Mental health affects every aspect of your life, including how you cope with stress, how you interact with others, and how you think about the future. It’s just as important to maintain good mental health as it is to stay healthy physically. If you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, professional mental health treatment can help. But everyone, whether or not they have a diagnosed mental health condition, can build positive habits to stay in good mental “shape” and improve their quality of life.
Ways to Help Your Mental Health
1. Practice Gratitude
One surprisingly helpful technique is to simply remember, on a regular basis, what you’re thankful for. Keep a written “gratitude list” and add to the list every day if you can. The items on your list don’t have to be major; you could be thankful for good weather, a great cup of coffee, or just finally mustering the strength to get out of bed.
Gratitude reduces stress—feeling thankful can actually lower your level of cortisol, a hormone that increases in your body when you’re stressed out. When you focus on the good parts of your life, you’ll often feel more empowered, confident, and open to new experiences.
And knowing how much you have going for you can help you stay resilient in tough circumstances. If you can remember that you’ve had great experiences or strong support in the past, you’re more likely to feel hopeful about your future.
Treatment at depression recovery centers includes therapy strategies that can change the way you think. Reframing your thoughts may help you find new reasons for gratitude when everything seems bleak.
2. Sleep Enough and Sleep Well
Sleep has a huge influence on your mood. A sleep deficit over time can make you more vulnerable to depression. On the other hand, being well-rested improves your health across the board, both physically and emotionally.
Make it a priority to get enough sleep each night. Most adults should aim for seven to nine hours.
You can make a few tweaks to your routine for better sleep hygiene:
- If your schedule allows, set a regular bedtime and wake-up time so your body finds a rhythm.
- Avoid blue light exposure from screens (like televisions and phones) for an hour before bedtime.
- Do something that relaxes you, like listening to music, before you fall asleep.
- Save caffeinated beverages for morning and early afternoon.
Depression treatment programs can provide space to rest and rejuvenate if your home life is chaotic and interfering with your mental health.
3. Connect With Other People
Humans have social and emotional needs as well as physical needs. When we know we’re connected to a supportive community, we have stronger senses of meaning and purpose, and we often find it easier to trust people.
Healthy relationships are important to our well-being, whether they’re with family, friends, community members, or neighbors.
Connection can take many different forms, including:
- Volunteering with a local organization you believe in.
- Participating in a hobby-focused group.
- Joining a religious community if you have a personal faith.
- Reaching out to friends over the phone, email, or social media.
- Helping others with errands or tasks.
- Participating in a recovery group, such as a therapy group or a 12-step meeting.
Depression recovery centers can help you find community in group therapy and other programs. Talking to people who are experiencing similar struggles can help you feel less alone.
Depression Treatment at Lotus Recovery Centers
Our goal is to treat the whole individual by focusing on mental and emotional health alongside physical health.
Substance abuse often goes hand in hand with depression and other mental health conditions. While it may be tempting to turn to drugs and alcohol for depression relief, substances can make your symptoms worse in the long run.
Dual diagnosis treatment—where clients receive targeted help for their substance use and mental health disorders at the same time—has been proven to be more successful than treating either condition in isolation.
At Lotus Recovery Centers, we prioritize clients’ mental health by offering individual and group therapy sessions with each of our treatment programs. Both our Delaware and West Virginia locations have depression recovery centers where you’ll learn about self-care, coping skills, boundaries, and more. Our medical team may also prescribe medication to relieve the symptoms of depression.
If you want to partner with us on your journey to mental health and recovery, or if you think a loved one might benefit from treatment, contact Lotus Recovery Centers at 833.922.1615 or reach out online. We’re here to help.
