“Learning To Say No”: 30 Things That Improved People’s Mental Health

There is more and more importance placed on mental health day by day. Where once the focus was on maintaining physical health, studies reveal that activities meant to elevate your physical status also have a significant impact on mental health.

Recently, an interesting discussion on the topic took place online with Redditors putting forward their personal experiences with simple steps they took that improved their mental health. From pet ownership to reading books to avoiding news, the suggestions are varied but apparently guaranteed to leave you feeling good.

#1

Got a good psychiatrist who tested me for everything and found out I needed prescription strength vitamin d capsules that I take weekly and I need to give myself vitamin b shots biweekly. I cried so hard for days because I suddenly had energy and could think straight. I had been deficient for two decades because my gastro doc never tested me for deficiencies after multiple bowel resections due to crohns. But my psych caught it and changed my life.

#2 Pets

#3 I would say going for regular walks has improved my mental health a ton.

#4 Getting diagnosed with cancer. Seriously. The stressors of life become almost laughable when faced with oblivion.

Edit:

Thanks for the kind words, y’all! I start chemo for the first time today at noon, thus beginning the war of attrition over my body.

#5 Practicing gratitude deliberately. I began thinking of 3 distinct things I was thankful for, every night before falling asleep. I didn’t even write them down- just took 5 seconds to reflect, 3 things (but no generic “friendsfamilyfood” repeated answers). Simply doing this every night for several months completely changed my mood.

I suffer from mental illness so I really hate r/ thanksimcured-type stuff but in combination with real treatment, practicing gratitude is scientifically well-established as a mood-booster, and I was shocked by what a huge difference it made.

#6 Stopped lying to myself and others, accepted myself for who I was.

#7 I got a cat. He sits with me. I’ll rant and say all kinds of stuff to him and he just sits there like go ahead and get that off your chest man. Life gets lonely especially if you don’t have family, a partner, kids. It makes life a little easier.

#8 Getting out of an abusive relationship

#9 Prozac. It’s okay to use meds.

#10 Ditching my old friends who didn’t take me seriously after a tragedy. I am no longer going to try be relatable and kind. If you treat me like s**t you’re out of my life and are dead to me.

#11 Sounds bad but letting people deal with their own problems.

#12 Getting more money.

#13 Putting a stop to my social media use and substituting reading for my time spent there with books. I have completed six books since the beginning of January. It makes me feel really good about myself.

#14 It sucks at how well it works. I used to hate my mom telling me that exercise would reduce my depression but she was absolutely right. The issue is that when you’re really depressed it’s the last thing you feel like doing. But nothing else has as much of a positive effect on my mental state as regular exercise.

#15 Sleep is the foundation for a lot of things. Almost everything.

#16 Having a non toxic job. I got bullied for as long as I can remember at school home and work. My current job is the best paying and least stressful thing I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been able to destress for the first time, I don’t worry about work on my days off, and I’m even becoming able to stand up for myself instead of locking up. No amount of self-care worked until I actually got to experience it.

#17 Hybrid work. I didn’t really realize how much commuting and constant office nonsense was messing with my mental health until the pandemic. Unfortunately, my employer went back to full-time RTO, and my mental health has been spiraling sense. Hopefully, I will find a new job soon.

#18 Quit alcohol, quit destructive relationships (friends, family, partner), got help, took medication regularly, exercises everyday, journaled everyday. Life changed significantly!

#19 Knowing it’s okay to leave some people behind.

#20 Taking magnesium glycinate at night before bed has a significant affect on my daily anxiety levels.

#21 Therapy. I planned my suicide and decided it was time to go. The first visit was like an elephant off my shoulders. I was sad it had taken me wanting to kill my self to seek help. But I was going in the right direction. I feel like being Hispanic, I was programmed to keep it in. Not share my feelings. It’s not like that anymore. Although my father sees my going to a therapist as a weakness, it’s truly such a strength.

#22 Learning to say no, let go and stop sweating the small stuff. Also knowing that if somebody has a problem with me, it’s THEIR problem.

#23 Meeting my now wife.

#24 Cardio for at least 30 minutes, preferably in sunlight or at least outdoors, 5 or more times a week.

#25 Stopped watching mainstream news

#26 Moving out of my parent’s house

#27 Full transparency? Psychedelics

Brains are like a snowy hill. Every thought is like a sled ride down that hill, leaving tracks. As you think the same sort of thoughts, certain grooves become deeper and deeper, your brain developing thought habits that are very difficult to break. Taking psychedelics can blanket that hill with fresh snow. The result is a lot of introspection and new perspectives on your life.

In this way, it can be a very effective treatment for depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. The most known psychedelics are nontoxic and non-addictive. Even more, they can be anti-addictive, helping addicts of other substances overcome their vice.

Now, psychs are not a magic cure-all for everyone’s mental health, and there are some risks in taking them if you have a family history of psychosis, or if you have certain heart problems. But after doing a lot of research, I wanted to give it a try, and by golly has it been a game changer.

#28 Stopped giving a f**k. About what people think, say, or do. Just do you.

#29 Realizing a better work/life balance. Not everything can get done that is requested by the deadline.

Working from home and not commuting daily.

Yoga/meditation.

Daily walks around the neighborhood even if for 10 minutes.

Realizing a better work/life balance. Not everything can get done that is requested by the deadline.

#30 I stopped caring what others think of me.

Shanilou Perera

Shanilou has always loved reading and learning about the world we live in. While she enjoys fictional books and stories just as much, since childhood she was especially fascinated by encyclopaedias and strangely enough, self-help books. As a kid, she spent most of her time consuming as much knowledge as she could get her hands on and could always be found at the library. Now, she still enjoys finding out about all the amazing things that surround us in our day-to-day lives and is blessed to be able to write about them to share with the whole world as a profession.