5 Essential Tools to Improve your Mental Health

mental healthwellness
Written By Diane Mullis

In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I wanted to share some things that have impacted my life in a positive way. There have been many tools I have been using for months to help with improving my mental health, and I wanted to share those tools with you all today. This post includes research supporting the tools I have been utilizing, and how they truly do assist with your mental health in a biological way. So without further adieu, let’s explore the 5 essential tools you need to improve your mental health.

Working Out / Being Active

I have noticed a big difference in a positive way when it comes to how I feel mentally after being active. And it is not just from the simple act of working out. When anyone works out or exerts physical energy, it “increases the endorphin levels, which is the body’s chemical produced by the brain & spinal cord that produces feelings of happiness and euphoria”, according to Walden University’s article titled 5 Mental Benefits of Exercise.

Of course, there is the added boost of self-esteem that most people may get after seeing results from months of work. But in the end, we are all just trying to maintain our bodies and our minds to be in the best shape that we can achieve in order to live long, healthy lives.

Journaling

Now, this is a tool I have been using for years, probably back when I didn’t know journaling could help with mental health. I always found journaling as a way to express myself, but not having to talk to anyone about it or say it physically out loud. It turns out that there is a lot more mental health benefits than I’ve realized. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center’s article titled Journaling for Mental Health,

“Journaling helps control your symptoms & improve your mood by:

  • helping you prioritize problems/fears/concerns

  • tracking symptoms day-to-day so that you can recognize triggers & learn from them

  • providing an opportunity for positive self-talk & identifying negative thoughts and behaviors”

I hope to see more men in the journaling spectrum, as it is usually interpreted as a womanly activity when it is really an everyone-activity. But maybe I am oblivious to the men figures in my life that journal without my knowledge — who knows.

Expressing Gratitude

What is gratitude, you may ask? Well, simply put, gratitude is the quality of being thankful or ready to show appreciation for and to return kindness. You can express gratitude to not only yourself but others as well. I try to give someone, whether it be a stranger or someone in my life, a compliment once a day. You never know what the person on the other end of the compliment is experiencing in life, so that compliment could possibly make their day.

According to the University of Utah Health article Practicing Gratitude for Better Health and Well-Being, “expressing gratitude can positively change your brain…it boosts dopamine & serotonin, the neurotransmitters in the brain that improve your mood immediately, giving you those positive feelings of pleasure, happiness and well-being”.

By expressing gratitude to yourself or others, you are helping your body produce those feel-good chemicals that help boost your mood and overall, mental health. Give it a shot, it might not be half bad.

Enforcing Limits on Tech

This is a tool I am still working on using in my daily life. It is easier said than done, in my experience. But I believe in the long run it will be beneficial for my physical and mental health. Whether I am enforcing limits on tech by limiting screen time or stopping phone usage by 9 PM, any limit can help your mental health improve due to a decrease in tech consumption. If you find your screen time being high on your phone or other tech devices, take a look at the settings to see which app is taking up most of your time. By being on social media apps & other constantly-refreshing apps, you develop an attachment to that everlasting feed of photos & videos from other people. It can become toxic if not controlled in a healthy manner.

According to the Frontiers in Human Dynamics article Social Connectedness, Excessive Screen Time During COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Review of Current Evidence,

“Social media may promote negative experiences such as:

  • inadequacy about your life or appearance

  • fear of missing out FOMO

  • isolation

  • depression & anxiety

  • cyberbullying

  • self-absorption”

Be wary of how often you consume content on your phone, and maybe take a 5-minute break every 30 minutes or so to rest your pupils. Be smart, kiddos.

Stretching Your Body

I think I saved the best tool for last. Stretching has become such a great tool for me and my connection with my mind. I am able to have a mind-body connection that helps me breathe during my stretches more deeply, feel exactly what area of my body needs extra attention, and overall less tension in my body. I feel extremely relaxed after stretching my body, whether that be after a workout or on a random afternoon. There is no wrong time to stretch your body!

According to The Simple Act of Stretching by Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging at CSU, “stretching reduces the muscle tension, thereby reversing the cycle of tension, then tightening, and pain”.

I try to stretch my body more now than ever before. If I am in any sort of negative mood, stretching helps more often times than not.

What do you think about these tools — are they something to add to your toolbelt?

Let me know in the comments if you do these things already, or are planning to use them in the future.

 
 
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Diane Mullis

Hello! I am a 20-something lifestyle blogger, who is aiming to inspire someone out there with my blog posts about mental health, relationships and daily life.

https://inspiredbydiane.com
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