What do you do to feel better when you’re having a bad mental health moment?

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1. Exercise, talk to friends/family, journal, cook tasty and/or healthy food

2. I remind myself that this moment is temporary, my feelings are valid, and it’s ok to have them, and that I don’t need to dwell on them if i’m not happy with the way they are making me feel.

3. I make a big pot of pasta with tomatoes, basil, a splash of olive oil, feta or Parmesan cheese, and pepper, then I eat it. Pasta is my comfort food.

4. A fresh air and going out to any supermarket for some groceries. Getting out of home is the best thing to energize again

5. Mostly I like to bake cookies, talk to my closest friends and eat a lot of ice cream.

6. Talk to my sister or best friend. If they aren’t available or if I need to process my thoughts more, I write.

7. Go for a walk or workout. Journal

8. I’m having one now. I just let it run its course or watch a movie while trying to tell myself I’m wanted or could be wanted by someone special.

9. I isolate myself at home for a while, make sure to sleep a lot and well, and keep myself distracted with things that keeps me happy and relaxed: Video games, streams, food and wine.

10. Yesterday I was having a bad day mentally. I opened the windows to my apartment to let in fresh air because I absolutely hated the idea of forcing myself to be active outside. I then sat on the couch with my cat cuddling and playing video games. I texted my friends saying I’d be offline and shut off my phone. After gaming a while I took a hot hot shower and sat under the spray. I painted my toe nails to make me feel a bit better. And then I crawled into bed and cuddled my body pillow to sleep. Today was slightly better. Ish.

11. I have a happy vibes playlist of songs that are so incredibly catchy you can’t help but want to sing or move to them. I put it on and turn it as loud as I can stand. Within a few songs I’m usually getting distracted enough to move away from the bad thoughts.

    For me, my bad mental moments play on a loop, like getting a song stuck in your head. It just repeats parts over and over. I find writing it out or talking/venting helps make the loops linear, and I can see it all, not just the repeating bad bits.

    I also pay close attention to my word choices for things. When I’m in a bad mental place, my mind tries to make it permanent with absolutes: I will **never** be happy. I am **always** wrong. **Nothing** matters. I will be alone **forever**.

    After I catch myself using them (even just talking to myself in my head), I will replace them with temporary language instead. Like: “Sometimes I am happy and sometimes I am sad.”
    “Sometimes I am wrong, and that means sometimes I am right.” “Some things matter, especially to me and my loved ones.” “There are many people in the world, I am not alone.”

    An easy way for me to visually grasp this was Star Wars lol. Only sith deal in absolutes and it leads to darkness.

12. Nap.

13. McDonalds and my fave comfort shows!

14. That seems to happen too often for me so I do try to redirect that by working out which is a pain in the ass sometimes, like when I’m especially stressed out already lol but after I feel kinda better. Listening to music also helps a lot too.

15. Escape to literature and entertainment (thank god for movies and books)

16. Excluding the usual stuff like exercise and talking to someone, I go eat McDonalds in my car and sometimes cry. Life can suck.

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18. Put a blanket and pillow in my closet and hide in there with a hot drink, my glasses off, and listen to my favorite songs. Recently it’s been songs by ghost.

19. Following cause i am going through one rn.

20. Sleep. Distract. Go for a walk. Sleep .

21. Turn off my phone and get in the sauna.