Hey Pandas, How Do You Work On Your Mental Health?

Get out of bed at 7am, stay in the rhythm of cat, shower, breakfast, etc. I force myself to go outside for a little walk when it’s not too cold and windy. I need the fresh air and sun. Play music while doing stuff in the house and trying to stay positive about the future without my husband. Every day I do one hurdle-chore – getting things done with bank, notary, insurance and all the other crap that needs organizing. I’ll get there, eventually. (And I love BP).

deleted all social media except YouTube reddit twitter and bored panda

I go into the outdoors. Far from people if possible. I only truly relax where I am more likely to meet a bear than a human. Find the "place" that does this for you, and visit it as often as possible!

My daughter and her extremely obnoxious, know-it-all boyfriend live with me at the moment so it's not easy. I try to take deep breaths when he's haranguing me and tell myself that his opinion of me does not define me. I explore Bored Panda, Quora, and Reddit, and sometimes vent about the situation by posting to one of them, like I'm doing now, and I try to take "me" time. I also have a keen interest in psychology. I've taken some classes, read a lot, and participated in a few group counseling sessions. I cook, and play or snuggle with my Maine C**n Cat Tildy. She keeps me from going off the deep end with her constant chatting (Main C**n Cat owners will know what i mean). I listen to music while taking walks to do my errands and have several streaming services with excellent content that I watch in the early morning and late evening. My world has shrunk considerably in my middle age, but I keep up on politics and world events, and hope each day will be better than the last.

I actively make time for my hobbies. I don't care what anyone says or does - I'm going to play that game or going for that bike ride. Everything else can wait.

I have an app called Finch. It helps with my mental health. It's a lot to describe it on here, so check it out and see what it is if you have anxiety/depression. Best part: there's a lot of stuff on it that is free, even though some is behind a paywall. Anyway, I hope this helps y'all.

I look at myself in the mirror and tell myself all the ways I am blessed. I also reflect on ways I can improve myself.

Have help remembering taking my medications and try not to miss anymore appointments.

I make it important to always take breaks, and just do what I enjoy even if for a few hours to get myself back into a good headspace. Spending time with family, cooking, writing, drawing, taking a walk and even just talking with friends and venting helps me a lot.

I paint or draw . Keeping my hands and mind busy by being creative

take a break. its okay to take a break from people. take a break from friends, they can cause you stress and i know for a fact that mine do cause me stress. i got grounded and my phone got taken away and i started feeling so much better. i didnt have to deal with everyone wanting to rant to me all the time, or with people calling me at 2 am because they couldnt sleep. or with people getting mad at me for leaving on read because i couldnt deal with it at the moment. it made me feel so much better. of course i still talk to them. just i dont have to deal with them telling me things i cant handle right now.

The Blues can go from small to medium to large and then the MEGA...and each has it´s own remedy..
small cuddle the dogs..
medium cuddle the dogs and take a walk around my garden...
large cuddle the dogs...call a good friend and sit in the garden while talking to her...
MEGA a warm foam-bath while sipping a glass of wine and listening to Mozart full blast...then cuddle the dogs and finally go dancing to African music all night...a cure-all-evils !!

I'm a mental health therapist. My son died a little over a year ago and these are the things I do.
1. I practice mindful self compassion (Kristin Neff's book) and this is the number one recommendation I have for everyone. She has a website with free information. I courageously feel my emotions and show myself kindness as I do so. I try to treat myself like I would a friend, particularly when I feel regret or sadness.
2. I teach and use DBT skills, such as radical acceptance and self-sooth. Everyone could benefit from DBT skills! You can learn about them for free online.
3. I practice accepting others as they are, noticing and letting go of judgement. This helps me set boundaries because I can focus on protecting myself rather than wasting energy trying to change others.
4. I set boundaries which require me to do something differently to protect myself (if the boundary relies on others to change, it will fail). I set boundaries with compassion and kindness, but hold firm to them, even when it's hard.
5. I write in my journal when I'm down, or talk to someone I trust. We all need social support; it's a part of being human.
6. I connect with my spirituality through prayer, mindfulness, and peaceful music. This gives my life purpose when everything feels pointless and overwhelming.
7. I prioritize stretching, moving around a bit throughout the day, and massages (even if it has to be with that handy self-massage tool called body back buddy).
8. I keep track of my mental health symptoms and activities so I can make correlations and gain insight about what helps and what actually makes things worse (I really like Daylio and it has a free version)
9. I use apps that help me stay organized and motivated to get things done (Habitica, TickTick).
10. I celebrate small wins and steps in the right direction.
11. I see a therapist monthly to help me cope with grief
12. I hired a cleaner to help me have more free time to do fun things like play video games.
13. I talk to my son all day long. I feel what he's saying to me in my heart.
14. I give myself time to cry and be miserable. I take a mental health day off, if I need to.
15. I schedule 3-day vacations throughout the year, even if I don't go anywhere. We all need break to recharge our emotional energy.

Meditate. Practice gratitude. Enjoy my dog. Volunteer. Spend time with my husband and friends. Read in my hammock and take breaks to look at the clouds.

I talk to people who are having the same struggle as I am, though I don't like interacting with others, I understand that someone who is going through, or has gone through, the same struggle as me may have tips and tricks that they used that helped them that might help me as well.

Giving myself space to relax. Allowing myself to put the work down for the night, and read a book instead. It isn't always easy as an unhealthy overachiever, but it makes a hell of a difference.

Start each morning by writing down 5 things you are grateful for. Outline your goals for the day, don't overwhelm yourself by making a unrealistic set of goals keep it simple. Once you finish a goal reward yourself by doing something nice for yourself. This can be something small like a diy facial or a foot soak in warm water. When you finish your list of things revisit your journal and write about your day. No matter what you're battling, depression, anxiety, stress or just your overall mental health, journaling is sure to help although it sounds absolutely dumb, I've spent years in therapy and have learned the power of journaling for self exploration and personal growth.

I try to go outside and listen to music for at least ten minutes a day. It’s not hard or crazy but it’s super life changing.

All of the classic stuff listed here - meditation, cats, music, exercise, therapy, etc. Still struggling with an issue from the past though. Has been extremely helpful to start reading every night, particularly about how the brain works and how we get wired a particular way.

Read fanfictions in the mornings, take cold baths in the summer and cuddle my cat when I'm cold or need comfort. Listening to music is also a way to tune out and just relax. Also, binge watching my favourite shows is a big help. P.S My cat's name is Charlie and he is black with gorgeous green eyes :)