I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just wake up in a blah mood and have no motivation to do anything or am overwhelmed by the number of things that need to be done. I completely turn into a stressed cookie. And being a stressed cookie isn’t good, because stressed cookies crumble.
When I find myself struggling with my mental health, this is my go-to list of things to do to help me survive, and hopefully, quickly get back to thriving.
Let’s jump in!
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Disclaimer: The information on this blog is based on personal experiences and should not be considered medical advice. The information on this blog is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
One: Paint Chaotically
When my head is overwhelmed by all the noise in life, the huge to-do list, the stress, or even after just having a bad day at work, painting with no real purpose or direction does wonders to fix my mood. The goal is never to paint a masterpiece, and there is no pressure to paint something pretty right from the get-go, the goal is simply to embrace the chaos and the mess and to put something on paper.
For me, focusing on this mess, on painting something, anything, and trying to figure out what colors mix well or go together. Painting a blob of wonderful colors, or focusing on just mixing paint together, it’s so stress relieving. There’s no pressure to get it “right” or perfect. There’s no stress in the process and no desired end result.
It kind of drowns out the world and really helps me to get outside my head, relax and relieves a lot of the stress I might be feeling.
Two: Flip Through A Cookbook And Meal Prep
I cannot stress this enough, but if you’re going to recipe hunt and meal prep to relieve some stress, make sure you flip through a physical cookbook. Scrolling Pinterest for recipes is not the same.
Recently I was gifted a cookbook I’ve wanted since it came out, it’s literally the only cookbook I have with me in Perú. Whenever I meal prep each week I always scroll Pinterest and its endless amount of meal options. Which is great! But sometimes a little too much and overwhelming when I’m having a busy day and trying to build my shopping list on the side.
A little overwhelmed one day I saw the cookbook lying nearby and decided to skim through it. It actually allowed me to focus and not be overwhelmed by the endless options and ads. It allowed me to not be overstimulated, but to browse at my own speed, one recipe at a time.
Sometimes life just offers too many options and it’s easy to get overstimulated and stressed out by it all. Scrolling through a physical cookbook can help narrow that wide search for dinner and lunch options, and help you to focus.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and having a bad mental health day, give this trick a try.
Three: Create
Similar to painting, but less specific. Create.
Create anything you can imagine. Design it. Dream it. Draw up plans. Anything. Just create.
I am naturally a creative person, creating is my safe space. It’s easy to understand then, how creating can help me in the middle of my bad mental health day.
Not only can creating help you to feel less stressed, but it can also get you excited and motivated to conquer the day. It gets you pumped up. Just planning my next project gets me so excited, even if I know I won’t be creating that thing just yet. I get excited.
In this post about Pursuing Your Interests In Life I tried to help you get inspired and pump you up so that you too can go create anything and everything that you dream of. If you need a little inspiration or just want to have someone encourage you to chase your dreams-give that post a read!
Check out this Anthropologie Inspired Top I created here in pursuit of one of my interests, sewing. It helped me to focus on a different, fun task, while still offering a challenge. The creative process helps my mental health.
What are you going to create next?
Four: Laughter
Find something to laugh at.
My husband knows that the fastest way to get you to stop being sad is to get you laughing. If I’m feeling stressed or sad, he immediately tries to get me to forget about it by causing me to laugh.
Laughter relieves stress.
Whether it’s a movie, inside jokes, or even laughing at something funny your pet did, just laugh. Make an effort to change the mood by searching for something you can chuckle at. Eliminate your stress and get your mind off of it.
Laughter is a great tactic to use to fight obsessive thinking. If you’re the type of person who, when something happens, just keeps thinking about it over and over again and making the situation worse in your head and adding to the stress (guilty…). Stop those thoughts by finding something to laugh at.
Five: Knock Out The Small Things First
If you have a to-do list with 16 plus things on it and it feels overwhelming to try to get it all done today, knock out the small things first.
I know, I know, usually you hear people say to take care of the biggest, most important task first. And I agree–if the biggest, most important task is also urgent and due immediately. If that’s the case, obviously, take care of that big stressing factor first and get it off your plate.
But if you don’t have any urgent tasks and you’re just feeling overwhelmed, take care of the small things first.
This helps my mental health by making the list smaller and less overwhelming, and it gives me a morale boost when I get to see how many things got checked off.
I have my to-do list sitting next to me with 12 things I need to get done today–hopefully, in all honesty, if they’re done by the end of the week I’ll be okay. But to keep on track with my schedule and limited time to get things done, I want to get as many of those things crossed off my list as possible.
As I write this, I currently have nine of those things crossed off. I feel powerful! It’s like so much stress was lifted off of my shoulders. Not as many things are looming over my head or following me into the weekend. I’m going to be okay.
Granted, the last three things on my list are quite big. And they may take me until the end of the week to get done, but this is okay. Because now I can focus all of my attention on these three tasks instead of the other nine.
Six: Set A Timer
Have responsibilities but also want to unwind? Does your mental health take a little nosedive because of that? Do you find yourself asking any of the following questions?
- Where is the time?
- When can I focus on myself?
- When can I have a little fun?
- Why can’t I just check out and ignore the world for a little while?
I totally get that. But don’t worry, this tip can help you get those responsibilities done while simultaneously taking care of your mental health.
Set a timer. 20 minutes. 30 minutes. An hour. It makes no difference.
Set a timer so you can focus all of your attention on that task, that responsibility that needs taking care of, without any distractions.
It removes the pressure and the stress. And often times I find that I end up finishing the long, daunting task that I thought would take me forever, in half that time. Usually because I’m not stopping to flip through my phone or trying to multitask, or worse yet, putting off the task thinking it will take forever.
No, it actually doesn’t take forever, more like 30 minutes.
When I feel overwhelmed by all the housework I need to do and feel disheartened because I really wanted to sew that night or write, a timer is a lifesaver for me. Instead of having to go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink and getting hit with that force of stress first thing in the morning when I go to make breakfast, I get everything done and put in place, and then I go off to do my own thing, with time to spare before bed.
10/10 would recommend setting a timer to balance responsibilities and “me” time. Creating the best environment for your mental health.
Seven: Music
Good music is a given when you’re having a bad mental health day.
To go a little deeper though, I would encourage you to play it loud and through headphones, so it is for you and you only. This will help with focus. The headphones are the important part here.
I find that means I usually need to listen to instrumental music. But nothing slow and boring! Something that makes you feel like you’re part of an action show. Just trust me, it works.
If I’m struggling to write my blog post or get work done and that’s stressing me out, I go to YouTube and search for “Space music” or “Action music.” Something that’s kind of suspenseful and has a climax, it makes me feel like I’m part of a movie and I have to get this thing done in time. Dumb, but effective, okay?
Wearing headphones and turning the volume up as high as you’re comfortable makes all the difference. I get out of my head–and I actually get that thing done that I needed to do!
I also recommend “Dark cello music” and “Music for the Mountains.”
The right music is key to thriving on a bad mental health day. Do you have any music you recommend?
Eight: The Important Thing
Get the one most important thing done today. It’s okay if literally nothing else happens.
This one would appear to be in opposition with Number Five, but I promise it’s different because I mean this on a completely different level.
Ask yourself what is the single most important thing that you need to get done today. I do not mean the biggest. It may simply be that you need to take a shower or get the dishes done, or it may be bigger.
I got behind schedule one day and completely screwed everything up. So many things didn’t get done in the morning like they were supposed to. But I had woken up not feeling great. I could have been disappointed in myself and started to worry and get distraught over all the things that didn’t get done, or I could stop and decide what was the most important thing that needed to happen that day, no matter what.
Sure, I failed my morning routine, but when I thought of all the things that I needed to get done that day, I told myself I would feel satisfied and proud of myself if all I did was get my Bible reading done. So I did. I did the single most important thing (to me) that day, and basically nothing else was accomplished that day.
I was content, okay, and proud of myself because I got the only necessary thing done and I kept my promise to myself.
What is the most important thing for you to accomplish today? Is it responding to emails? Exercise? Rest? Walking the dog?
Nine: Respect Your Body
On the same day that I learned to get only the single most important thing done in a day, I learned that you should respect your body. You should respect where you’re at and what you need.
Sometimes our body needs more rest or different foods. And that’s okay. Respect that. Don’t push it.
We all go through days that just feel off, whether you’re starting your period, you’re battling chronic pain, you’re sore from a gym day, or maybe it’s just a bad mental health day, it’s okay. Respect that.
There is no reason to be disappointed in yourself. There’s no reason to hate on yourself for things not getting done. Just pause and give yourself time and space to breathe. Recognize that you’re clearly going through something different.
Treat your body with respect by not pushing it and expecting unnecessary things from it.
Make yourself some food to help and support you in this moment and rest as best you can. Don’t push yourself extra hard because there are things to do, and absolutely do not shame yourself. Give today’s best, even if that is different from yesterday’s best.
You and your mental health will be okay because you gave your body what it needed today.
Ten: Change
Does anybody else, when you get frustrated, find you need to walk away from a situation or physically even, walk out of the room? There’s power in that. There’s power in the change.
If you find you’re really struggling one day, change. Change where you’re sitting, how you’re sitting, your location, any of it. Just change something about the current situation, because the current situation is not helping your mental health.
When I’m at work I tend to sit at my desk all day, by the end of the day I am dying to get up and move. I need fresh air or a change in scenery. Sitting in one place all day kind of puts me in a bit of a bummer mood. To help I try to get up and walk around a little when I’m able, or change where I’m sitting. I’ll move to the kitchen table or to the floor on my yoga mat. Changing positions makes me feel less trapped.
Stressed and depressed is no way to live life. It’s not good for your mental health, your physical health, or your life in general. I hope these tips will help you to find relief from a bad mental health day. To get you back on your feet and out there thriving.
Don’t be a stressed cookie, stressed cookies crumble. And you, you don’t crumble under the pressure, you get back up again. You are strong and capable and amazing, I know you can do anything you put your heart into!
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