People Are Sharing Things That Improved Their Mental Health, Here Are The 50 Most Interesting

Not sure how urgency is a “trauma response”. There are many reasons why something might be urgent that aren’t necessarily “traumatic” which is a word that gets overused anyhow; not everything that’s stressful is “traumatic”.

Bike guy - get off the phone!

Not to be confused with being on time.

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I moved to a new city for my first fulltime job, to a government agency full of practical jokers and layabouts and ineffectual managers and hostile subordinates. Then jumped ship to an even worse one. Didn't really recover until I was in my forties

I've been at my firm for 16 years. I love my one partner like a father and really like working for him, even though the pay is blah and it's a lot of work. And I am required to work for his abusive partner. He stomped me down for years until I believed I couldn't do anything. In the last few years, he's been ok. But last week, he was in a bad mood. Spent a week telling me what a s****y attorney I am. Insults and belittling. I am done. I told my good boss I quit, will not work for his partner anymore. If he wants to hire me as a contractor fine. But I'm out of the firm. But change is really hard after all these years.

Took a big pay cut to work a job I actually enjoy. Now I get to bike to work instead of spend an hour commuting each way. I like my coworkers, and since I work in the sector I recreate in, they actually care about what I did over the weekend. Once things settle down a bit, I need to figure out how to do this for my partner, too.

any dog for that matter

TheGoodBoi

TheGoodBoi

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Everyone needs a happy doggo!

I learned this at a time when I was working two jobs, 08/18 and 18/04... there were small pauses (5...25 minutes) in both, though. So I learned to sit anywhere, close my eyes, and fall asleep in 15 second. I'm still able to do this anytime, but it takes me almost a minute, because I'm not so tired every moment :-)

Not exactly toxic, but stopped keeping tabs on some friends, whose lives become a little bit too much to me. Like, I get you're hurt from your breakup, but you can't call me at 3am cause he posted a happy emoji in his fb page and think he's taunting you.

I have a couple of "Debbie Downers", that are friends and they are exhausting. Actually I am their friend, checking up on them, listening to them and their current crisis for hours on end. But, let me squeeze in something about me: a pain or an argument I had, or how well my family is doing. I get nothing in return.

I have like 1 or 2 friends and I don't speak to most of my extended family.... this is the most peace I have ever had in my life and it's addictive!

My mom thinks me watching horror movies and thrillers are so traumatizing to my mental health. But then she and my dad watch the news religiously and it's almost always 1000 more tragic and awful compared to my movies.

Or consume some well curated long format news podcast once or twice a week instead. They take the immideate edge of it and usually provide you with background informations to the situation. Also doom scrolling is an almost sure way into anxiety and depression

Same. I'm in the US and it's election time. Need I say more? (cough...Trump...cough...)

For me, the point of watching the news is to have something to talk to people about, other than the weather. Watching the news makes me more social, so I think this was bad advice.

Good job!! Quitting alcohol is no small feat. I'm proud of you, and I hope you're proud of yourself too!

Good work that man!

Actually, you committed yourself to doing a lot of good stuff (and abstaining from a lot of bad stuff). I am only on one out of those three at the moment (no alcohol).

Similar. 45 with a couple of serious health scares. Started working out and watching what I eat for the first time in my life. I know I won't get better, but I'm trying to not get worse.

I cut out sugar for about 18 months; was at a friends for dinner and she baked a pound cake - the other guests said I should eat some b/c of all the work she put in (I ignored them because I was in sugar shock heaven - the best pound cake ever)

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This is a bit abalist. Not everyone can exercise and some find it triggering. I would suggest the main benefit of it is taking time for yourself and being outdoors. You can do that even if you can't move. Just sitting in the garden or the nearest greenspace will help. Slow down and be kind to yourself. I agree with cutting out ultra-processed foods and alcohol. You need a nourishing, balanced diet and there is no safe amount of alcohol you can drink, it is literally measured doses of poison. And is not ok to feel hungry, if you are hungry eat, or your body will produce stress hormones and eat itself (you will lose muscle).

When I was a kid. Through a very sweet conversation with my Mom, I mentioned I didn't like myself. I think I was about 10 or so. Mom said, Baby if you don't like yourself how do you expect anyone else to like you? Solved my problem. Thanks, Mom. I miss you!

I once saw something that helped me with this. It said, "if you wouldn't say it to your friend, don't say it to yourself!" That really helped me to stop being self critical.

I do woodworking, mostly furniture for my home but it's very fulfilling.

In my early 20s, I felt like I had to read a lot of nonfiction life advice books. I hated them and rarely made it through. So I found my way back to fantasy novels and fell in love with reading again. Give me a good story with magic and weird creatures and I'm good to go!

For people struggling with alcohol, I have one tip. Buy less, but higher grade. Enjoy it. Better alcohol = less hangover (also drinking less). One bottle of good rum is enough for me for a year, I look forward to having a nice glass of it when I manage to do something. When I finish some project at home (and sometimes because I feel bit down and I need some cheering). But it is just a one glass. If anyone is interested, it is 18 years old Flor de cana, I get a bottle for my birthday.

The amount of clutter in my home is an indication of my mental state. Cleaning and decluttering makes me feel better, if I can get myself to do it. And the pleasure of getting rid of stuff is greater than the pleasure of acquiring stuff.

Nothin to say, but I love that desk.

Your surroundings are a reflection of your mind

I am in a situation right now where things are not great.. but I get up every morning and go down the lists of the positives in my life and realize that they far outweight the negative and so that means I am doing pretty good.

THIS. This is so important. I was listening to trashy music for a while at work, and I made them switch to something upbeat and my whole outlook on work everyday changed.

I quit Facebook. Really no need to explain further, but I will: so many ads constantly trying to sell you things, the algorithm pushing sensation instead of just seeing my friends' updates, and the lack of true privacy controls. It's been about 2 years and I haven't regretted it.