6 Healthy Habits to Improve Your Mental Health

Here are some strategies for getting over a crisis and regaining control of your life, from taking cold showers to forgiving others.

“There won’t be a crisis the following week. I already have a packed schedule.” Harry S. Kissinger

We have been forced to adjust in many ways since the Covid-19 pandemic reached our shores, and as a result, societal discontent has erupted on the international scene. Even without adding a personal problem to the mix, living in these hard times is difficult.

So how does someone adjust to their issues while the world is undergoing change?

Here is what I’ve learned.

I left my day work about a year ago in order to deal with my mental health concerns and their growing influence on my life. I’ve fought with self-worth, image, and the need to be loved by everyone for as long as I can remember. Major Depressive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Cluster B Personality Disorder would all be diagnosed with me later in life.

Due to my limitations, I developed a persona that represented who I wanted to be, persuading myself that doing so would mask my insecurities and boost my confidence. Instead, when truth and fantasy merged, everything spun out of control and culminated in a catastrophic mental breakdown a week before media outlets started to write about me.

I was denounced and painted as a con artist. To make matters worse, no one was willing to listen to my side of the tale.

I had already developed the qualities necessary to thrive in my work and made great use of those capabilities to get a lot done. But as the façade of my persona crumbled, the public and the media began to cast doubt on those skills and achievements.

Numerous personal tragedies, such as being evicted from my home due to rising public harassment, my mother’s passing followed by my father’s decision to abandon his family in search of a new partner, and the complete theft of my lifetime’s worth of possessions, were exacerbated by my deteriorating mental health.

I fought against suicide thoughts every day because I believed I was useless. While my wife handled a media frenzy, I alternated between hospital and outpatient care, worrying about her health. Because of the unpleasant and incomplete story that had been written about me, I was afraid that my newborn first child would soon be bullied. Having devoted so much time to building professional contacts rather than establishing and sustaining personal relationships, I experienced severe despair on my own. I also didn’t have a strong network of allies.

It was hard to decide to live. I’m still having trouble. I may not be thriving, but I am at least surviving and rebuilding. That goes beyond what I could have predicted a year ago.

I’ve developed six practices that strengthen resilience through trial and error. They will assist you in navigating a life in crisis if you put them into practice every day.

Take in the moment

In this place, you are. It seems a little cliché, no? possibly even a touch arrogant Its truth remains unaffected by this. Being present becomes almost luxurious in the midst of our daily struggles because we are so preoccupied with the past and the future. But doing so is a duty, not a luxury.

If you can’t take responsibility for your existing circumstance, moving forward will be difficult. Whether the decisions you made were wise or foolish, small or significant, they all led you to where you are now. You cannot go back, and you have little influence over what will happen tomorrow. Your immediate actions are something you can control.

The premise behind radical acceptance is that one’s suffering is directly related to the subject’s connection to pain. When you stop reflecting on the past and projecting your anxieties into the future, the healing process can start. You’re no good to anyone, least of all yourself, if you can’t take care of yourself in the present.

I panic every morning as I begin to recall painful memories from the past and project what those events would imply for my future. I don’t spend any time in putting a stop to this. The thoughts won’t stop coming. Our brains are programmed to undermine us.

If you think your history will determine your future, you’re right. Instead, if you accept your current situation, the system is broken.

Read More:How to start a healthy life

Your System, Reset

I take a chilly shower every morning. Why? It awakens me by shocking my neurological system and teaches my brain to activate automatically.

When you’re going through a personal crisis, everything can appear to be difficult. When faced with a predicament, even simple chores that are unrelated to the problem might seem burdensome. Time can be wasted very easily.

Unproductive emotions are drowned by intentionally subjecting your body to an extreme. Your current experiences come into focus, opening a new window of clarity for irrational notions. This enables you to identify the drive needed to proceed.

Procrastination must be eliminated, thus you must reset your system. My ability to push both my mind and body past their comfort zones has done wonders.

Increase Your Heart Rate

Increasing heart rate improves the efficiency with which oxygenated blood is distributed throughout your body. Stamina, which is simply the sum of your energy levels, is something that is developed over time. Your body can better utilize its fuel when you have more life, which enhances your physically and increases your mental productivity. In other words, a higher heart rate improves cognitive performance.

Brisk cardio, such as doing a series of burpees, going for a run, or swimming, is one of the easiest ways to achieve this. The degree of intensity has no bearing on the outcome. For our purposes, it doesn’t really matter whether you raise your heart rate quickly—in 5 minutes—or gradually—over the course of an hour.

Be Thankful

Even though it may seem illogical to be grateful during a crisis, by being open to thankfulness, you can gain perspective. You’ll be able to evaluate your situation more critically with that point of view.

On a difficult day, I might need to use a visual cue. It can take me a while to appreciate each act of appreciation before I can eventually change my biting viewpoint to benign. I find that the more I give, the more I receive, and the clearer my logic is.

Establish a Routine

When you’re in crisis mode, norms can easily fall by the wayside as you focus on any urgent triaging. Instead of giving up on your foundation, think of fresh approaches to building some stability. You can balance the crises by developing a daily regimen.

I’m not referring about everyday activities like tooth brushing or taking medication. The routine I’m writing about entails choosing activities that allow for healthy self-expression. During a crisis, it is essential to take some time to nurture your spirit in order to heal. My rituals make me feel at ease and lift my spirits. Every day, I take aside time for each of them.

Read More:4 Life-Changing Benefits of Drinking More Water

Forgive

Self- and other-vilification are simple processes. Don’t. You will overflow with resentment, which will leave you completely empty.

Instead, concentrate on the goals you can achieve without interruption. Everyone is entitled to better. You might have to forgive both yourself and other people several times each day. I’ve discovered that when you practice, you need to practice it less and less, and it becomes more naturally.

The chaos of life is by design. So, persevere. You might not be able to see it now, but you will overcome this. You’ll also emerge from it a little wiser and stronger.