Easy And Free Habits That Improved My Mental Health

This year was full of challenges as well as changes for me. To give you a bit of a back story, I got to study abroad, graduated, and moved away from the city my university is based, I traveled a lot, participated in different projects, met new people, and lost some along the way, got heartbroken, lived in three different countries, and whatnot. I overall got to see a big part of what the human experience has to offer. Not going to lie, I am grateful for all of it but at the same time I can’t help but admit that some parts of my life felt like a blur. All the constant change and the new feelings that arose with it were overwhelming. I often found myself struggling to cope and that’s when I decided that I had to make some changes in my daily life to improve my mental health. Because to me, no change means no result.

Right off the bat, I can say that the most effective change I made was consistent “journaling”. I was never a big fan of journaling. Even the thought of sitting down and writing paragraphs about my life struggles felt like too much work. However, journaling is the easiest way to understand what’s going on in your life and generally check in with yourself. So I decided to incorporate that in my daily life but in a way that works for me best! I created a (what you would now call) five-minute journal for myself. Instead of spending hours of writing or staring at blank pages, I decided that at the end of each day, I would spend a few minutes answering some simple questions. 1. Today I felt… 2. I love that this happened to me today 3. I’m grateful for 4. Today I learned that and lastly if I felt like it I would write an overview of how my day went or what gave me a hard time. My point is that it didn't feel forced and so it was easier to maintain and turn it into a daily habit.

I learned how to plan my days better. For the first time in my life, I got a planner. My days felt too hectic and I couldn't keep up with them so I felt the need to write down what I have to do each day. I got a very simple planner that just consists of lines that separate the days of the week and it gives you some space for each day to write what you have to do. That can easily be done with a phone or you can simply create for yourself a planner and then print it if you prefer writing on paper.

I focused on slow living to find balance. In times of stress, we tend to do everything quicker. This is where slow living can be very helpful in finding a balance and calming down. It’s a learning process that oftentimes can make us feel overwhelmed or even bored. But how can we live a more balanced life? There are actually many ways to slow down and relax while enjoying your time. That could mean reading, writing, painting, creating something from scratch, meditating and practicing breathing exercises, and listening to relaxing music. Anything that could possibly apply to you and your individual needs. At the same time, be open to making adjustments as you go as creating balance, and following a slow life is a continuous process.

Minimized my screen time. One rule that I set for myself is no screen time 30 minutes before going to sleep or first thing in the morning. It wasn’t easy to achieve but It has really helped with my overthinking and allowed me to start/end my days peacefully while having some extra time to focus on myself and reflect.

I spent at least 10 minutes walking outside every day. Being outdoors is a powerful way to improve your mental health. I have noticed many times when I feel bad and I go outside for a walk how much more energized and positive I feel right after. So I decided to dedicate 10 minutes of each day to a walk. Maybe 10 minutes doesn't sound like a lot but there are days where staying active feels like an impossible task so a 10-minute walk is always a safer option as it’s easier to achieve even on those days.

I made sure to get enough sleep every night. Enough sleep doesn't necessarily mean good sleep. We need to have both, good and enough! It’s important to give your body as many hours as it needs to feel rested and recharged. There are also many ways to improve your sleep like creating a relaxing routine before going to bed, changing the temperature of your room, making sure your bed is comfortable enough, that you have let fresh oxygen into your room during the day, and your electronics are out of reach.

I decluttered my space (and kept it that way). To me decluttering my space and keeping it simple and clean also means decluttering my mind. There is nothing worse than feeling stressed and overwhelmed at the same time and living in a space that makes it all worse.

If you liked this article and you want to support me further consider signing up for Medium through my link!

By signing up you’ll have access to all the Medium content for only 5$ a month. That way, when you read an article, the author gets a small commission from your membership :) If you sign up through my link, I’ll get a small amount of your membership at no extra cost to you and you’ll be supporting my writing!

Enjoyed what you read? You can also support me here.

Don’t forget to follow and subscribe to get an e-mail every time I publish :)