Stay positive
Focusing your attention on positive thoughts is a boost for your emotions. This doesn’t mean you will never feel sadness or anger. Those emotions can be helpful for working through difficult situations. Yet we don’t want to dwell on negative thoughts and memories. Focusing on positive thoughts is a real mood lifter.
Take a news break
It helps to take a break from negative information. When we limit our exposure to bad news, we give ourselves the opportunity to focus on positive thoughts.
Practice gratitude
Practicing gratitude means being thankful for the good things in your life. Some people benefit from writing down what they are grateful for in a daily gratitude journal. When we are under stress, it helps to know what we are grateful for in our lives.
Be physically active
Exercise can improve mood and decrease stress and depression. 30 minutes of heart-rate elevating exercise per day makes a huge difference. Walking is easy to incorporate into your day.
Get enough sleep
A regular, adequate sleeping schedule promotes mood stability. Insufficient sleep can lead to depression and feelings of stress and anger. Getting quality sleep each night is crucial to your mental health.
Eat healthy
Getting the nutrients you need supports brain and body functions. Eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, proteins, grains, and omega fatty acids ensures that your brain’s nutritional needs are met. If you need to, supplement with a vitamin.
Connect with others
A research-backed marker of contentment in life is maintaining relationships. Humans are social by nature and need connection with others. Social support, like friends, family, community groups, and therapy groups, helps to keep us emotionally afloat.
Find meaning and purpose
Living with purpose makes life feel worthwhile. It gives you a sense of who you are and what you can contribute. Work, hobbies, Yiddishkeit, and doing acts of chesed all can help you to develop a purpose in life.
Develop coping skills
Learning how to get through stressful situations is key for maintaining mental health. Coping skills can be learned through therapy.
Learn mindfulness skills
Mindfulness is being aware of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings while accepting them and not judging them. Mindfulness slows our reaction times and can help with moderating emotions. Many people find that meditation is a good way to cultivate mindfulness.
Relaxation techniques
Listening to music, deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation techniques, and making creative art are all ways to relax. Relaxing our muscles and minds is an antidote to stress.
Therapy and medicine
Willpower alone cannot solve behavioral health problems. These issues are medical issues that need professional treatment. Seeking the help of a credentialed therapist and/or psychiatrist is critical to improving mental health.
Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and mood-altering substances
Mood-altering substances, including alcohol and tobacco, contribute to behavioral health issues. While they might give short-term stress relief, their short-term and long-term effects have been clinically linked to negative mental health outcomes.