away from it all, and I no longer follow politics. I had zero control over any of it and I felt so powerless. But now? I feel so much lighter and less anxious in myself. I wait noticed this when that submarine went missing and everybody was talking about it.I googled it and got sucked in and my mental health nose dived. Do defo staying clear in the future

Spend as much time with friends/family as possible
Go to support groups or therapy if I need to
Work on my mindfulness
Meditate
Do yoga, and some Pilates
Get outside as much as possible, lots of walking
Take my vitamins, drink water, eat enough protein
Try and get a good nights sleep and as much rest as possible.
Take antidepressants if I need to.