For me it was doing just a few minutes of HIIT a day. It boosted my energy levels a lot and reduced my blood pressure by about 5 points.
I became lactose intolerant recently and since cutting dairy out of my diet, I feel so much better. I have more energy, better eating habits, better dumps lol. And I feel much better mentally, too. My ADHD and anxiety have been much more manageable. I swear my gut biome just always hated dairy and made me feel like shit for it.
Good stuff! They say the gut is like a second brain or something like that. Pity I treat it like shit, and I have IBS too. 😭
For me, getting more outside in nature, traveling more and improving my sleep schedule has tremendously boosted my mental (and overall) health. Also mostly overcoming my quarter-life crisis helped a lot (yes, that’s a thing apparently).
A struggle cuddle with my cat seems to calm me down. I noticed myself doing it when stressed (it doesn’t happen often) and read about it and it seems to check out. 👍
Oh and a long lukewarm/hot shower always makes me feel better, and it’s very good at dealing with bloating.
Having a good breakfast is always necessary for me when I’ve got a long day planned. 1/2 cup oatmeal with a couple of tablespoons of hemp seeds is 11 g of protein, nearly 20% of the recommended daily fiber, and around 250 calories before toppings. The hemp seeds add protein and healthy fats and the fiber from the oatmeal keeps you satisfied longer. Oatmeal is also supposed to be good for your cholesterol, too.
Chocolate chips, cream cheese, peanut butter, or jam each work great in it. If you’ve never had hemp seeds they’re slightly nutty, but it works well with oatmeal IMO. Don’t forget to add a few shakes of salt.
Go for walks regularly.
Eat healthy.
Get 8 hours of sleep every night.
Going for a walk. Trees have a positive effect on mood and you are out moving :)
Good advice. Unless the trees are trying to kill you (pollen). Many of my friends/colleagues are avoiding trees ;-)
I’m also a big tree-starer.
Drinking a glass or two of water, stretching a couple times an hour if you sit most of the day and eating a vegetable at at least one of your meals. Also getting your face in sunlight for ~15 mins if you can manage it.
It’s not zomg-cure-your-chronic-illness levels of anything but it’s a small baseline buffer.
I can second the working out. Consistent steady training routine has been rather great for energy levels and mental well-being, even despite training sessions being exhausting.
So what’s that abbr.?
High intensity interval training
SWTA? You mean? And by that I mean YM?
eat healthy food. exercise. engage in activities you find stimulating and make you feel good afterwards.
Sit for some time (recommended is 5-10 minutes, i do 2-5) picturing your thoughts as clouds passing overhead, observe what they are but don’t judge yourself for thinking or feeling that thing.
Gives you more control over your own mind and how you react to things, makes you more focused in the long run. This is supposed to be a habit you can do 1 time each week or each day. It comes up in one of these brilliant videos - probably the first one listed.
Eventually you will start to welcome these moments of calm. I like to do it in the garden or the bath.
Pick up a small exercise you can do with no equipmemt at will, you can do this at home when you need to think or are worried about things. Motion is good for managing thoughts. E.G:
- Squat unweighted as many times as you can, up to 100. Harder than it sounds and better for you than it sounds. (Source: YellowGuy on Youtube)
- Use resistance bands just to make sure you’ve actually used your arm, back or leg muscles today (great if you work at home)
- Swap inauthentic things for authentic things. E.g replace X and Tiktok with Fediverse equivalents :)))
- try making new foods for yourself. Pickles and fermented things are good and pretty economical for what they would cost otherwise, and providss you with a healthy sugar free thing to snack on
- Never bring a screen to bed with you and always try for 8 hours of sleep.
- Go outdoors for sunlight and maybe a walk as soon as you’ve finished your wake up routine. [1 source (others exist): Huberman Labs “Optimal Sunlight Routine”
Clean water, clean food, fresh air, deep breathing, visualization, listening to or performing music, singing, humming, taking a shower hot or cold, taking a walk, run or bike ride, smelling flowers, watching a good movie, giving an old hobby another shot, any creative outlet you can find, cooking, eating, taking care of plants or things or people.
My depression remains unaffected by any ordinary means, except for medication. My mood temporarily improves by exercise, the warmth or smell of some girls (sorry guys), being with a friend or family member, rewatching Stargate SG-1 for the XX’s time, playing a story driven PC game, very seldom listening to music and even more seldom a walkabout.
