Mental Health & Happiness For Women

Mental Health and happiness go hand in hand and they’re an important part of taking care of yourself. The sad but true reality is this is typically severely neglected by most women.

The misconception here is that psychological self care is about seeing a professional to talk through your problems.

The reality is, there are so many ways to keep your mental health (and sanity) a priority. And, you can do them on your own!

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Why Should I Focus On Mental Health?

If we look at psychological self care (sometimes referred to as mental health) it’s really all about staying mentally strong. When you are mentally strong or stable happiness is a heck of a lot easier to come by.

Some of the aspects of mental wellness include practicing mindfulness, creativity, applying consequential thinking and learning something new.

Another way to put this would be making intentional choices that help you better yourself all the time. We are never done learning and growing as people so this makes perfect sense, right?

When you get right down to it these are the things that make us tick! I, for one, would be lost if I wasn’t able to create things. Whether it’s crafting, DIY, writing, creating to-do lists and checklists, working in my garden and learning about how to better myself… I just wouldn’t be myself without it. Being creative brings me happiness.

Many would say the same for your families. I know when I am feeling especially fragile I just want to spend time with my kids (they are grown and out of the house now) and my husband. That brings me happiness.

You see, mental health and happiness are inextricably linked. There is a lot of value in truly focusing on mental self care.

6 Areas Of Focus For Mental Health & Wellness

Now, like anything else, the options that you can include here are truly endless. These 6 areas of focus are designed to give you ideas that you can use every day! They are simple things you can add to your daily routine or mix in on a rotation to stay healthy!

Keep a Daily Journal

The best part about journaling is it’s great for multiple areas of your self care. Not only does it do wonders for your mental health, it’s great for your emotional self care as well.

If given a bit of structure you can intentionally be thoughtful about things you are grateful for.

Sometimes you have to really look for those things. But, if you focus on the things you are thankful for, having a positive outlook is a lot easier.

Getting started when writing in a journal can be hard. Here are some journal prompts to get you started!

25 Journal Prompts (Mental Health Focus)

What impacted you most about today?
I am most proud of ______.
Three things I want to accomplish are _________.
This year I want to be better at __________.
What are the 5 things that make you happiest?
When times are tough I want to remember ________ to keep me on the right track.
My top 4 qualities are _________.
I have always wanted to ______.
When I was younger I used to think ______.
How would you describe yourself in 6 words?
What would you tell yourself at your high school graduation?
Three things I would love to do are _________.
Who do you look up to and why?
Right now I feel ______ because _______.
I feel most confident when _________.
If you could change one decision, what would it be?
Today, I am thankful for ________.
I love it when _______.
Whenever I see _______ I am inspired to ________.
Friends are important to me because ________.
I am best at _______.
What are three things you want to learn about?
I would enjoy it if __________.
How could you make someone smile tomorrow?
If you were able to talk to anyone in history, who would it be? What would you say?

Social Media-Free Time

There are so many amazing ideas, connections with people you love and care about and sometimes just fun things that you enjoy.

Unfortunately, there is negativity and quite frankly just a ton of information happening all at the same time.

It’s important for you to be intentional about what you look at and when you look at it. Pay attention to how you are feeling and set some healthy boundaries.

There is no way I would give up my social media. That being said, there are definitely some social media free windows each day.

Try these 5 simple social media habits to make your psychological self care a priority and decrease stress.

5 Social Media Habits For Mental Health (Sanity)

Set time limits for how long you spend on social media
Weed out the negativity
- More friends or followers doesn’t necessarily mean better
Avoid oversharing
Take a pause before emotionally responding
Know your limits
- Sometimes taking a break is just what you need. You get to decide what works for you!

Reading For Mental Strength

There is something about reading that is just therapeutic. Even if you aren’t a person that just loves to read, there is such value in setting aside your phone, tablet or laptop and just reading a real book.

That being said, I love my e-books! Especially when it’s traveling time!

When you just want to unwind it feels great to be transported into another situation altogether. The great part is you can read just about anything for your mental health. It’s all about what you want to focus on at that moment.

I’ve included ideas for Reading specifically designed to nurture and encourage. When you are encouraged you’re able to tap into memories and ideas that bring you happiness. This is important to your mental health.

7 Great Reads For A Mental Reprieve

Inspiration & Hope

Christian Inspirational Books

Books for Moms

Reward Yourself

It can be so easy to get completely caught up in the monotony of your day to day routine.

If you are working towards a specific goal try rewarding yourself when you meet it!

Giving yourself a reward when you meet a milestone or accomplish something that was especially difficult is a great way to focus on your mental health.

You know what motivates you and what will keep you going. If you are struggling to reach the goals you have set, try writing down some of your goals and add some self rewards for when you reach them!

The great thing about this is you can reward yourself for anything from finally getting that junk drawer organized (like you’ve been talking about for ages) to landing a new job.

Self rewards are a great way to continue to get motivated or stay motivated!

There are tons of ideas out there for this. I’ve included 15 of my favorite ideas that are great for renewal and your health here.

15 Ways to Reward Yourself

The gift of peace and quiet
Take a nice bubble bath with candles by your side
Schedule a special dinner out OR in with your favorite people
Get tickets to a concert or show you have been wanting to see
Reward yourself with a day off
Nothing says mental health like a spa day
Buy yourself a beautiful flower arrangement
Go for a picnic
Take a walk in nature
Shopping trip with the girls
Take a mental break with a movie day in your pajamas
Schedule an appointment to get your hair done
Finally finish that craft you have been meaning to do
Get a mani/pedi
Meet a friend at a coffee shop to catch up

The possibilities for rewarding yourself are endless. Whatever you do, take some time to give yourself the break and rejuvenation you need. It is good for your mental health and it just feels good!

Learn Something New To Keep Your Mind Sharp

It seems kind of strange at first glance to think that learning something or teaching something has anything to do with your mental health. The reality is, it absolutely does.

First, it’s important to keep learning (no matter your age) because when you stop learning new things you’re in danger of getting stuck where you were.

If you know someone who’s older that constantly tells stories about things that happened in the past you probably know what I’m talking about.

It’s so important to keep learning new things, having new experiences and keeping your mind sharp.

Learning is the heartbeat of mental health.

When you stop learning you are in danger of getting to that place where you trick yourself into believing you know all that you need to succeed in life.

But do we really ever get to that place? I hope not.

Now, this doesn’t mean you need to enroll in more college courses or enroll for the first time (while that is absolutely a viable option).

What it does mean is to keep learning about the things that interest you. The things you are passionate about.

5 Places To Learn Something New

College Classes
- Whether it is a single course or finally working toward a degree you have been putting off, college courses are a great option!
Master Class
- With options in every category you can imagine and for less than one meal out you gain access to thousands of classes! WELL worth the money.
Skill Share
- There are courses in every field of work and creative niche you can imagine. There are free courses and more available with a small fee. Options for everyone here though!
Local Community Classes
- Check your city’s webpage for classes taught regarding specific skills, crafts and even fitness options. They are usually very inexpensive and it’s local!
YouTube
- There are 100% free options on everything under the sun on YouTube. Just be careful and research that the creator knows what they’re talking about.

SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER!

Mental Health & Happiness

Hopefully you have some ideas to make your mental health a priority in your life that are natural and meaningful. When you place priority on your self care happiness is not far behind.

Remember, you shouldn’t feel guilty about taking time to take care of yourself.

Be sure to check out my post on the 8 Self Care Essentials for Women! There are tons of tips and ideas for all eight areas of self care.

This post was all about how to make your mental health a priority by journaling, reading, rewarding yourself and learning something new. Focusing on your mental health and happiness go hand in hand.