5 Valuable mental health management tips that will improve your life
- Rachel Lyon-Jukes
- May 11, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 13
Hi Folks
Knowing how to manage your mental health is a difficult task.
The process can be overwhelming and leave you feeling stuck in a rut.
Do you ever find yourself...
getting frustrated when your mental health doesn't seem to be improving?
feeling that what you are doing to help yourself doesn't seem to be having an effect
asking yourself why can i not feel happy instead of sad, angry or anxious?
Can you relate to any of those questions? Are you moving your head like a nodding British bulldog? If so, let us find out 5 potential reasons why that could be.
Reasons why your mental health not improving
1. You are ignoring/pushing aside your problems or thinking that they will go away.
It is easy to get sucked into feeling shit. Or believing that the best thing you can do for yourself is to binge-watch a series of Big Bang Theory. I am not advising you to abandon a helpful coping mechanism. Instead what I am saying is don't hide from what is making you feel so bad by covering it up with TV.
Whatever has brought your mental health down, it will not help you by ignoring it or hoping that it will go away.
SPOILER ALERT: It will not.
2. Your expectations are too high. You cannot be the happiest person alive within an hour.
You take yourself out for a nice scenic walk (good on you). But then you come home and are feeling low again. You think “what's the point, that walk didn't do anything, i still feel the same”
Lasting emotional change will not happen in an instant. It also cannot sustain itself without you working at it. Emotions are tricky things to master. They are like waves, coming and going.
You need to check your expectations because mental health is not a linear process. The more you prepare for that, the better you will be able to deal with any hurdles in the future.
3. You are ignoring the basics. You are putting all your energy into finding the ultimate quick fix.
I struggled with this time and time again. I ignored the basic acts of daily maintenance. I thought they wouldn’t have any lasting effect. I WAS WRONG!
A quick fix hardly ever works. Mix that with poor mental health that is difficult to control and a quick fix is non-existent.
Basics are all the little building blocks you need each day to keep your well-being steady. Like Jenga, without one block, the tower will fall. It’s a domino effect.
Basics include:
fuelling your body with nutritional foods
drinking water rather than coffee all day
experiencing laughter
having conversations
smiling at something that makes you happy
going to bed at a decent time
filling your brain with rich content rather than empty, pointless fluff
4. You do not seek help and believe you have to do it all yourself
I get it, seeking out help can be scary, unpredictable and sometimes make things worse (in the short term). But, I stand by the best thing I ever did being that I spoke to someone about my problems.
You don't have to seek professional help to share the burden. Messaging a friend or talking to a family member over coffee may be all you need. It does not have to be a serious affair.
Sharing what is bothering you, having an extra perspective and having a shoulder for support is vital for improving mental health. This is because human connection is the key to any form of happiness.
Other people will not be able to offer you the solution to your problems. You need to accept that you are the driver of that train. But they can help you in other ways through listening, physical contact and seeing the bigger picture.
5. Your understanding of management is off
Daily management of your mental health is not a timed schedule. It does not mean that you have to go out of your comfort zone to get your mental health booming. Management is not a one way treatment path.
Managing your mental health means focusing on the current day. Doing the things that are helpful and putting in place small habits that keep you running well.
If a trigger appears and you are facing a hurdle, you want to be ready to jump over it with as much ease as possible.
Management is all about knowing yourself.
It is understanding what may trigger you and the best way to regulate yourself.
It is being aware of what has a positive or negative effect on your feelings and thoughts.
It is being mindful of whether your behaviour is working well or against you.
Knowing yourself allows you to align your needs with your daily circumstances.
How to make mental health improvements?
Tip 1: Get Clear!
Write down what is troubling you or causing you distress at the minute. CHECK OUT my blog post called 3 easy journal prompts to help you understand what is causing you distress
Tip 2: Ask yourself ‘what am i expecting to happen?’
We all want our negative thoughts and lousy feelings to vanish, but is that realistic? If you fit into the vanishing category, think about lowering your expectations. Think of lots of little wins, rather than the almighty big one.
Tip 3: List all the basic necessities you think you need to have a decent day.
We are not talking about the best day ever, but a day you can look back on and think “I felt ok today”. Check out the journaling blog post on How to Create Your Ultimate Checklist To Boost Your Mental Health Here
Tip 4: If you are struggling to reach out, try writing a letter to someone you would want to ask for help.
You do not have to send it! Write down what you would tell them and why you wanted to come to them. It may give you that little bit of confidence to share the load.
Tip 5: Get honest with yourself!
What do you think daily mental health management is? Are you doing it or simply hoping for the best? Being honest with yourself is a fantastic mental health tool, but you have to be aware that you are doing it first. Practice makes perfect and helps create lasting results.
WANT TO LEARN MORE TIPS?
If you have any questions or have tried out any of the tips in the blog post, leave a comment below to let me know how you got on.
If you have a blog post topic that you want me to cover, send me an email.
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Until next time, remember you are beautiful, you are valid, and you are loved.
