15 of the BEST Self-Care Steps for Mental Wellness
Someone who doesn’t suffer from depression may have a difficult time understanding how it feels. The persistent feelings of sadness, angst, emptiness, and low mood can be difficult to explain. It can be difficult to communicate how hard it is to find the energy to look after yourself and sometimes just to get out of bed. As a result, people with depression often feel isolated with no one to talk to.
Depression is extremely common: One in five American adults will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives, while one in 10 young people suffer from major depression. If you struggle with a mental condition, it’s important to realize that you’re not alone! Seek help as soon as possible so that you can take charge of your mental wellness.
Mental Wellness Self-Care Tips
Depression may take years to treat, and it may be a lifelong burden you will carry. The good news is that there are ways to make it easier to cope with depression:
Get a mental health buddy: There are many things you can do to lift your mood, but if you can’t get out of bed or up from the couch, you won’t be able to implement any of these habits. Having a buddy who keeps you accountable will help you get up and out of the house so you can do what you need to do to look after yourself.
Sign up for an online support group: You need a support network to help you get through bad days. The beautiful thing about an online support group is that it’s easy to join and provides a space to pour out your feelings. You don’t need to go out of the house to talk to others. You don’t need to look someone in the eyes if you don’t feel like it. Reading about others’ struggles may help you feel less isolated.
Make a list of what makes you happy: List places and people you like to surround yourself with, and activities you like to do. Try to bring these into your daily routine and avoid places that make you feel down or people that are negative or self-centered.
Eat well: A balanced and nutritious diet will give you more energy and help you to think clearly. Avoid sugar, alcohol, processed food, food additives, and daily consumption of animal protein (i.e., dairy, poultry, eggs, fish, and meat) since these foods won’t deliver essential nutrients to your cells and eventually will worsen the depression.
Enjoy meals with others: It’s not always easy to cook for yourself, especially when you feel down. Team up with someone else and cook together or take turns to cook for each other. This will reduce the burden of cooking and also give you a reason to cook if you’re responsible for keeping someone else’s tummy full.
Keep active: Sometimes depression makes it difficult to exercise and other times depression makes us exercise obsessively to compensate for our feelings. While exercise is good for you, moderation is key. Exercise increases your serotonin levels and boost your mood. Good exercise options include yoga, swimming, walking, and cycling.
Join a group or class: If you have to be somewhere at a certain time, it’s easier to get yourself ready and out of the house. Paying in advance for a class or a group activity can also help keep you committed to attending. Interacting with other people will help to lift your mood.
Try new things: If you’ve always wanted to learn how to dance or taste a particular food, now is the time. Doing new things will get you out of your daily rut.
Keep a mood diary: Keep track of the changes in your mood. A mood diary will help you notice what things trigger feelings of depression so you can learn to avoid these triggers. The diary will also help you notice what lifts your mood so you can incorporate these positive things into your daily routine.
Play with a pet: The joy and companionship a pet can offer you will help you feel loved and less isolated. A good choice is a dog, as these animals tend to love unconditionally and actively seek your attention. Studies have shown that simply petting an animal can boost your mood!
Don’t overwork: While it sometimes helps to throw yourself into your work to forget about your problems, too much work can have an adverse effect on your health, both mentally and physically. It is important to make time for exercising, healthy eating, relaxing activities, and socializing with others.
Get enough sleep: A good night’s rest boosts the mood and helps us to cope with stress. If you struggle to sleep, which is often the case if you suffer from anxiety and depression, you can follow our sleeping tips.
Get enough vitamin D: Research has shown that vitamin D plays a role in regulating our mood. You can increase your vitamin D storage levels by cutting down on your daily consumption of animal protein since it interferes with Vitamin D production. You can also spend at least 20 minutes in the sun each day.
Alternative treatments: Often anxiety goes hand in hand with depression, usually making you feel even worse. Treatments like acupuncture, massage, meditation, and reflexology will help you to relax and reduce feelings of anxiety.
Put on some music: Music has been proven to help us cope with anxiety and depression. Listen to uplifting music and sing and dance along. Remember to change your playlist often as you might start to associate a playlist with feelings of depression, which will have the opposite effect to what you want to achieve.
It’s important not to try and fix yourself quickly. Don’t be overly ambitious. Take baby steps and implement new habits over time. If something doesn’t work, try something new.
We hope that you can find value in these tips and that some of them might help you on your journey to mental wellness. If you need help with treating your depression, suggestions for self-care, or just need someone to talk to about your issues, feel free to reach out to Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. I’m here to help, no matter what you need!
AUTHOR
Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. is one of U.S.'s top leading integrative functional medical physicians and the founder of SF Advanced Health. She combines the best in Eastern and Western Medicine to understand the root causes of diseases and provide patients with personalized treatment plans that quickly deliver effective results. Dr. Bhandari specializes in cell function to understand how the whole body works. Dr. Bhandari received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1997 and Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from West Virginia University. She the completed her Family Medicine residency in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts and joined a family medicine practice in 2005 which was eventually nationally recognized as San Francisco’s 1st patient-centered medical home. To learn more, go to www.sfadvancedhealth.com.