Simple Things That Have Positively Affected My Mental Health

I've been struggling with my mental health since I was a kid. Like many of us, I haven't always used the healthiest of coping mechanisms. But I've also developed an array of healthy coping mechanisms and strategies for practicing self-care and regulating my mood that I employ on a regular basis. Depression, anxiety and OCD are still a big part of my life, but these tactics have greatly helped me to manage the symptoms. 

     I've compiled a list of my favourite simple things that you can do to improve your mood and mental health and I hope you find some of them helpful. Let's go!

• Let there be light. Open up those blinds or curtains during the day and turn on some lamps at night. So many little things can affect our mood, including lighting - or lack thereof. I always feel better and cozier when I'm in a room with enough warm light to comfortably see what I'm doing, but not so much light that it feels blinding or irritating. Play around with different amounts of light, different colours (I prefer a warm yellow glow), different lamps (I love salt lamps and lava lamps and also have a pretty cool glitter lamp), or candles and votives. You may also wish to use light therapy (which I touch on in my post, Surviving the Winter Blues) if you're not getting enough sunlight. I've been loving my therapy light lately! 

Lighting is such a simple thing but can have such a big impact on mood.

• Go outside. When we're not feeling well, we may be tempted to hide away indoors and not set foot outside. But I discovered a positive change in my mood almost every time I went outdoors - even if I was just stepping out onto the porch. Try to get outside for a little while each day, even if you don't leave the comforts of your own property. Getting outside can remind you that there's a whole big wide world out there, and life is going on. Getting some sunlight helps too!

Inglis Falls in Ontario, Canada: one of my favourite places that I've visited in the great outdoors. 

• Get active. Getting active is a great way to care for your body, but also your mind too. Physical activity can reduce depression and anxiety while boosting mood, self-esteem and cognitive function. I've found that I feel better when I'm doing something active on a regular basis. Whether it's been working out at the gym, getting my steps in while geocaching, roller skating, learning how to skateboard, longboard and penny board, or just taking regular walks around the neighbourhood, I've noticed that being active regularly helps me to feel better not only physically but mentally as well. It feels great to know that I'm doing something that's good for my physical health as well as my mental health. If you're stuck and don't know where to start, my recommendation is to start out small with some light exercises at home or by taking a short walk. You can also make a list of physical activities you enjoy or want to try and start by picking the one activity you want to do the most or that is the most feasible for you at this time. Sometimes we have to push ourselves a bit to get ourselves moving, but the benefits are so worth it! 

Getting out and practicing skateboarding, longboarding and penny boarding has been one of my favourite ways to get active in recent years. 

• Keep a personal journal. I've been journaling since I was a kid, and have consistently written and kept journals for the last seventeen years. As a teenager, personal journaling and diary-keeping was an especially big part of my life. I would often unwind and process the day's events every night before bed by writing in my journal, or by writing lyrics or poetry relating to my thoughts, feelings and life events. These days, I partake in many different kinds of journaling, but still keep a personal journal. Recently, to make it more fun and more of a creative outlet, I've started to decorate the pages with paper scraps, stickers and washi tape. But the most important part of my personal journal is the writing. It's a great way for me to sort out and process my thoughts and emotions and how I feel about the things going on in my life. It can feel good to unload some of those thoughts from your mind, especially if they're the kind of thoughts you want to keep to yourself, or if you're not ready or able to talk about things with someone else. My advice for personal journaling is to just write. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar. Don't worry about making it pretty or following any certain rules. Just get your feelings out in your journal and do it however you want to. No one has to see it but you.

My current personal journal.

• Keep an art journal. Another great way to get your thoughts and feelings down on paper is through art journaling. I recently started art journaling and I love it! The idea is to express your thoughts and feelings through art. Things don't have to be pretty and you don't have to be an "artist" to keep an art journal; in fact, anyone can keep an art journal and reap the benefits of making art while expressing oneself. Sometimes, putting my feelings into words can feel daunting. Art journaling takes that away and lets me express myself however I want on a piece of paper - with an abstract painting, a watercolour portrait, simple doodles with markers, a collage of what's going on in my life, or any other way I want! I can incorporate words if I want or work solely with images. There aren't many rules I follow with my art journal; I just follow the rule of expressing or documenting my thoughts, feelings and life through visual art on paper. And you don't even need a journal, notebook or sketchbook to get started. Art journaling can take place on loose pieces of paper or even in the form of digital art. There are so many possibilities.

A glimpse inside my art journal.

• Keep a gratitude journal. I started keeping a gratitude journal in 2022, and I instantly fell in love with it. I've believed in counting my blessings ever since The Berenstain Bears taught me about it when I was a kid, and gratitude journaling became a creative way for me to do so. I noticed a positive change in my mood after I started gratitude journaling on a regular basis. Not only did I enjoy the process of journaling, but my mood and outlook shifted in a positive way as I became more aware of blessings in my life and things to be grateful for. Since I enjoy creative journaling, I make decorative journal spreads for my gratitude entries, and also include quotes about gratitude, and stick stickers everywhere. But your gratitude journal can be as simple as you want it to be. The important thing is to journal about whatever you are grateful for. This can be your family, your friends, your home, the meal you just ate, the book you just read, the weather - anything at all that you're thankful for. Your entries can be short and sweet or long and detailed. You can make lists or dedicate each entry to one specific thing. It's completely up to you. 

My gratitude journaling practice has helped me to practice gratitude in my daily life, which, in turn, has improved my mood and quality of life.

• Practice spirituality. This one isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay! But for a lot of people, spirituality and having a spirituality practice can benefit their lives, mood and health, including mental health. My spirituality is very unique to me and I try to incorporate my spirituality practice into my everyday life. I find keeping a spirituality journal to be very beneficial, and it's also a fun, creative way to document my spiritual beliefs and spiritual growth. Your spirituality and practice may look very different from mine, as it's going to be very unique and personal to each person. So just go with what makes sense to you. The most important thing, I think, is to live in accordance with one's beliefs. For me, living authentically and applying my beliefs to my everyday life is the first and most important step. I think it's also important to practice one's spiritual beliefs in a way that doesn't negatively affect oneself or others and not to push our beliefs on others. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and we're also entitled to change our own beliefs. I know my own spirituality journey has taken me on an interesting ride, and my beliefs have evolved with time and will probably continue to evolve. If you're going through something similar, that's okay. We're allowed to change our opinions and beliefs. Don't stay stuck in something that no longer works for you or makes sense to you. I think spirituality should add to one's life, not take away from it by causing stress or other negative things. 

My spirituality journals have been an important part of my spirituality practice.

• Make meaningful connections. I spent a lot of my early life without any close friends. As a shy, self-conscious kid and teenager, it was hard for me to make new friends at times, and difficult for me to open up to the friends I did have. This meant I had very little support outside of my family, and struggled to feel close to people. In my twenties, I isolated myself a lot and mostly spent time with the boyfriend I was with for almost ten years. I had friends, but didn't often feel a strong connection to them the way I desired. In my late twenties, I began to put more effort into my existing friendships and making new meaningful connections. I became closer to existing friends and forged new and awesome friendships that have added so much to my life. When I was 28, my mom introduced me to the works of Brené Brown and her TED Talk on the Power of Vulnerability. This encouraged me to open up more and allow myself to be vulnerable with the people in my life, to show them the real me and talk about what is really going on in my life. In turn, I found that many people opened up to me and allowed themselves to be vulnerable as well, and these experiences brought us closer together. It is true, in many ways, that you get what you give. I'm not a perfect friend but I've given a lot more to my friendships in recent years and have recieved so much love and support in return. But I think it's important to give without expectation of receiving anything in return; to be a good friend for the sake of being a good friend, to give for the sake of giving, and to support others and build them up so that they know they're not alone. The friendships I have are true blessings, and I couldn't be more thankful for the amazing people I have in my life. 

I have this small card in which I wrote the names of some people I know I can reach out to for support. Having a person or two in your corner, rooting for you, can make such a difference.

• Talk it out. Similar to making meaningful connections and journaling, talking about your thoughts and feelings is so beneficial. I've gone through phases in my life when it has been difficult to talk about my emotions and so I closed myself off from people and didn't confide in them. Those were very unhappy and lonely times. As difficult as it may be at times, I encourage you to talk about your emotions with somebody - a friend, a family member, a therapist; whoever you feel the most comfortable opening up to. I know I can always confide in my mom about anything, and I'm super grateful for a handful of other people I know I can reach out to if I need to vent or need advice. Talk therapy with a counselor is something else I've found super helpful in the past and hope to return to in the near future. There are also some online talk therapy options if in-person therapy isn't a good option for you right now.

I think it's helpful to talk to some trusted people about who you can contact when times are tough. Ask if you can call or text them if you need support, and make sure you keep their contact info handy. 

• Listen to music daily. Around my preteen years, I started listening to music a lot. As a teenager, it was a nightly routine for me to retire to my room with some music and earphones. I enjoyed this me-time a lot and found it greatly affected my mood in a positive way. Along with journaling and writing lyrics and poetry, it was a way for me to unwind after the day and process everything. Music is still a huge part of my life today. After relapsing with my OCD in my late twenties, my mental health was at its worst, my anxiety was sky-high, my depression was horrible and my life was dominated by OCD rituals. I spent long, lonely hours washing, cleaning and otherwise yielding to my obsessions and compulsions. At first I did these things in silence, but soon found that listening to music made the time spent trapped in these rituals just a tiny bit more bearable. I started listening to music almost all the time, almost everywhere, finding that listening to music - particularly upbeat music - caused a noticeable improvement in my mood. It made life feel easier to manage. One of the first things I do every day is turn on the radio, and I also listen to music on my cell phone a lot, while being mindful of the kind of music I listen to. There's a time and a place for sad music and feeling those feelings and allowing oneself to cry; but I find that dwelling on these emotions too much can actually make things feel worse. Positive, upbeat music as a distraction and mood enhancer can work wonders and improve your quality of life. Check out my playlist of upbeat tunes that have been boosting my mood so far this year.

If you prefer a more private listening experience, over-ear headphones are recommended so as to protect your hearing as much as possible. I think they also look cool and retro. 

• Have a laugh. I believe that laughter is one of the best medicines. When my OCD, depression and anxiety were at their worst, watching funny videos still brought me a glimmer of joy and reminded me that life isn't all doom and gloom. During those dark times, I discovered Daniel Thrasher on YouTube and his "Microsongs to Boost Your Mood". I also watched a lot of Ryan George and Studio C on YouTube as well, and rewatched some of my favourite comedy movies multiple times. Finding comedy that you vibe with is important; not everyone's sense of humour is the same. So I suggest experimenting with different kinds of comedy (think: movies, sitcoms, YouTube channels, stand-up comedy, sketch comedy, memes, books, friends who have a sense of humour, etc.) until you find something that makes you laugh. I try to have a laugh every day. Few things in life feel better than a good laugh, in my opinion.

Pets can be a great source of humour and laughter too. My kitty, Phoenix, knows how to be silly and make me laugh. 

• Get creative however you can. Getting creative has been super beneficial to my mental health and my recovery. I love writing, penpaling, creative journaling, scrapbooking, collaging, making stickers and bookmarks and paper beads, drawing, painting; so many things. And they all bring me joy, lift my mood, distract me from negative emotions, and help me to express myself. You don't have to be "good" at art or crafting in order to be creative. You may not consider yourself a creative person, but you may still enjoy being creative and find that it's actually helpful in many ways. No one has to see your creations unless you want them to. Create for you, and for the sake of creating and expressing. There really are no rules when it comes to being creative. Just start experimenting until you find something you like. And then experiment some more! 

Some of my recent creative projects.

I hope that some of these things have inspired you to make small positive changes in your own life. If you feel overwhelmed or don't know where to start, you can try picking one thing from the list that you think you could benefit from the most, or pick the thing that seems the easiest and most accessible to you. Maybe there are some things I didn't include on this list that you think would be helpful to you or others - in that case, I'd love to hear your suggestions! I'd also love to hear if you do any of the things on this list and how helpful you find them. 

I'll be back in February with another blog post. As always, I'm open to hearing suggestions for future posts and to reading your feedback on current posts! To stay up to date on my blog and other projects, and to vote in blog-related polls, feel free to follow me on Instagram here. Thanks for reading! 

Hugs,

Marady

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