While Jan. 30 was Bell Let’s Talk Day—the one day of the year Canadians come together to openly talk about mental health struggles and end the stigma surrounding it—mental health should be something you prioritize every day of the year. That begins with self-care. Here are a few ways you can continue to take care of your mental health on a regular basis.
Get a massage. While this might be a luxury for some, it’s an important way to reduce stress and keep not only your body but your mind relaxed and mobile. Save up for it if you can, and if not, make it a point to trade massages with loved ones. A massage tells our immune system to calm down, and we could all use more of that in this busy world.
Make meditation a part of your morning routine. A simple and free way to increase your happiness and decrease stress each day is by starting it with a meditation session. It doesn’t have to be long, even just five minutes will change the trajectory of your day and keep you on a positive path. Try it every day for a week and see how you feel. You might find it completely changes your outlook on life.
Schedule your breaks. All too often we get into an unrelenting work routine that has us eating lunch at our desk and forgetting to make time to work out. Start scheduling your breaks so they are right there in your calendar—they are a priority as much as anything else you might have to do that day. We all need time to ourselves to step back and recharge. Don’t let a break be a maybe, it should always be an unbreakable commitment you make to yourself.
Make time for fun. Feeling the blues is easy when your life consists of nothing but work, sleep, repeat. Seeing friends and loved ones, traveling, trying new activities—these are all vital to our happiness. If you wait for those around you to come up with plans or invite you out, you might be waiting too long. Be the one to make the plans and schedule that trip to Disney you’ve always wanted to take.
