As some of you may know, earlier this month was World Mental Health Day, a day dedicated to the awareness and de-stigmatizing of those who are suffering / may be suffering with mental health issues. This day is very important to me, as I have been able to conquer mental health problems of my own with the use of the information put forth on this day a few years ago. I am writing this to share some tips on what I found useful for taking care of my mental health, and I hope that this inspires others to do the same.

Firstly, I think it is incredibly important to make the distinction between having a bad day and feeling bad all of the time for an extended period of time. Just because you feel poorly for a couple of days or a week does not necessarily signal that there is an issue; those feelings might be due to a series of unfortunate events that can subside after a while. But if the feeling of being at a complete low (or however you may be feeling) lasts for an unusually long time, like weeks or months or even years, then you may want to address what is actually happening.

I also believe that, for some of us, talking to someone is a great way to figure out what is going on inside our minds, regardless of whether or not you have an issue. Even we can’t figure out why our mind is working the way it is sometimes, so having someone to interpret that is helpful. Just the act of talking something out can make us feel better – having someone listen is really all that is needed. However, sometimes a diagnosis is in order to legitimize and validate the situation. In my life, the latter was the case, and usually with a diagnosis comes a solution to fix the problem. For me, the catch was that I had the power to make myself better, and avoiding the problem by not helping myself only perpetuated the issue and made things worse.

For those of us who do not really benefit as much by speaking to others, I found that using writing as a primary tool for voicing how I was feeling was incredibly effective. By writing it down on paper, it made me confront what was happening in a way that my brain wouldn’t allow me to do. More importantly, it made me address and interpret what was going on in my life at the time, which was directly contributing to how I felt during that period. Overall, I find this to be an incredibly positive and healing process for anyone needing an outlet for their thoughts.

I would highly suggest finding a good outlet. I found that exercising was that for me, and completely jumped into it once I understood that it made me feel better. Even if it means going on really long walks unplugged, as I often do, or lifting weights until your arms fall off, moving your body helps your brain make up for the chemicals that it may be lacking in. Additionally, training yourself to be mindful of when your mind tries to slip into a bad state of mind by stopping those thoughts immediately is crucial to healing. This takes a lot of practice, but once you learn how to use it effectively, it works wonders.

Thankfully, I have gotten to a point where I do not suffer from my mental health problem anymore, but I could not have achieved it without hard work, commitment, and sacrifice. Even though it is an invisible illness, it does not mean that it is not any less legitimate than a physical one. Your mental health is VITAL to your social, personal, and professional success, so taking the steps to take care of it properly will improve your quality of life.