We all experience moments of anxiety and stress in our lives, and sometimes those feelings can begin to have serious effects on our mental health. But by developing a daily routine and improving your habits, even with a few small changes, you can begin to see a positive impact on your mental state that will fan out into your everyday life. While options like ketamine treatment can improve mental health when it becomes tough to manage, streamlining your daily routine and trying out one or two of these activities is a great place to start.
Routine: A Mental Health Hack
Setting healthy habits can have a big impact on your mental health, and one of the best ways to set yourself up for success is by creating a routine. Daily routines can significantly reduce stress by helping you manage your time. When you know what to expect throughout the day, it can help you feel more in control, lower anxiety, and prevent fatigue from having to make decisions. Plus, a consistent routine improves your sleep, which leads to better energy and focus. Over time, sticking to a routine makes you more dedicated, efficient, and consistent in completing tasks—while also leaving you with more mental space for things that really matter. The more consistent you are, the more you’ll build skills and become an expert in areas you care about. In fact, experts say it can take an average of 66 days to form a new habit, so stay patient with yourself and stick with it.
Gratitude, Body Movement and… Chocolate
Good habits for mental health can be as simple as taking a walk in nature or as big as taking a vacation to a warm locale. Luckily, there’s an entire spectrum of expert-recommended habits to boost your mood and your mind. Take time each day to incorporate these into your routine. Here are just a few:
- Take pen to paper. Developing a gratitude practice that includes time for journaling and marking down achievements is a great way to track the good things in your life and enjoy a soothing hand-to-brain connection.
- Try something new. Dipping into a new practice doesn’t have to be complicated. Experts agree that something as simple as trying a new recipe, painting or drawing, or spending some time writing creatively is good for your mental health.
- Appreciate what you have. Sometimes simply sitting back and thinking about the pleasure you gain from hobbies like crafting, cooking with friends, or quiet walks is enough to give a boost to a low feeling.
- Connect with others. Showing gratitude for the people in your life is a great way to boost your own mental health. Send a thank you card to someone who made you feel good about yourself or spend some time cultivating new friendships. Experts say spending time with loved ones has a direct impact on good mental health.
- Add some wiggles to your chores. Dancing is shown to lower stress hormones like cortisol while boosting endorphins. Sprinkling in some dancing to your housework will leave you with a soothing home and a renewed body.
- Yawn, or smile. They both have been shown to boost mental health. Yawning is said to improve alertness, while a simple smile can lower your heart rate.
- Take time for chocolate. Dark chocolate offers a triple threat of flavonoids, caffeine, and theobromine—a powerful combo for boosting mental skills and health.
Ketamine Treatment for Mental Health
While improving your habits and routine will likely make a noticeable difference to your mental health, there are times when a little extra support is needed. Ketamine therapy has been shown to work quickly and effectively, even in tough-to-treat cases of depression and anxiety. What makes ketamine therapy unique is its ability to provide rapid relief, often in just a few sessions, and it has been particularly effective for people who haven’t found success with other traditional medications.
Ketamine works by targeting NDMA receptors in the brain, promoting neuroplasticity which allows the brain to rewire itself and form new connections. In result, your brain can adapt and form new thinking patterns for responding to emotional stressors. If you’re considering ketamine therapy to improve mental health, the first step to finding out if ketamine treatment is right for you is to schedule an evaluation with a professional who can assess your needs.
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