The last few months have been some of the most challenging we have ever endured.

Now more than ever, it is essential that we prioritize our mental health. Invest in yourself.

We have put together a list of 5 small, but highly effective things to do each day to boost your mental health and help keep you grounded.

Keep a Positivity List

 In the best of times, it is all too easy to focus on the negative things in life. In the age of corona virus, it becomes almost impossible to focus on the positive things.

One of the best things that you can do for yourself is keep a positivity list.

Write down one thing that happens each day that is positive. It could be good feedback in a meeting, waking up early, keeping on top of your housework or even finishing a book. Keep track of the good things in your life.

Putting this together will remind you of what’s good, even if it is small.

Move

 

Melissa Broder once wrote that telling a depressed person to get up and dance is a crazy thing to do.

This, I truly agree with - some of the dialogue surrounding mental health and exercise does more harm than good, and we should never feel pressure to exercise or move because sometimes we just can’t. And that’s fine.

That being said, if you can, moving is a great way to boost your mood. Go for a walk. Dance to an old Beatles song. Do some star jumps.

Anything to keep you moving, your heart rate up and you, feeling more refreshed and ready for anything.

Manage your social media intake

Sitting and mindlessly scrolling on social media is comforting and easy.

It is so easy, that often we forget what we are ingesting from social media and the effect that this truly has on us. Social media has a way of amplifying our biggest anxieties - be it about body image, productivity or all the terrifying things going on in the world at the moment, when we sit on social media, we take in content that is detrimental for our mental health.

It is important to regulate how much time you spend on social media, and to take regular breaks.

Tidy house, tidy mind

We are all spending significantly more time at home than ever before. But even with all the time at home, it is really hard to keep on top of things like housework, and easy to let domestic work pile up.

The saying tidy house, tidy mind, is however, cliched for a reason - because it’s true.

Try and keep the space you live in as organised as possible, because it’s hard to create mental space when your physical space is cluttered.

Do one thing for yourself each day

Our culture has become increasingly saturated with discussions of self care to the point where I believe we have started to lose sight of what it truly means.

Prioritizing self care isn’t easy.

No matter what your circumstances in life, it is easy to let your own well being fall to the bottom of your to do list. One way to prioritize your own well-being, is by doing something for yourself each day.

This can be anything from treating yourself to something small like a coffee, taking yourself for a walk when you really need it, or allowing yourself to take some time out and watch Netflix. Try and think of one thing each day that you know will make you feel good, and prioritize it.

Because now more than ever, self care has to be at the top of our agenda.

 

Words by Marni Rose McFall