5 Unusual Ways to Improve Your Mental Health

In today’s busy world it’s extremely easy to prioritize almost everything over our mental health.
When there are deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and mouths to feed, our mental well-being can easily be forgotten and drowned out by every aspect of our demanding lives.
Exercising mental wellness is crucial to living a happy, and well-rounded life and shouldn’t be something you exclude from your daily routine.
These are 5 easy task that you can implement into your busy schedule today that will over time make you a little more stress and anxiety free.

1. Coloring
The concept of coloring is no longer exclusive to your children, but a great way for you to introduce a daily dose of mindfulness into your everyday life.
Adult coloring books not only help with stress and anxiety but a wide range of emotional and mental illnesses such as O.C.D.(obsessive-compulsive disorder), depression, anger management and even substance abuse.
Adult coloring takes focus and time which is better used on something productive like coloring than the negative thoughts, issues, and habits.
There are also intellectual benefits to coloring.
Coloring harnesses the parts of your brain that enhances focus, concentration, and problem-solving. Getting one step closer to mindfulness is as simple as coloring inside the lines.
2. Dancing
“Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.” -Martha Graham
I know exactly what you’re thinking, “How can dancing improve my mental health?” The scientific idea behind why dancing can have the ability to act a reliever for stress is simple.
If your body feels good, then so does your mind.
Dancing or any type of physical activity releases chemicals in your brain known as endorphin these are also called the natural painkillers.
Endorphin help reduce stress and help the mind perceive the world in a different light.
Cranking up your favorite song and dancing around your house while doing your daily chores will help you feel calmer and more optimistic through out your day.
3. Journaling
Journaling has a wide variety of benefits ranging from mental health, self-improvement, to clarity of one’s self.
This is why so many mental health specialists suggest this particular method.
Journaling can tame anxiety, depression and reduce levels of high stress.
It does this by decluttering your mind and allowing you to put pen to paper and bring order where there is chaos.
You’ll easily be able to identify triggers and learn to control them, reinforce positive self-talk, and identify negative thoughts and behaviors.
There are multiple apps that are created to help you journal every day or if you’re a little bit old fashion you can always stick to good old pen and paper.
Taking 15 minutes out of your day to sit down and focus on putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard will bring you one step closer to a better understanding of your thoughts and eventually your self.
4. Sunlight
If you’re feeling a little bit gloomy the solution may be as simple as opening up a window and letting in some sunlight.
Studies suggest that the amount of sunlight a person is exposed to can drastically affect one’s mood.
The correlation of light and mood is dependent on the body’s natural response mechanisms to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter which helps to elevate the mood.
Sunlight helps not only the mind but the body as well, sunlight gives us a dose of vitamin D which helps cell and bone growth, reduce inflammation and stimulate immune function.
Getting up from your desk and taking a good walk on a sunny day will prove more beneficial than you think.

5. Video Games
You may think that playing video games is only for hormonal teenage boys, but recent studies suggest otherwise.
A study in 2014 by researchers at the University College of London surveyed 491 subjects and found a correlation between the total hours spent playing video games per week and their ability to recovery from work-related stress.
This suggests that playing video games has a clear correlation in our ability to handle stress.
Video games are also useful for cognitive functioning which can be very beneficial for senior citizens. So with all this in mind try to find an equal balance of not only work but also find time to play.
Conclusion
There are many ways that one can improve their mental health and reduce stress in their busy lives. These are just a few fun and easy ways that will make you rethink mental wellness and how you approach it. You should always actively search for new and fun ways to enrich your life with happiness. If you enjoyed and found useful information within this post be sure to give me a round of applause and share it so that you can help your friends and family be more mindful of their mental wellness.
