ways to genuinely improve your mental health.

If you’ve read my recent posts recently, you would know that my mental health has been a little down in the dumps. Since this isn’t the first time that I’ve struggled with this, I kind of have an idea of what helps boost it up. Are you also struggling with your Mental Health? Here are just a few simple things to help you improve on your mental health.

keep a constant sleep routine

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Being tired is a surefire way to ruin anyone’s mood. Sleep is something that’s important when you don’t struggle with mental health, but even more-so if you do. You might normally be the happiest, most upbeat person you know, but a few days of poor sleep and you’ll find yourself feeling sluggish, irritable and over emotional. Typically, when your mental health has plummeted, one of the first things you notice is how exhausted you are. Trying to keep a consistent sleep schedule really helps. While that’s easier said than done (trust me, I know), it honestly helps a lot in the long-run.

If you struggle with falling asleep, I suggest trying a lavender/chamomile essential oils, where you can put them into a diffuser to help calm you down before sleep. Another thing you can do is make a chamomile and honey tea! The last suggestion I would make is a type of sleep spray! You can literally make your own with water, witch hazel and certain essential oils (lavender, chamomile). I actually spoke about it a bit on one of my blog posts, which you can read here!

exercise

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We’re all told over and over again how exercise is a natural mood booster and it really is true. Now, I know how difficult is it to actually get to the gym or start exercising. Get yourself an accountablibuddy (sorry, I had to use this reference from South Park), no but seriously get someone who will kind of help force yourself into working out. You don’t even have to exercise in a gym, there are tons of at home workout programs on YouTube!

Another thing to take into consideration, is that it can take a while for you to start seeing the benefits. If you’re not used to exercising very often, you might feel the endorphins, and be in a good mood, but you’ll feel super exhausted at the same time.It does take time to reach a level of fitness where you feel the endorphins, but at the same time you’ll actually start to enjoy it! It might not feel like it when you first start, but keep at it and you’ll begin to enjoy the burn! Exercising releases happy chemicals in the brain, regulates hormones and does lots of things in the body that in turn improve your mental health.

journal

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This might be one of the biggest things stress you do. When our mental health is down, one of the things that happens is that all these thoughts are constantly flowing in our mind. These thoughts really can affect our mood. One thing that we have to do is make sure is that we don’t leave all these thoughts inside our head. You either have to speak to a therapist (which I know a lot of people can’t do, because of the expense), or you can buy an inexpensive notebook anywhere and start writing! You could use prompts, or practice just writing whatever comes to mind. It doesn’t have to make sense, and it doesn’t have to be well written, but you just have to write down your thoughts, your feelings, etc.

You’ll even be surprised, sometimes we don’t really know what’s going on in our heads, but writing it down gives us that weird moment of clarity. You might find out something about yourself that you have never known about yourself. 

have fun with friends

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Laughter really can be the best medicine. If you’re feeling a little down, stressed or anxious, getting together with friends and having a good time can set you right again. I know it might be hard to want to do anything other than lay on your couch or stay in bed after work, but it really helps take you out of that funk when you’re around people you genuinely like spending time with. Make sure you don’t spend time with people who might have a more negative energy vibe or stresses you out. You definitely don’t need that if you’re feeling a bit down.

enjoy a creative outlet

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One thing that a lot of us can experience as adults is restrictions in our creativity. We finish school and start working full time, which often doesn’t leaving us with much time for anything else. Our jobs might be monotonous and overly routine day in and day out. Getting creative can be great for your mental health! Make sure you give yourself an outlet that enables you to express yourself. It could be anything from painting to writing to candle making, whatever you’re into!

I’ve personally been into doing a few things recently. I’ve been bullet journaling for 3 years, which allows me to not only be more organized, but also creative! I get to create a whole bunch of different spreads for multiple uses. On top of that, I’ve been really into watercolor painting. It’s super tricky, but it’s so relaxing, and really boosts my mood. On top of that, I run this blog, which also allows me to be creative in a different way than the other two do. I suggest maybe giving one of those three things a try!

keep your surroundings clean and tidy

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Don't Forget Your Physical Health

An integral component of good mental health is physical wellness; exercise not only releases happy chemicals into your brain, but can regulate hormones as well. Exercising regularly has many positive outcomes on mental wellbeing as well.

Another way to prioritize your physical wellbeing is through regular visits with medical professionals like Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi. By working closely with these medical specialists, it will ensure you're taking adequate care of both physical and mental health.

The last, but still important thing I want to talk about is the fact that, in general, we are massively affected by our surroundings as humans. Things like colors, layout and cleanliness all play a part. De-clutter your home and give it a fresh coat of paint. Choose items that are meaningful and add to the space aesthetically. While it might be difficult, because trust me, when my mood is the way it’s been these past few weeks, the last thing I want to do is clean everything up. Take it little by little. Give yourself one thing to clean/organize, and you will feel loads better. If you remember my last post, I mentioned the fact that I organized my makeup, and omg it has made a huge difference. Every time I look at that lil’ corner in my room where it’s all organized, I feel so much better about myself! I still quite a bit to clean up, but I had to start somewhere! Do I recommend you do the same thing, and you’ll see a difference in your mood.

What do you do in order to improve your mental health? Let me know, I’m always looking for more ways to make myself feel better! As always, thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day/night! Sending you love, strength, and positivity.

-Melina xxx

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16 comments

  • bournemouthgirl says:

    They are great tips! I definitely need to exercise more to help with my anxiety x

    Reply
  • readingwithjessica says:

    This post just spoke to my soul. I struggle with anxiety and it's so...."heavy" for lack of a better word. I started an anxiety journal and it's really helped me. I try to post positive things alongside the negative. For example: I post my fears but then I post a few of my strengths. It's easy to focus on the negative but if we flip it and start focusing on the positive things it can really help! Easier said than done when you're in a funk for sure. LOVELY post. Thanks so much for posting.

    Reply
    • Melina Elisa says:

      trust me, I know exactly what you mean. This is a great way to feel better! I do the five minute gratitude journal, and it really helps to flip the mindset from concentrating on the bad to the positive, kind of like you said. It is wayyy easier said than done, but we can't give up! We gotta keep fighting 🙂 x

      Reply
  • hanmorris97 says:

    Such a great post! I've been struggling this week with my mental health, but I know it's down to a poor sleep schedule, as my sleep has been all over the place. Definitely need to start improving that. Totally agree that exercise helps too, even though it can be hard to start, it's definitely for the best. Another great post, thank you for sharing. I hope you're doing good too xx

    Hannah | luxuryblush

    Reply
    • Melina Elisa says:

      Thank you so much Hannah! I'm so glad you agree with most of the things I mentioned. I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been sleeping well. I hope you start sleeping better and just feel better overall! Thanks for reading and commenting 🙂 xxx

      Reply
  • thisdreamsalive says:

    Great post (and so beautifully laid out), starting to exercise was the best thing I've even done for my mental health, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Melina Elisa says:

      I know, whenever I'm feeling super down and need something to make myself feel better all I do is do something creative and exercise! I'm so glad you liked this post, thank you so much for reading and commenting love 🙂 xx

      Reply
  • Beka says:

    Your headings are gorgeous! At first I thought it was a picture because it was such a cute, handwritten font, but I could highlight it like text and I was shocked! Does it come with your theme or do you have a font hack for your blog? 😂

    I find journal so therapeautic on a bad day. Just sitting down and doing something creative and pretty, while trying to restore some organisation and order to my life does help on my low days. Cleaning my space helps massively, too! It’s a struggle to get myself up and do something, but taking a shower and then putting a washing on, cleaning the dishes, the kitchen, etc... it all helps so much!

    Beka | http://www.bekadaisies.com

    Reply
    • Melina Elisa says:

      I actually saw another blogger have cute handwriting as part of her blog, and I looked it up how to do it, and there's a plugin that allows you to put whatever fonts you want (don't use more than 1-2 because it makes your blog slow if not)! I found this handwriting because on google fonts 🙂 I wanted something that while not be as nice looking as other fonts, actually looks like my cursive which gave it a super nice touch! If you need more help, shoot me an email or I can make a post about it 🙂

      I'm glad you agree with me ! I completely agree, something as simple as taking a shower, makes you feel just a little more put together. Thanks for reading and commenting love 🙂 xx

      Reply
  • The Style of Laura Jane says:

    Love this post Melina! I've been a bit up and down with my mental health. And I agree with everything. Especially ensuring you feel you're in a clean and good environment. I always debate how much I should throw away to try to declutter. I tried to get into the Marie Kondo show on Netflix, but I don't think it's for me. Anyway!, hope you're starting to feel better.
    My issue was my blog has been my creative outlet for two years now. Yet I was putting so much pressure on myself. Even now, I over think and stop myself writing, because I don't think my photos are good enough or my topics are interesting enough etc. So a journal is a good way to just say whatever without having that stress. xxx

    Reply
    • Melina Elisa says:

      I still haven't had the chance to actually look at the Marie Kondo show (I know, I feel like I'm the only one), so I'll let you know my thoughts on it afterwards!
      I feel like I go back and forth with phases that I take myself too seriously and then moments where I don't. I feel like in times where my mental health is worse, I decided to just write whatever I feel like it. It was kind of weird to write such casual posts like the "dear diary" one, but at the same time it felt so good to just write whatever I wnated! Just write from the heart, and I promise the right people will flock to your writing. You are an amazing writer, and I promise you it is good enough.

      You should definitely try out journaling though! I love it! Thanks so much for reading and commenting xxx

      Reply
      • The Style of Laura Jane says:

        I like reading dear diary posts. Or those if we were having coffee, because they are just so relatable. It's weird to think there was a time in blogging when that was the norm.
        I bought a new notebook to start jotting down my thoughts. Hopefully if I do it before bed, it will help me sleep easier. xx

        Reply