Mental health is a critical aspect of your overall well-being, but it's not always easy to shake up your habits and find solutions that make a real difference. It's best to seek out a professional mental health expert when you're dealing with serious and long-lasting symptoms such as low energy, inability to focus, and persistent anxiety. When you're in the maintenance phase, you may feel like you're hitting a wall when it comes to mental well-being. Here are five surprising things you can do to boost your mental health.
Nutrition plays a huge role in mental health, and you may discover that your diet lacks some key micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Of course, the ideal solution is to eat a varied diet of vibrant vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and healthy proteins. But there could be a number of reasons why that's not possible for you, including allergies, food preferences, and lack of options or availability.
When it comes down to it, you may need to explore supplements and products that can help you achieve a complete nutrition picture. A solid multivitamin is a good start, but there are also products like DFT by Le-Vel, also referred to as the thrive patch in online communities, which utilize new technologies to deliver nutritional supplementation.
Whether or not you're a lover of nature, exploring the outdoors has an unexpectedly significant impact on mental health. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to get caught up in the daily grind where you spend most of your time staring at a screen or running errands and caring for others. Yet, your brain is hardwired to enjoy nature, including trees, forests, parks, open environments, rivers, streams, lakes, and the ocean.
Recent studies have pointed to the many benefits of spending time outside, specifically in green environments like forests, mountains, and even city parks. Some of the benefits of mental health include:
Exploring the outdoors also can help boost your endorphins, let you stretch, exercise and breathe deeply – all activities which are beneficial for your mental health.
Even though time is precious, you can see a boost in your mental health by setting aside a portion of your week or month to volunteer for a cause that matters to you. Volunteering can also increase your sense of independence and contentment because it's something you choose for yourself and something you do from a sense of altruism.
If you're not sure where to start when it comes to volunteering your time, try brainstorming things you're good at or things you like to do. For example, if you enjoy spending time with animals, you could volunteer to walk and play with the dogs at an animal rescue. If you love reading and language, you could volunteer to tutor recently resettled refugees or children from underserved educational backgrounds.
Although it may seem unlikely, reflecting on what you're grateful for can actually increase your sense of wellbeing, and an easy way to do this is by starting a gratitude journal. You don't have to be an accomplished writer or even enjoy journaling to do this activity. It's very simple and can have a positive impact on your outlook and perspective.
To start a gratitude journal, simply choose a notebook that you like and commit to writing down three things every day that you're grateful for. Keep up this habit for three weeks, then three months, and after that, it will feel as natural as breathing.
Whether it's a comedy show or a late-night dance party, fun nighttime activities are a great way to boost your sense of mental wellness. Studies have shown that avoiding alcohol can have a positive effect on your mental wellness and who said mocktails have to be boring!? You can enjoy a night out without booze. Dancing, laughing, and going to karaoke are all great ways of boosting your mood and endorphins.
Always wanted to salsa dance? Run a marathon? Learn how to paint? You won’t become an expert overnight but the act of starting something you’ve held a desire to do for a long time can help boost your mood and potentially introduce you to new circle of friends and acquaintances.
As Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
Mental health is a serious subject, and it's something you should strive to be open about with your friends and family. Try these tips to see a significant boost to your mental health.
If you would like to speak with an expert, here are our recommended services:
This article was kindly submitted by Lewis Robinson.