Simple Yet Effective Habits to Support Your Mental Health

In today’s society, life can feel extremely chaotic and overwhelming. Social media feeds are often filled with health and lifestyle influencers showcasing various ways to improve your mental health, and although these can be helpful, sometimes the goals are just not realistic long-term. Sometimes the 5am workout routine, the Sunday afternoons spent meal prepping the entire week of food for the whole family, or the commitment to running a 10k with only 3 weeks to train can be really challenging. Setting ourselves up with demanding and unrealistic goals can lead to feelings of shame, disappointment and a lack of accomplishment when we are not able to sustain them. Although exercise and nutrition are important aspects of mental health, setting more realistic goals that feel both achievable and sustainable can be more effective.

Here are some simple habits that can help improve your mental health;

Movement

This does not need to be an early morning gym routine, 5km run or the 6am hot yoga class, it can be as simple as some stretches, walking the dog around the block, or even dancing to your favourite song in the kitchen while the morning coffee brews. Gentle exercise still releases endorphins, which can help to boost your mood.

Build Healthy Sleep Habits

Try to get a consistent sleep routine, which means waiting till you feel tired before heading to bed, trying to wake at the same time each day, and doing things to build your body’s drive for sleep throughout the day. If you do wake during the night and you’re unable to get back to sleep, try leaving the bed and moving to another space to do something relaxing such as reading until you feel sleepy again. This helps build the association between the bed and sleep and is a common technique when working with insomnia. Healthy habits with sleep are important, as consistent lack of sleep is associated with depressive symptoms.

Social Connection

Keeping up with friends can be so challenging when life has us running at a million miles an hour. People often over commit to social engagements, leaving them feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Building in social connection that follows the rhythms of your weekly schedule can be a great way to enjoy the benefits social connection brings, without feeling stressed by commitments. For example, if your week is busy, maybe you and a friend both walk your dog’s together in the evening, or maybe you bring coffees to school pick up on Friday and chat in the playground for 30 minutes while the kids play. This provides you little bits of social time without the overwhelm of big plans.

Enjoyable Activities

Schedule something each week that feels enjoyable. I’m not talking lavish spa days, or mini breaks to Muskoka; just little moments that bring you joy. Maybe that’s giving yourself an hour to sit in the backyard and read your book, going for a nature walk whilst listening to your favourite podcast, or grabbing a coffee and going for a drive with your music blasting. Little routines, that can give you a sense of relaxation or reset.

Write Down Your Thoughts

If you are feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed, journalling, or writing out your thoughts can help you process them and provide a sense of relief. Writing them down can also help shift you from rumination to actual problem solving. If your mind likes to catastrophize or bring you to worst case scenario thinking, writing down your feared outcome and then assigning realistic probabilities can be helpful (e.g. there’s a 5% chance my feared outcome will occur, but a 95% chance it won’t). Seeing these numbers written out can help calm the anxious mind.

If you are struggling with managing your day to day or are feeling burnout, therapy can be a helpful source of support. Your therapist can help you set realistic goals, explore barriers to achieving these goals, and support you with creating more balance and connection in your life.