The 6 Best Things I’ve Ever Done for My Mental Health

Two of these take just a few minutes each to do

When you realize nothing matters more than your mental health, you’ve truly grown up.

As Descartes said, “I think therefore I am”, we literally are our minds. The body is but an encasing shell.

You could be in the best of shape, but without sound mental health, you’ll be nothing more than a hard but hollow pot — that the slightest fall will smash to smithereens.

A healthy mind, on the other hand, is a solid rubber ball,

No matter how hard life flings you around, you’ll bounce back stronger.

Bullying, sexual abuse, abandonment, and domestic violence —soaking up all that trauma had turned me into one of the hollowest pots ever.

And metamorphosing into a rubber ball hasn’t been easy. It’s still a work in progress but I want to share the 6 things that have helped me the most till now.

I hope they help revolutionize your mental health as well.

Getting Into Lifting Weights

My middle-school bullying left me with a reservoir of suppressed negative emotions. And lifting weights gave the perfect outlet to positively channel them.

In the early days, I worked out with maniacal fervor. And when the negative energy ran out, the visible results kept me going. Almost 5 years in and working out has become an integral part of my life.

It’s an all-encompassing solution. Got yelled at by your boss? Go workout. Argued with your best friend? Go workout. Feeling down for no apparent reason? Again, smash a workout.

It’s a triple bonanza:

• Your negative emotions are burned away as fuel.
• Thanks to the released endorphins, your happiness soars.
• And in the long term, the physical changes drastically improve your self-confidence.

And the best part? Working out is a keystone habit — it builds other habits such as eating clean, sleeping well, self-care, and grooming. Basically, all-around self-improvement.

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”

— Socrates

Start working out. If not lifting weights, then calisthenics. Or swimming. How about boxing? There are tons of ways to exercise — experiment, choose the one you like, start small, and build your way up.

Start today. Start now.

Deleting Instagram

Instagram is the torch-bearer of the “social” world — a concentrated FOMO hellhole where everyone’s portraying only their best selves and flaunting only the best bits of their lives.

18-year-old millionaires, uber-happy world-touring couples, sculpted dudes with washboard abs and roadmap veins, profligate yacht parties, and bikini girls with surreal proportions.

In reality, that’s just the best 0.1% in the lives of the top 0.1% of people.

But even if you knew this, constant exposure to such content will subconsciously still affect you.

I had two accounts — a fitness “micro-influencer” account and a personal one, both with thousands of followers. While the former worsened my body dysmorphia, the latter gave me major social and relationship FOMO.

This was despite having an enviable physique and life. So I pulled the plug and deleted both my accounts.

It’s been liberating. My gratitude and appreciation of my life and the things I possess have shot up. Without having to bother about snapping pictures, every experience is much more immersive.

If deleting it is too much for you, at least limit your usage — and carefully choose the accounts and pages you follow.

Embracing Stoicism

Stoicism is one of the philosophies closest to my heart. Its principles and ideas, mainly suffering being a choice transformed my self-control and emotional resilience.

Be it a skull-splitting migraine or my grandfather’s unexpected death, I persevered. The Stoic dichotomy of control slashed my anxiety and stress. Other practices such as voluntary hardship and Memento Mori have led to more grateful and mindful living.

To feel me, here are a few stoic quotes that will right away shift your perspective of things:

“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” — Marcus Aurelius

“This is our big mistake: to think we look forward to death. Most of death is already gone. Whatever time has passed is owned by death.” — Seneca

“The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.” — Marcus Aurelius

“I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.” — Cato

If Stoicism interests you, start with Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Then move on to Letters From a Stoic by Seneca. To inject Stoicism into everyday life, get the Daily Stoic book. The blog is also amazing.

But no reading will truly make you a Stoic, practicing it in real life will.

Here are some Stoic practices you can incorporate into your life right now.

Moving from Consumption to Production

We live in a consumer economy — be it shopping at your local mall, binging Netflix, ordering on Amazon, or scrolling through Instagram reels, over 90% of what we do is consume.

But a consumption-only life is inherently miserable — the overload of information and food deadens both your mind and body. With time, the result would be a world of obese mindless robots.

On the other hand, producing of any sort activates your mind and body.

Be it working out, playing a musical instrument, writing, painting, gardening, singing, you’re adding value to the world — not just taking from it but also giving back.

In college, my lifestyle had been — binge-watching/gaming late into the night and eating processed crap. Now, I write, journal, work out regularly, engage in deep conversations, and build real-life impacting stuff at my software job.

And well, the difference in how I feel is nothing short of miraculous.

I do read books, watch Youtube and listen to music/podcasts. But this consumption is the good kind — that aids my production and improves my life.

Start with one production habit and you’ll see for yourself. Then you’ll pick up more and soon, your life would’ve changed beyond recognition.

Disabling All Notifications

Last but not the least, we have the easiest (yet incredibly potent) of the lot.

Do you know how many times the average person checks his phone? 10, 15, or even 20 maybe? It’s a whopping 160 times.

The result is an ultra-fragmented focus, anxiety thrown on steroids, and insanely high screentime — even more, because no one stops with just “checking” a notification.

An innocent DM notification will leave you 5 years deep in your ex’s feed.

The solution takes just a minute — but will do wonders for not just your mental health but also your productivity.

If you need notifications for some reason, schedule DnD timings. And when you go to bed, switch on airplane mode or keep your phone in another room.

Nowadays, there’s nothing more heartening than the sight of my silent phone.

It soon will be the same for you.

If you enjoyed this, consider joining A Better Life. It’s free! You’ll receive my best posts and a value-packed weekly Sunday Self-Scaler to kick your week off to a splendid start. You might also like,