One of the best ways to support yourself on this journey is to develop habits that support your improved mindset and make you happier. If you don't support your new mindset, you will have more of a tendency to fall back into negative thinking patterns left over from depression and more likely to give up when things get difficult.
Researchers have discovered several habits that will make you and help support your mindset. Listed below are a few of them. Don't try to start all of them at once but find one or two that work for you and use them every day.
Meditation
This ancient practice has been around for thousands of years. It may help you in a number of ways, from improving focus to sleep. It helps reduce stress and improves mindset. The best part is you don?t need to meditate for hours; 10-15 minutes a few times a week is enough. Choose from any number of types of meditation: silent, mantra, movement, loving-kindness, guided, and more. Find the type of meditation that fits you.
Gratitude
Incorporating a gratitude practice is one of the best ways to help instill your positive mindset and focus on how far you?ve come and all the god things in your life. It can be as simple as listing three things you?re thankful for to yourself before bed each night, or as formalized as using prompts in a gratitude journal every day. I have found this one of the fasting ways of turning around my mindset at any time of the day. Mentally going through the list of what I am thankful for as a reminder for myself.
Sleep
This is not to be taken lightly.... getting enough sleep is key to supporting your mood and having the energy to go after your dreams. May of us in the modern world are chronically sleep-deprived, leading directly to a whole host of physical and mental health issues. One of these issues is an inability to keep a positive outlook and be happy. Prioritizing getting enough sleep may just be the number one thing you can do to help make yourself happy!
Journaling
Did you know that Matthew Mcconaughey wrote his book, Green Lights, pulling a lot from what he wrote in his journals over the years? Journaling has been a natural outlet for stress and frustration for. Somehow the process of putting the words down on paper causes the brain to process them faster. Journaling reduces stress and increases happiness. Use a blank journal, a plain notebook, a fancy journal with prompts, or anything in between. Journal for a few minutes several times per week or daily for the most benefits.
