Top Ten Tips to Take Care of Your Mental Health

As World Mental Health Day just passed us on October 10th, we wanted to share a couple of ways you can take care of your mental health during this time.

• Don’t force yourself to read everything on social media. There are a lot of things going on in the world now. While it is important to stay informed, there is no need to force yourself to deal with everything each time you go on your phone. Social media posts can be incredibly informative but flitting from one to the next, especially if they’re on vastly differing topics, can be really tough mentally. You can’t truly digest this information if you’re constantly overwhelmed by it. It’s alright to take breaks or limit screen time.

• Making a weekly routine which you look forward to. Every Friday afternoon, I don’t do any work. Sometimes my flatmates and I bake, sometimes I do yoga, sometimes I watch far too many youtube videos. But I don’t do work. It’s a lovely tradition which helps me get to the end of every week.

• Talk to people! If you have flatmates, talk to them! Everyone’s in the same boat right now and I’m sure they’d love a chat just as much as you would. If you can’t speak to people in person, give an old friend a call. I had a facetime call with a friend that I hadn’t spoken to in years and it was so lovely. We spoke about so many things that had happened in our lives over the years and it helped make the current situation feel much smaller. If you feel the need to speak to someone but don’t have anyone you can speak with, or, if the ones you’d usually talk to are too close to the situation, research therapy/counseling options. Counseling is a great resource to speak with an unbiased third party and can be incredibly cathartic. Counseling services are inclusive and able to cater to your individual needs. Should you feel uncomfortable verbally communicating, many places will offer a form of written therapy. If you are looking into counseling, there is a place for you.

• Make art. I’m not an incredibly artistically oriented person but I went out and bought myself some watercolours and paintbrushes and had a short paint session the other day. It was lovely! I put on a playlist I’d been meaning to listen to and just enjoyed sitting at my desk for a reason other than work.

• Go for a walk to somewhere you’ve never been before. Edinburgh is a gorgeous city with so many hidden parks and paths. If you can find a path where, even for a moment, you don’t see anything human-made, trust me you will feel infinitely lighter. I personally recommend The Water of Leith for a beautiful green walk!

• Take time for yourself and don’t be afraid to research media on the things you’re thinking about. Personally, I have some minor health issues that I’ve been reflecting on recently. I found some podcasts on youtube from content creators that speak about their experiences with the same things I’ve had. I took an evening and listened to their stories and it really helped me feel like I was part of a support system.

• Don’t feel guilty if you can’t be there for others all of the time. This may seem a bit oxymoronic in conjunction with my third tip to speak to others, but hear me out. This is an incredibly strange time, and as it continues to extend, I find myself forgetting that this is not the norm. Everyone is going through shit right now, be that physically or mentally or both. You can’t help everyone. And if you aren’t feeling well there’s no way you’ll be able to be there for others in a healthy manner. It may feel arrogant and selfish but taking time for yourself is not something to feel guilty about, especially right now.

• Listen to music! Having a couple of classic playlists you listen to on repeat can be lovely but I’ve found going back through my old music tastes to be really fun. Even when writing this post, I’ve been listening to an old playlist of mine and the feeling of falling back in love with old favourite songs is so heartwarming. A little while ago, my flatmates and I spent a morning listening to The Sound of Music and some Christmas music and it was so lovely and nostalgic. I would highly recommend changing up your tunes!

• Exercise! So here’s the thing, I’m not going to tell you how to exercise. Everyone’s body is different and everyone’s exercising style is different, so you do you! I will, however, say that exercise of any amount is incredibly helpful and can be positive for both your physical and mental wellbeing. And if you’re looking for a fun way to keep active, Just Dance videos on youtube are SO fun! Would highly recommend!

• I know that as the days begin to blend together, we can get lazy about spending time cooking a nice meal, but making a bit of effort can go a long way. This nice meal doesn’t have to be a multi-course shindig. Taking the time to make a dish you love but don’t usually have time to make, or that is a bit more of a splurge budget-wise can make an evening more special. I’m also a big fan of setting a full place setting for myself at the table to help a meal feel more notable and just treat myself. Cooking can be a chore but meals are a lovely way to break up the day. Spending more time in the kitchen can be a lot of fun.

Hope these tips are helpful! If you have any recommendations of your own that you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments.