Why Have a Mental Health To-Do List?

You may be reading this because you’re going through a rough time, and you want some help. You may be someone who’s looking for ways to better support a friend of yours who’s hurting. Or maybe you just want to learn more about mental health so that if someone close to you does need help, you’ll know what to do. No matter where you are in your journey or how many times it has happened in your life before—it can be scary and difficult when something is out of balance with our inner selves. So I’m here today with a mental health to-do list so you can take care of yourself while supporting others in their struggles as well!

Talk To Someone

• Seek out a professional. Whether you choose to seek therapy, seeing a psychiatrist, or consulting with another mental health professional such as social worker, psychologist, or counselor (or all of the above!), it is important that you reach out and get help so that you can begin feeling better. It’s also important to remember that different types of treatments work for different people—so don’t be afraid to consider your options!

• Talk with friends and family members about how they’re doing as well (this especially goes for children). While it may seem silly at first glance because they’re young and are still learning how they interact with others on their own terms…it’s important that we teach them the best we can.

Talk to someone else. This can be a friend, family member, or therapist. It can also be a stranger—just ask them if they’d like to talk with you for a little while. If no one is available at the moment, try talking with someone online or in real life who understands what you’re experiencing and wants to help (or just listen). Or perhaps there are groups of people who meet up regularly so everyone can talk about their mental health issues together; this could help make it feel less isolating and scary. Another method that has helped me before is 7cups.com. There are counselors you can message in real time. They offer a free option where you have someone to chat with 24/7! If you’re finding your thoughts are spiraling, this can really help you out of your ruminating cycle. 

Finally (but not leastly), consider talking things out with your pet—they might just end up providing some much-needed emotional support when no one else seems willing 😉

Readjust

First of all, it’s helpful to know what your goals are. If you don’t already have this figured out, try writing down some things that are important to accomplish in order to improve your mental health. The goal isn’t necessarily about getting rid of all depression or anxiety—it’s about living life with purpose and meaning, even when times get tough. You can make your own mental health to-do list using these 7 tricks, but feel free to adjust it to your specific needs and goals.

Once you’ve laid out the groundwork for yourself and set some priorities for improving your mental health, it’s time to choose just one thing that will help guide the way forward on your path towards self-improvement. This could be anything from starting a new hobby to making small lifestyle changes or doing something fun every week (or whatever else would make sense). Next comes tracking progress—this part might seem like extra work but trust me: tracking can be very rewarding! It gives us an objective view of ourselves without letting our emotions cloud our judgment too much (if we’re honest with ourselves). And finally if things aren’t working out as planned after several tries then maybe reevaluate whether this particular goal is really worth pursuing at all…

Finding your values is an amazing way to “map out” your life path. I did three years of ACT therapy which helped me identify and move towards my values – rather than be blown around aimlessly like a ship in the sea – based on feelings or spur of the moment ideas. This will give you a map, and when life tosses you around or you’re experiencing mental health crises, you know how and what to come back to.

Nutrition Matters

Nutrition matters. As a busy adult, you might be tempted to skip meals and rely on coffee and fast food to get you through the day 😬. But if you want to stay healthy, these are habits that need to go. Instead:

• eat a balanced diet
• drink water and avoid sugary foods and drinks (including sugary drinks with added sugar like fruit juices)
• cut down on processed foods such as microwave meals, ready-made snacks and frozen pizzas
• avoid smoking or drinking alcohol – both have been linked with low moods!

Exercise Matters

It really matters, even if it’s a little bit of exercise. Even when you’re tired and things feels overwhelming, try to muster up the gumption to go for a walk. The fresh air will do you good and help clear your head. If walking isn’t possible, try doing some stretches or even just standing up from your desk and making some movements that get blood flowing through your body (like dancing!).

If you feel too tired to exercise, remember: you have to move in order to feel alive.  Don’t wait until you feel like it.

Exercise is good for everyone—even if you’re not looking to lose weight or shape up, it’s important to stay active. Exercise releases endorphins which make us feel better overall, helps our cardiovascular system function better so we can breathe easier, makes us more flexible and agile so we’re less likely to fall over when we trip on something, increases our productivity by releasing dopamine into our brains so we feel happier while working—the list goes on!

It doesn’t matter if you have 20 minutes or 2 hours—any exercise is better than none at all!

Sleep Matters

Sleep is a crucial element of your overall mental health. It’s important to get enough sleep, but also to improve the quality of your sleep, as well as take steps to ensure that you’re getting enough of it. Here are some tips for doing just that:

• Do what you can to reduce stress in your life and make sleep a priority
• If you have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep at night, try keeping a journal or calendar where you write down everything that happened throughout the day and how much stress it caused you—this may help identify patterns in how certain behaviors cause more stress than others (such as making time for exercise). Then make adjustments based on this information until you are consistently sleeping well again.
• Use an app like Sleep Cycle or Sleep Time
• Keep a consistent sleep and wake schedule when possible
• Get blackout curtains
• Take Melatonin

Acknowledge The Good Things In Your Life

One of the best things you can do for your mental health is to acknowledge the good things in your life. It’s easy to get stuck in a negative mindset, but it’s important not to ignore the good things. You might be struggling with something and have a lot on your mind, but don’t let that prevent you from noticing when someone does something kind or thoughtful for you. We often compare ourselves unfavorably or too harshly with others. If we’re feeling down about ourselves, take time to reflect on what makes us unique and special: our strengths and talents; our passions; our goals; our relationships with friends and family members. Remembering these things helps us feel more positive about who we are and how much there is still left for us to accomplish in life! Click here to learn more about your daily gratitude practice.

In addition, don’t be too hard on yourself when making mistakes (or even when doing well). Everyone makes mistakes sometimes—that’s part of being human! As long as we learn from them without letting them hold us back too much or become excuses for inaction, then they won’t hurt us very much overall.

Take Small Steps To Improve Every Day

Don’t try to do too much at once. It’s easy to want to make big changes in your life and start exercising, meditating, reading self-help books and eating healthier all at once. But that’s not realistic. Instead, set yourself up for success by picking one goal and focusing on it until you’ve reached your goal. Then move on to the next thing until you’ve achieved all the goals you set out for yourself.

Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get it right the first time around. Sometimes we have good intentions but fall short of our expectations—that’s okay! Everyone makes mistakes sometimes (and fails before they succeed). If this happens with something on your mental health to-do list, don’t feel bad about yourself or give up entirely; just make a note of where you went wrong so next time will be better! 

Be Kinder To Yourself

Do things that make you happy, even if it’s something as simple as watching your favorite movie or reading something that makes you laugh. Learn about developing Self-Compassion here.

Think of the best parts of yourself—for example, how compassionate and loyal you are—and remind yourself that these qualities are valuable in life.

Don’t compare yourself with others who are further along their mental health journeys than yours; instead try comparing how far along YOUR journey has come since starting this one! You may find that there has been more improvement than what first appears when looking at where someone else is now compared with where they were then…or maybe not! Either way though it doesn’t matter because every step forward counts towards making progress towards improving mental health which can be seen as an achievement in itself even if there isn’t an immediate reward. Plus each person will progress differently depending on factors such as age, gender, culture, background, medication type, etcetera, so why bother comparing ourselves anyway?

We hope you feel a little less alone with this list of ideas. While it probably won’t be enough to turn your life around overnight, it can help you get started on the right path toward feeling better. You don’t need anyone else’s permission; just start doing something and see how things go.