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IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH

SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN BEGIN WITH

I hope you enjoy this simple read.  If you find it simple, then I’ve achieved my goal….keeping it simple.

MEDITATION & PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Meditation and physical exercises every day helps release endorphins into your brain. This helps to release stress.

So what meditations do you practice?  There are great apps that offer simple meditations. There are also great resources on the internet for short or long meditation practices.  Have fun exploring.

And what about physical exercise.  Is this a time for you to notice that you do, or do not participate in any?

Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever come across someone who does some physical exercise (or meditation) and then says “I feel horrible after that!”  Don’t get confused with comments of how difficult or challenging it may have been. But generally it’s not regretted, and the person is usually grateful they did it.

PLAY

Play, play, play, even emphasised while you are an adult.  Awaken your inner child by playing with kids, or if not with kids, you can use jigsaw puzzles, colouring in, play dough, sand, or anything you like.  But this part is key: while you are playing… be present.  I dare you not to take your mind elsewhere.  Be there playing, don’t be thinking of the time, or dinner, or a past event, or a future worry.  Play.

POSITIVE AWARENESS

Become aware of the moment and look for the positives.  Have you ever bought a car, e.g. a white car, and then all of a sudden notice so many white cars on the road? [I bet you have a similar example].  This is because you have brought something up into your ‘awareness’.

So be careful. This also means if you bring negatives into your awareness, you may notice more negatives. 

Be better than that, and look for positives deliberately. 

Then you can invite more positives into your awareness. 

You can plan this as an exercise (the whole family can do this too).  Spend a couple of minutes once, twice or three times a day, and announce to yourself (or write if you prefer), everything you are grateful or thankful for.  You can even say ‘I’m thankful for the wipers working on my car’, ‘I’m thankful for the rain’, and of course you can be thankful for more things with significant importance in your life.  So changes in your way of thinking (and the language that you use) can lead to ways of rewiring your brain into a more positive tool.  

RELATIONSHIPS

Ever noticed how important relationships are?  They are!  They assist with improving your emotional well being.  Hanging out, quick phone calls, slow phone calls (what ever works) are still part of relationships.  Notice how good they can make you feel.  You will know the right dose, once you begin self exploration.  Positive relationships can do wonders for your health.

MINDFULNESS & GOALS

Now lets be mindful.  Evaluate your current standards.  Where are you at right now, and where do you want to be.  Now work out what steps you need to get there.  If you don’t create a plan or have steps /strategies in place, then you cannot call it a goal (its more like a wish).  So do you need to set aside some time to complete properly preparing for a goal?

So with this brief and simple read, I hope it has shed some light on what you can work on.  That’s all you need to get from this read.  Just one or two things that reassure you that you are on the right track, or that you need to make improvements to.

Good luck

Amanda Dounis

Positive Living Skills has a great blog on how to show genuine empathy to someone

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