Many people — men and women — struggle with their mental health and, over the course of treatment and years, a lot of tips and strategies get lobbed at them. Some of those ideas sound like absolute nonsense … but once you give them a go, they’re actually wildly helpful!
u/SophieeWeller recently asked women on Reddit’s AskWomen sub what were some mental health tips that sounded like bullshit but were, in fact, helpful. We found the best ones and compiled them here.
1. Sadly, yes.
Exercise, changed my world all the way around (so the sun could come up again.)
2. STFU, Ted
Changing the voice of your hateful self thoughts to someone you dislike, so they are easier to dismiss. Now when my brain says I am fat and unlovable, I hear it in Ted Cruz’s voice, and I just say, “shut the f&$/ up Ted”, and never dwell on them.
3. Baby you
“Talk to yourself like you would to the younger you.” I’ll occasionally pull up a pic of me as a kid when I am being sooooo mean to myself and think to myself would I say that to this little girl? No, so why is it okay I’m saying it now?
Works every time. It makes me remember I’m just a woman, growing and learning. And I deserve respect and compassion from everyone, including myself.
4. Walk!
Going outside for a morning walk everyday. It really does make a difference, just getting daylight at the start of the day.
5. Get thee to therapy
See a therapist.
I am a professional linguist and interpreted many therapy sessions. I thought therapy wouldn’t help me because I didn’t have behavioral issues, oh boy, was I wrong
6. Say no
Saying no to things that don’t bring me joy, even if I’m letting someone else down. Letting myself down is worse.
7. Journal
I did the journal thing for a while and it was surprisingly calming being able to get my thoughts out there without judgment or questioning is nice. It’s been a while so I’ll have to get back into it
8. Outside
Being outside. It’s the combination of fresh air, lack of technology, vitamin D and seeing nature that really calms me down.
9. Turn it around
Turning your negative thoughts into positive thoughts. It’s basically mindset training. Such as,
“Ugh, it’s raining today! My hair will be a mess!” To “The air really needed a good cleansing, I’m glad it’s raining today. Everyone’s hair is going to be a mess, not just mine.”
Or with children, ” he always cries and bugs me when I’m on a work call!” To “Maybe I’ve been on too long and he needs a snack with me for some interaction. I could use a break anyway for ten minutes.”
10. Eat well
Eating a balanced diet.
11. Reframe your thoughts
I GET to do things. Not I have to.
The sentence change is simple and dumb, but it does enough to change my mindset that even chores aren’t as miserable.
12. Find your version
Mindfulness. I just needed to find the right form of it for me. Adult colouring books are not the pinnacle of mindfulness lol. Painting minis works much better for me.
13. Coffee
STOP DRINKING COFFEE. (If you have anxiety or fatigue problems) A few years back I heard about how caffeine makes anxiety worse and of course I ignored that because I’m an addict and I really convinced myself that coffee was helping me get through the day, in reality it made me incredibly tired where I felt like I could sleep for days and I would have a racing heart before going to work and get all anxious for no reason but just blamed my anxiety. I finally stopped drinking coffee and I wish I could punch my past self because not having caffeine changed my life. There where months where I couldn’t leave my house because I thought I was being watched and I was always in fight or flight mode and going grocery shopping was a nightmare but now my anxiety is tolerable. It’s not completely gone but it’s definitely a dramatic change and it makes me wanna cry out of frustration for not doing it sooner.
14. Be neutral
I have struggled a ton with body image issues, and I have found body neutrality way more useful than I would have expected. I’ll absolutely never love my body, but slowly progressing to no longer hating the parts my body I used to loathe, and viewing them in a neutral light instead, has absolutely changed my life.
15. Walks
🎶Going on my stupid mental health walk, my stuuupid mental health walk🎶
LOL have been seeing so many reels on fb with this tune over them lately but it’s true, walking, and generally exercising regularly does wonders for my MH
16. Go to bed
Unpopular opinion: turn your brain off. This is advice for when you are in a VERY bad place and are considering suicide. Take some NyQuil and go to bed. All your bad thoughts will pass but when you’re in a really bad place- put yourself to sleep. The way I think about it is if a killer was chasing me and I had the ability to make them sleep, why wouldn’t I? You are the person you’re trying to protect yourself from so force yourself to sleep. Obviously go to therapy as well but when push comes to shove it’s way better to give yourself time to reconsider.
17. Breaths
Taking deep breaths. It’s really helps me when I’m stressed.
18. Do a little
It is better to do a little bit of a good thing badly than not at all. So, if I can’t jog, I can take a 10 minute walk. If I can’t read for an hour, I can read for 10. If I can’t clean out the whole closet, I can work for 15 minutes. If I can’t lift weights, I can do squats while brushing my teeth.
19. Some drugs
Marijuana and a mood stabilizer. After a childhood of sexual abuse, neglect, loneliness, bullying, absent abusive parents. After my young adult years were full of horror from bad relationships and horrible self destructive behaviors. I spent years trying therapy. Anti depressants. Xanax. Lithium. TMS. I spent 4 1/2 months in several different residential depression treatment. I have fought for years to level my moods out. To stop the intrusive thoughts, suicidal thoughts, self destructive behaviors. I have complex PTSD, Bi polar, depression and panic disorder. Quite a fun little cocktail.
20. Be aggressive
Aggressive optimism