Good Mental Health Habits to Take Note Of

How to change your mindset to improve your mental health 

If you find that your mental health has not been the best lately (and with everything going around in the world, we can’t blame you), then the new year is the perfect time to start fresh. For instance, you can change your perception and mindset to help improve your overall wellbeing. Afterall, our thoughts, behaviors, and habits all influence our mental health.

Many of us link our strained mental health to stress and anxiety. Stress can be caused by several factors, —even the little things! Some examples include school, work, family issues, money problems, or unresolved conflict. The list goes on. Stress affects each person differently, so it's important to figure out what works best for you to help you cope with stress. Anxiety is known as excessive worrying or rumination about an impending event that may or may not occur. It can be tough to control, and there are ways to manage it just by changing the way you think!

Here are some good mental health habits you should start practicing.

1. Understand and accept that anxiety and stress come and go throughout your life. For example, many students feel some level of stress and anxiety after an exam, often overthinking answers they have written down. Instead of fixating on the already finished exam, you can think about what you did well and what you could improve upon for the next time.

2. Remind yourself that everything will be okay even if things don't go the way that you planned. Instead of thinking about all of the possible terrible outcomes, try to visualize all of the amazing things that could come if you succeed!

3. Stop thinking about all of the negative things in your life. Try to form an objective point of view and remember how lucky you are to have all of the things that you do.

4. Practice meditation daily. Meditation has been proven to improve your mental health by reducing your anxiety levels. While it may seem difficult at first, try to start by doing a few minutes of meditation a day. There are multiple guided meditation videos on YouTube, you can build up from that. There really isn’t a fixed amount of time you should aim for. Just do it as long as it feels right to you.

5. Mind the way you speak to yourself. A lot of times, we are overly critical about the way we look or the things we do. Always remember to treat yourself with love. If what you’re think is not something you would say to a friend or family member, then it probably isn’t something you should be thinking about yourself either. 

Let 2022 be the year of self-love for you. Try applying these new mindsets and practices and see how well your mood changes. It may take some time to do them habitually but trust us, your future self will thank you for it!