Let’s be honest here; the last year or so has been difficult for all of us, with COVID-19 practically pausing all of our lives since it was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 30th March 2020. Since then, many of us have lost relationships, jobs, friends, houses, and, sadly, even loved ones. As a result, our collective mental health has really taken a hit – I know mine has.
And with many parts of the world finally starting to see the other side of this terrible time, most of us will be looking for ways to get back to normal. With that in mind, here are some of the best low-cost tips for your mental health.
1: Exercise
The importance of exercise in someone’s life with regards to mental health cannot be measured. It has been proven many times to reduce anxiety, depression, and overall down moods (source: Exercise for Mental Health – NCBI).
So, how exactly do you go about exercising? Especially if exercise is something you’ve never really done before. You don’t need expensive equipment or a gym membership – these cost money & this is a guide on low-cost tips after all.
Walk/Run
You don’t have to walk or run a hundred miles. Just put on your shoes and get out into the fresh air. Even a short 10-minute walk or run can do absolute wonders for your head. As you get used to walking or running, work on extending the distance. Push it out to a 15-minute. And then a 20-minute one. Keep going as long as you can.
Did you know?
10,000 steps were picked as the standard for steps to walk per day because of a Japanese company called Yamasa Clock. When marketing their new pedometer in 1965, they settled on the name Manpo-kei (the 10,000 steps metre), because the Japanese character (万) for the number 10,000 looks like a person walking.
Source: Why 10,000 steps a day isn’t the secret to better health – popsci.com
Work out
As stated already, exercise is one of the best ways to improve your mental health. But you don’t need a gym membership (sorry to all the gyms out there!) – we’re keeping this low cost, after all. There are a wealth of bodyweight exercises out there: this is exactly what it sounds like – exercises that use nothing more than your own bodyweight. Here are a few sources to get you started:
- 28 Bodyweight Exercises That Build Serious Muscle – Men’s Health
- Reddit’s Bodyweight Fitness Community
Set aside time each day that you dedicate to doing some working out. It can be just as little as 10 minutes a day. It will be hard going at the beginning, but you will get there.
2: Set Goals
Like with exercise, the benefits to your mental health of setting goals cannot be understated. Setting goals is a fantastic way of keeping your motivation going and help you make changes to your life that you really want. They work by giving your mind something to focus on – giving you a clear task to complete.
When you have a goal, it gives a clear path to accomplishing something. I’ll outline some examples of goals that you can pick for yourself:
- Health: These can be losing weight, quitting smoking, reducing your alcohol consumption.
- Fitness: As said above, you can set goals for accomplishing different milestones. For example, since October 2020, I’ve signed up for and completed a 5KM, a 10KM, a half-marathon, and right now I’m in the process of training for a full marathon (my first!)
- Relationships, friendships, & family: Reconnecting with 10 people you’ve lost touch with, taking your partner out on a date, spending more time with your family and loved ones.
- Personal: Shower at least once a day. Brush your teeth twice a day. Partake a reading challenge such as the Goodreads.com Reading Challenge.
Sit down and think about what goals you want to achieve and write them out. Build out clear checklists of what your goals are and where you want to be 12 months from now. As you accomplish a goal, tick it off your list. I’ve always found the physical representation of an accomplishment like that to be so incredibly rewarding.
Extra tip:
When you’ve accomplished a goal, make sure to give yourself a pat on the back – or anything that is positive & healthy. You want to give yourself a way for positive feedback & to help encourage you to strive for more.
3: Dealing with your mental health in work
Honestly, this could be a post all by itself – and maybe someday it will be.
As someone who has worked in some extremely stressful and potentially toxic environments, I know just how hard a toll work can have on your mental health. Unfortunately, not all of us are capable of just quitting a job on a whim – there are kids, mortgages, debts, and a whole lot of other things that exist to take our hard-earned money away.
So, what are the best low-cost ways of dealing with your mental health in work?
Take frequent breaks
Depending on your country, you will have a legal obligation to take a lunch break. The most important tip I can give you with this is: don’t eat your lunch at your desk. Get out of your workplace and go for a walk – take your lunch with you. Find somewhere to sit down outside. If people don’t like it – screw ’em; it’s your break!
Aside from your lunch break, you should take frequent breaks. Go stand outside a few times a day. If someone doesn’t like it, point at the smokers and ask why it’s OK for them to do it.
Remove yourself from the source of the stress
Let’s say you’re at work and you’ve just received news that is causing your stress levels to go through the roof. You’re sat there, stewing in your own anxieties. This just is not healthy. Don’t do this. Actively stand up, walk outside, and take deep breaths. If you can’t leave the building, go to the toilet. Find somewhere that isn’t where you normally work.
You’ll likely get strange looks and people asking what’s happening – but the reality is that you’re useful to nobody when you’re in that state. Take the time to relax. You deserve it.
4: Look into low cost therapy
Not all therapists are those $300/hour ones that you see on TV and in movies – you’ll often find ones that do provide low-cost options. If you search online for “low-cost therapy”, I’m sure you can find many popping up that you didn’t think of before.
However, if none does, then try the following:
Look into learning institutions around you that provide therapy/psychology/any other similar fields as part of their curriculum. In many instances, people will need to do a certain amount of often supervised in-person treatment before they become fully qualified. These will be low-cost sessions mostly.
You’ll be doing it with a student, but it can be better than nothing.
Reach out to the institution (possibly straight to the relevant department) and ask whether they provide such sessions. If they don’t, whoever replies to you may know of some possible options for you. There’s no harm in asking!
Extra tip:
The same can be said for schools/institutions that provide personal care courses (hairdressing, makeup, etc.), catering/cookery, & a whole load of other courses. Reach out to these and see if they provide cheaper alternatives.
5: Practice proper breathing techniques
If you’ve got an Apple Watch or any kind of similar smartwatch, then I’m sure you’ve received a notification at some stressful time telling you to breathe. This is because it works: practising proper & deep breathing techniques has been proven to help control your stress, anxiety, and overall mental health (source: Relaxation techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress response – Harvard Medical School)
But wait – surely I practice proper breathing techniques always? I mean, I’m breathing now, aren’t I?
Not necessarily.
When you find yourself getting stressed out, your body’s “fight or flight” response kicks in. This can cause your breathing to become shallow and quick, which can just make your stress levels worse. Proper techniques not only help slow and normalise your breath, but also gives you time to pause and reset your mind.
So, just how exactly do I breath properly?
Great question!
- It starts with finding a quiet place. This can be somewhere you can sit down or lie down. If you can’t do either of these, then you can do it standing, too.
- While breathing, imagine that your breath is going down to your belly. But don’t force it, let it happen slowly.
- If you can – breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Also if you can, let your breath hold for a count of 5. You may struggle at first. You may not be able to do it at all. Hold it for as long as you can.
- After you’ve reached your count, release the breath. Again, don’t force anything. Let it happen slowly.
Keep doing this for 3 – 5 minutes. Once you’ve reached the end, take note of how you’re feeling. You’ll likely be feeling a lot more clear-headed.
6: Reach out to your family and friends
I’m going to finish off this post with the most important tip I can possibly give anyone: reach out to your family and friends. This should always be your first port of call when dealing with any kind of mental health issue.
It can be a phone call, an email, a text message, or even just Snapchat. It doesn’t matter. Take the first step by reaching out to them and saying something as easy as “I’m going through a tough time, can you help?”
Depending on how close they are to you, then chances are they know you’re going through something already. But it’s always good and important for someone to take the first move – it will help you acknowledge there’s a problem, to begin with.
And there you go – the best low-cost tips for your mental health that I can think of.
Most importantly – look after yourself. We’re almost out the other side of this.
You can do it. We all can.