Dear Reader,
What is it that you do for your own mental health? This topic has been swirling around my mind for some time and I even did my own list of activities that I enjoy and consider beneficial for my mental health.
You might take your mental health for granted, but are you sure it is granted? Do you believe that the world we live in, ever faster and increasingly information-addictive is a safe haven for your mind? Maybe it is in your case. Or maybe not. It does not hurt to stop for a glimpse and actually ask yourself and your mind: How do you feel? Are you in a quiet spot? Do you feel thunders coming close?
A first step in taking care of your mental health is looking into it. Below is a list of activities I enjoy and do as often as possible to maintain my mental health.
- Meditation
- Listing what I am grateful for
- Deep breathing exercises
- Yoga
- Writing this blog posts
- Reading about mindfulness and how to develop our own mind
- Sleeping – quality sleep if possible (This usually depends on the quality of your mind’s state.)
- Dancing
- Making lists of necessary activities/items etc. to unload my mind
- Checking off items from lists, once they are done
- Paying attention to my feelings
- Allowing feelings to come, to be felt and to go
- Writing the occasionally list: “I am …” (e.g. happy/ hard-working/ etc.)
Do you consider that hobbies contribute to your mental health? I do. Because enjoying an activity releases happiness hormones and decreases the stress hormones that are often almost always on during the struggle of every day activities, from job, driving and even being a pedestrian juggling among cars.
What you feed your mind will act as a catalyst, just as you feed your body healthy food.
Thus, dear Reader, I invite you to take care of your mental health and to enjoy yourself!