"I Stopped Being In A Hurry" — People Are Sharing The Mental Health Tips That Aren't Total BS, And We're Taking Notes
Taking care of your mental health is a challenging task!!
So when Reddit user Dependent_Bit_8333 posed the question, "What massively improved your mental health?," I immediately read through all the responses. Here are some of the top-voted answers:
1."Leaving a toxic work environment."
2."People severely underestimate what a tremendous impact sleep has on your day, productivity, and mood. If only I'd realized this in my teens."
3."De-emphasizing the importance of my every thought. Most human thoughts are nonsense. I question every single negative thought, and every single one so far has turned out to be bullshit. No joke. It’s a game-changer."
"I came to this practice by reading Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie, mostly. Both reference great spiritual leaders throughout human history (Jesus, Lao Tzu, The Buddha, Ramana Maharshi) who all point to this notion as a path to end suffering. There are many contemporary writers who also point to the same truths (some mentioned here)."
4."Never trust how you feel about your life past 9 p.m."
5."Having a routine. No matter what my schedule is for the day, whenever I’m in a routine of getting up, getting dressed, and taking a shower, I’m in a good place."
6."Learning to love myself. A few years ago, I was in a very low spot with my self-esteem, and I wanted to be better. My therapist and I talked a lot about treating myself like I would a friend. It sounds cheesy, but I started writing compliments to myself on post-it notes in the morning and placing them on a mirror. It didn’t take too long before I started to believe them. It’s amazing how being nice to yourself and giving yourself grace can really improve your mental health."
7."When I stopped being in a hurry. Urgency is a trauma response and, with current American culture focused on everything happening immediately, it's easy to lose yourself to being in a hurry."
8."Reducing clutter and your general volume of possessions helps a lot."
9."'Staying in the present' instead of letting the mind obsess with past and future."
10."Being the 'bad guy,' also known as prioritizing yourself. Having been a chronic people pleaser, I was constantly drained and taken advantage of. There is no escaping that some people will be disappointed with you, the question is, will you be disappointed in yourself? The right people in your life will be happy when you are, it's simple but it took me way too long to realize."
11."Removing toxic people from my life. It's amazing how much your mental health can improve just by removing someone who brings nothing but negativity to your life."
12."The 'what ifs' were consuming me. I was losing my mind thinking about problems that haven't happened, and may never happen. This little quote from Bill Burr put a lot into perspective for me: 'You're going to be fine; and even if you're not going to be fine, isn’t it better to just exist thinking that you’re going to be fine? And when it’s not fine, then you can just fuckin handle it. There no sense to ruin right now, right?'"
13."Walking. That shit is legit."
14."Taking care of plants and watching them grow, it gave me a sense of responsibility and they also purify the air!"
15."Creating. Especially making something with my hands."
16."Writing!! You don’t realize how much is ruminating up there until you take pen to paper. Been writing pretty much daily for almost a decade, an outlet that’s very near and dear to my heart."
17."Going. The fuck. Outside."
Do you have any other tips for improving mental health? Share in the comments below!
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
