Mental health is an important aspect of an individuals well-being, that must be cared for thoroughly. Particularly throughout work and education, which I believe as a university student myself can fluctuate quite quickly. Therefore a lot of this will be based around that context, as I share five things (there are countless more options that work for different people) that personally help me or could help others in being healthy.
- Exercise – Regardless of ability or fitness level, the intensity can be adapted to suit the indiviudal. It is easy to stress when caught up in a great workload, but even walking outside (in hopefully bright sunshine) can be enough to take your mind off of whats troubling you. This can also be done with a friend to offer a social aspect and motivation, so you avoid becoming buried in your textbooks experiencing burnout.
2. Diary / Mood tracker – If like me, you can struggle to see the positives of a day sometimes, then downloading an app such as ‘daylio’ can be an excellent method of logging and assessing your days. You can rate your days with one click of an emoji, click what activities you did in the day and write notes. It logs it all so anytime you’re questioning yourself, you can go back and view what you did well.
3. Music – Sometimes as much as we enjoy socialising, we just need to be on our own for a while to recover and recharge. This is perfectly okay and music can come in different genres to suit your different moods. When I’m in a good mood I tend to listen to indie rock or pop music, anything catchy enough to spark my attention. Whereas when you’re down in the dumps, perhaps ‘sad’ or uplifting songs can give you hope through relating to the lyrics.
4. Speak up – If you’re speaking to the right people then they will be happy to help you, but to do this you must help yourself first. It is okay not to be okay and the first step is communicating. This can be tough but relieving when you find that special person who understands you. Bottling up your feelings will lead to them eventually pouring out. So whenever it gets a little too much, take a step back and reflect, then reach out. You do not have to face anything alone.
5. Try new activities – Try not to get stuck in your comfort zone. We all love it for a reason! But it’s so healthy to branch out and try new things, you may even meet new people. I try to be as open minded but I do admit some things can be a stretch too far (such as me having to do Dance with absolutely no skill whatsoever), so it can help you if its in an area you are somewhat familiar with. For me this is sport and exercise, which has numerous societies where you can meet new people with a common interest. These societies also exist for non sport too, and I seriously joining at least one if you can.
lifeistoo.sport.blog 
I super agree in the number#2, I’m using now The Five Minute Journal, it really helps me improve and always gives me a satisfying feeling. Also I would like to suggest going to church whatever religion it may be as long as you can listen to the words of God.
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Exercise and music are two great ways to improve your mental health especially if you aren’t feeling too great recently. Not only does exercise help you to distract your mind away from current events but it can also help you improve yourself physically and feel better.
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Yes exactly. Being on the move and working physically can be great for providing a good feeling, to benefit ones mental health. I also feel like nutrition can help this too as you can feel better about other areas in your life and habits, to ultimately change others.
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I feel like music is only a temporary fix and it can hurt you just as much as it helps you. Exercising is a great way to get things off of your mind though. I love sweating out my emotions. Very effective. Trying new things is also very important. Switch up your daily routine. Make sure your life doesn’t become predictable and tedious.
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I completely agree that holding your emotions inside is not a good way to handle your life as a whole. You have to let those feelings and emotions out instead of holding your feelings in otherwise you will have a hard time with personal relationships. Mental health is something I’ve had to deal with for a while. It’s good to see someone share their opinions on how to support people who have this to deal with in their life. It’s incredible what some people have to go through to achieve what they had hoped for. Relationships are best if the person tells the other how they feel instead of hiding it from them. I completely agree with this
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It can be very difficult to open up to someone though, especially on that kind of level. It is important to find someone that you trust and can confine in.
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