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  #1  
Old 16th October 2018, 15:56
Moksha Moksha is offline
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Default Taking Control of Your Mental Health

I have been listening to a lot of mental health podcasts in which people describe the things that work for them. In other words, they've grown to understand their brain and nervous system and what works. Personally, these are the things that work for me:

- Being very careful what I eat. I avoid big, hot meals as they make me feel like sh*t. I also avoid sugar, refined carbs and general junk or processed food. I also avoid eating anything late at night. Raw food really helps.
- Avoiding alcohol.
- Minimizing stress, even if that means a lower income or more isolation.
- Living in a clean and empty space. Clutter increases my anxiety and depression. Ideally, I'd like a clean, modernist house with floor to ceiling windows, bare floors, whitewashed walls and nothing but a couple of paintings, a few chairs, a TV and shelves and shelves of books. This is why I don't think I could cope with kids, or even marriage. I need space and silence.
- Watching and listening to comedy.
- Listening to podcasts in which people talk about mental illness and the effect it has had on their lives.
- Reading out loud from my favorite books. The rhythm and beauty of language soothes and calms my mind.

Anyone else found ways of controlling their mental health?
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  #2  
Old 16th October 2018, 16:09
limey123 limey123 is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moksha

Ideally, I'd like a clean, modernist house with floor to ceiling windows, bare floors, whitewashed walls and nothing but a couple of paintings, a few chairs, a TV and shelves and shelves of books.
^ This
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  #3  
Old 16th October 2018, 17:00
Aelwyn Aelwyn is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

Mindfulness and meditation. Also getting outside into nature. Like you, Moksha, I need a lot of time to myself, but have never enjoyed living alone.
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  #4  
Old 16th October 2018, 17:10
Marco Marco is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

Going for long walks (on my own!). I also need a lot of time to myself. I like my house to be tidy - I'm a wee bit OCD about this, but my wife is even worse than me.
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  #5  
Old 16th October 2018, 17:16
Moksha Moksha is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aelwyn
Mindfulness and meditation. Also getting outside into nature. .
Yes, walking in nature – should have added that. Hiking in places like the Peak District or Scottish Highlands would be especially helpful. If you have an Ipod with a really good podcast on...bliss. The best ones, for me, involve people talking about painful sh*t they've been through but in a jokey, comic way.

Another thing is the right company. Some people just get on with everyone and aren't really affected by different personalities. I'm not like that at all. My reactions to people tend to be quite extreme, and the wrong people can massively affect my mood.
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  #6  
Old 18th October 2018, 01:33
gregarious_introvert gregarious_introvert is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

For me, it's mostly about things I should be doing but which, currently, I'm not - like exercising, eating healthily and having a routine. These things have been allowed to slide over the past six months, because I am still adjusting to having someone new in my life. My home is cluttered too, partly the result of moving from a larger property than the one in which I live now, but it is being addressed, along with redecoration - but slowly.

I do need peace and quiet in the mornings, the first hour of the day I like to have no distractions so I can get myself into gear for the rest of the day.

I have to ensure that I get out of the house for a walk at least once a day.

I indulge my passions, which are primarily live music and travel; it's essential that I always have something arranged in the future, to give me focus - currently, I have seven trips and around 9 or 10 music festivals booked, stretching from tomorrow to next July.

It came as a surprise to me (as an introvert who has spent most of his life in isolation), but I do need social interaction, so meetup has become an important part of my mental wellbeing.
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  #7  
Old 18th October 2018, 18:03
Beth M Beth M is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

1. Chamomile tea. I know it might sound daft, but that shit really works. When I got into it, I thought - what the hell, all these years suffering ever since sixth form and I could have just drank some hippy/granny tea and felt 70% better?! Yep!

2. Drinking 3 liters of water a day. It makes me feel much more in control and less SA. On days when I get dehydrated everything starts getting weak and wobbly again and I feel like I can't cope with life. It's also the best beauty treatment you can ever do for yourself. Everything gets better - hair, skin, nails, eyes, cellulite (!) - you name it!

3. I found a group of people to go birdwatching with. They're not remotely in my age group, I'm in my 30s and they're in their 70s. We meet at an art gallery with a beautiful park attached every Friday morning. We say hello, and then that's pretty much it with the talking. We walk, listen out for the birds, look through our 'noculars and take photos. Occasionally we talk about our camera lenses/equipment. I can just tell some of them used to be doctors/lawyers, or some kind of fancy-pants-with-money-types, but I've never asked them what they do/did and they've never asked me either. I love that! It's the perfect way to be with people without feeling all the pressure of having to say/do all the right things.

4. No staying up later than 2am. This annoys me because I'm a night owl. But it just opens up 'dark night of the soul' for me. Then invariably I don't wake up until the afternoon the next day which just gives me a headache and makes me feel all stressed about having wasted the day.

5. Eating properly. Tuna, spinach, eggs, beef, and such. I tried being vegan once, it just doesn't work for me. It made my hair thin, my skin looked like shit and I felt anxious to the max. I need food that strengthens me. A few days without it and all the weak-and-wobblies-around-people are back.

6. Valium. Sometimes when everything just gets too much, I just go to bed, make it all comfy with pillows and candles and take a couple of valium. It just distances me from my problems long enough to give me a 'time-out' and get some perspective back. Useful coping mechanism for me. Been taking them for years and no dependency.

7. Nature and macro photography. Walking out in nature always does me the world of good. Nothing better than going for a long walk and then coming back into the warm for a hot drink and settle down on the sofa with a good BBC documentary. I always find it amazing when I get home and have a look at all the tiny bugs/creatures I've taken pictures of. Some of them, like damselflies, are truly beautiful tiny works of art.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moksha
I'd like a clean, modernist house with floor to ceiling windows, bare floors, whitewashed walls and nothing but a couple of paintings, a few chairs, a TV and shelves and shelves of books.
Aw, then you'd like our house. That's all we've got - white walls, squashy leather sofas, and loads of plants and books.
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  #8  
Old 18th October 2018, 18:09
Moksha Moksha is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

Quote:
Originally Posted by Beth M
1. Chamomile tea. I know it might sound daft, but that shit really works. When I got into it, I thought - what the hell, all these years suffering ever since sixth form and I could have just drunk some hippy/granny tea and felt 70% better?! Yep!


.
Sigh, not another druggie. Be careful, Chamomile is a gateway drug. Next thing you'll be hitting the Ovaltine.
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  #9  
Old 18th October 2018, 18:23
Beth M Beth M is offline
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Default Re: Taking Control of Your Mental Health

^

I'll have to tell you about my rehab experience at the Priory some time. It's not very well known that they do courses in Ovaltine recovery now. Sheer hell.
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