Helping yourself on a bad mental health day.

Bad mental health days can often spring up out of the blue, at the worst time, or during a particularly stressful or anxiety-inducing period. Moreover, university can quickly feel overwhelming with the almost toxic desire to be productive and on top of things leading to slumps. Pair this with a bad mental health day and it’s a recipe for disaster, only leading to an increase in these bad thoughts when you’re not being as productive as you think you should be. Therefore, it’s paramount to make sure you’re looking after yourself properly in order to get through this period.

Accept how you’re feeling

The first thing to do when experiencing a bad mental health day is, to be honest with yourself and accept how you’re feeling. Along with this, it’s important to accept that you’re not going to get everything you want to do done and to not strive for something unachievable. Despite this, it’s also good to write a to-do list, this doesn’t have to be anything amazing, simply writing things like brushing your teeth, drinking a cup of water and eating breakfast can still allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment and look after yourself at the same time; something that often gets pushed to the side when feeling down with your mental health.

Stay away from social media

When feeling down, it’s all too easy to get trapped in a phone scroll that only serves to worsen your mood by staring at what everyone else has accomplished and you haven’t. Therefore, it’s important to try and stay away from social media, instead try watching a movie, start a series you’ve always wanted to watch or listen to a podcast. This allows you to still be distracted by your phone without getting stuck in an endless scroll. However, if you’re feeling up for it, it’s a great idea to do something for yourself, like learning a new hobby or practising self-care. Doing something positive could help manage any negative thoughts or take your mind off of it for a while.

Tell someone about it

It’s also a good idea to tell someone about it, message or call a friend and just have a chat. Especially if you’re feeling alone and trapped by your thoughts, making the move to tell somebody or hang out could allow you to talk through your feelings or prevent any negative thoughts for a short while. Going out for a walk with a friend, or just your headphones could also help you to manage any negativity. A change in scenery and taking yourself out of the environment where the negative thoughts accumulate could help in lightening your mood and look after yourself.

Acknowledge your accomplishments

If you do have commitments, like work or lectures, it’s important to acknowledge yourself for going and ensure you’re proud of making the effort to go despite your feelings. Any small accomplishment is worth celebrating, even if you joined a lecture online from home. Along with this, make sure to treat yourself just for being you, use that face mask you’ve been saving, wear the expensive perfume or treat yourself to a coffee whilst you’re out. Anything which gives you some small joy and will help you get through the day is worth doing.