Below are some easy to implement mental health hacks to help improve your mental wellbeing.
Psychology 101 offers us a simple and clear idea of how to master our mental health through a skill developed by the famous psychologist Marsha Linehan in her ground-breaking treatment called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
This skill is called PLEASE, and its a cool acronym that reads like this:
treat Physical
iLlness and Pain (if you're sick or in pain, go get treated!)
Eat a balanced diet and in a balanced way
Avoid alcohol and other drug use.
Sleep in a balanced way-remember good sleep hygiene, a tired person is a cranky person.
Exercise in a balanced way- not too little, not too much-look after your body.
Apart from the above, mental health mastery would involve setting and maintaining healthy routines, especially for the morning and the evenings. Routines help reduce stress because we don't have to use extra mental energy to figure out 'what to do next'. Just look at how well young children do when they have a set routine and know what to expect.
Connect with those you love and foster healthy relationships.
Give back to your community in anyway you can and practice gratitude-its a cure for depression!
Remember self-care. This can look like setting healthy boundaries, committing to a work-life balance, rewarding small wins, recognising signs of burn-out and taking time out. It also means taking care of your responsibilities, like looking after your home, paying your bills, investing in your physical appearance.
Make time for fun! Incorporating play time and pleasant experiences into our lives builds emotional muscle and helps us to be more resilient when times are challenging.
Practice mindfulness by living in the here and now. As KungFu Panda once said, "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is gift. That is why it is called the present".
Spent some time reflecting and determining your values. What's important to you? What is worth fighting for? What are some no-go's? Living according to your values builds a sense of self-respect, personal integrity and pride.
Finally, don't be afraid to ask the big questions- what is the purpose of my life? What is the meaning of suffering? Transpersonal Psychology has been described as the fourth force in psychology. Whilst thoughts, feelings and behaviours are the focus of most psychological therapies, transpersonal psychology invites us to go beyond our physical world and consider our spiritual lives. It suggests that we are all connected and form part of a universal, transcendent force that is all powerful, merciful and loving. It speaks of the soul, the energy of life and invites us to live a life that aims to achieve 'peak experiences' and remember our shared humanity. This creates meaning and hope, which is the anecdote to nihilism, a dangerous but seductive cop out.
Zenobia Domingo
Counselling Psychologist
#mentalhealth #anxiety #depression #dbt #mindfulness #wellbeing #selfcare #lookingafteryourself #selfhelp #psychselfhelp #domingopsychology #emotoins #stress #relationships
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