04 Oct 12 Simple But Powerful Ways to Boost Your Mental Health
Real happiness equals mental health.
I know the two terms are not exactly the same; but happiness equates to lower levels of unpleasant or negative emotions and higher levels of positive emotions.
Which is pretty similar to what most people would consider happiness.
So, with all this in mind, how can one one enhance one’s mental health and happiness? Read on …
via Thrive Global by Rebecca Muller
With World Mental Health Day approaching on October 10th, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the small habits and rituals that help us protect our mental health and stay resilient. After all, if the past couple years have taught us anything, it’s that our mental well-being is just as important as our physical well-being — and with small steps, we can take action to live with less stress and more joy.
We asked our Thrive community to share with us the different steps they take to boost their mental health and stay resilient. Which of these tips will you try?
Practice “box breathing”
“If I notice that I am feeling a little anxious or a bit stressed, I will do box breathing: four counts on the inhalation through my nose, hold for four, four counts on the exhalation through my mouth, and then again hold for four, and repeat. This breathing technique stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which entices our body’s relaxation response.”
—Candice Tomlinson, coach and hypnotherapist, Sydney, Australia
Set boundaries with your phone
“As the owner of an online business, I spend a lot of time on social media, which can easily become bad for my mental health when I spend too much time online. It’s easy to trigger the brain chatter creating doubts, imposter syndrome, and mindless scrolling when I get tired. One of the easiest ways I’ve found to stay resilient, besides turning it off, is to block out my online time in my calendar and stick to it. Doing this simple step not only protects my mental health, but it’s also so empowering. I’m 100% in control, choosing how much time I spend online and protecting my mental health.”
—Heidi Medina, digital marketing strategist and business coach, Portugal
Start your day with an affirmation
“One small way I take care of my mental health is to do a morning meditation of affirmations and setting my intention for the day. Every day I wake up at 5:00 am, and I am not a morning person, so I don’t really ever bounce out of bed. I lay cozy in bed for about ten minutes to go through my morning affirmations. I remind myself that I choose my thoughts and that I choose them from a place of love. I tell myself that love is my power. I tell myself that I’m worthy, abundant, capable, beautiful, kind, loved, strong, and brave. I feel like these simple things put me at a higher vibration that lifts the energy around me and helps the people around me.”
—Sharon Nethercott, engineer, New Fairfield, CT
… keep reading the full & original article HERE