Last week, you launched into a 30-day mental health challenge. What a great step you’ve taken to really learn some new strategies to manage your mental health!
This mental health challenge is designed to help you
- Put all the strategies you’ve been researching into practice
- Make actual changes in your mental health
- Discover new strategies for managing your mental health
- Establish a habit of focusing on your mental health on a regular basis
If you missed the first week, no problem! Head back to the details for the first 7 days here and bookmark this page for your reference next week.
Keep This In Mind As You’re Doing the Challenge
Last week, I gave you some tips for success with the challenge. Here are the highlights:
Remember, this is not a self-care challenge; it’s a mental health challenge. This challenge is about challenging you to confront thoughts and feelings that might be holding you back. Expect some of the exercises to be uncomfortable.
Also, remember that most of these strategies aren’t a quick fix. Don’t expect to immediately find relief from bothersome emotions or thoughts. The goal here is to try out some new strategies, see what you like, and then ultimately continue using them consistently until they can actually change your thinking and behavior. This is the start of a long-term lifestyle change.
Plus, don’t pressure yourself to do the challenge perfectly — that’s a great way to fail! Just challenge yourself to do the challenge. If it takes longer than 30 days, no problem! No matter how long it takes, it’s still beneficial.
If you’re in, let’s get started with week 2. For a summary of what you’ll be up to all 30 days, grab this PDF download.
Here are more details on your tasks for the next 7 days.
30-Day Mental Health Challenge: Part II
Day 8 (February 14, 2021): Do a Night-Time Self-Care Routine
Taking really good care of yourself is fundamental to improving your mental health overall. You can’t expect to feel confident if you’re not taking care of yourself. Start a self-care routine today. If you’re not sure where to start, try this one-hour night-time self-care routine. Start an hour before bedtime tonight and just follow step-by-step.
Day 9 (February 15, 2021): Make a Connection
When we’re not doing well mentally, a lot of us begin to isolate ourselves. We start to think we’re a burden to other people….or that our bad mood will just bring the entire mood down….or that we don’t have time to connect with other people….or that other people really aren’t interested in connecting with us. But connecting with people is one of the greatest antidotes to mental health problems. As hard as it can feel to reach out to someone, it’s one of the most powerful interventions we can use. So today, challenge yourself (remember, this is a mental health challenge) to reach out to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Not sure what to say? Send a text that says, “Hey! I was just thinking about you and haven’t heard from you in a while. [How’s school/work/your kids/your mom/etc.?]”
Day 10 (February 16, 2021): Stop Jumping to Conclusions
Anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns cause certain changes in the way we think. One of those changes is “jumping to conclusions.” See if any of these examples sound like thoughts you’ve had:
- They’re going to talk about me.
- They think I’m really boring.
- My boss is going to criticize me at this meeting.
- They don’t want to be here with me.
- I’m going to mess this up.
Making predictions or assumptions like this can perpetuate stress, anxiety, and depression. Often, we have little or no evidence that these predictions are likely to happen, but our brains pretend like it’s a definite reality.
Today, learn how to work on jumping to conclusions. Read through this article and grab the free worksheet associated with it to walk yourself through how to stop jumping to conclusions.
Day 11 (February 17, 2021): Learn to Ask More Helpful Questions
When we’re stressed, anxious, or depressed, we ask ourselves a lot of unhelpful questions:
- Why can’t I do anything right?
- What if this never works out for me?
- Why am I such a failure?
- Why can’t I figure this out?
These questions are unhelpful. But learning how to transform them into more helpful questions can be a huge help in transforming your mental health. Consider the difference between how these two questions feel:
- Why can’t I figure this out? (demoralized, defeated)
- What can I do to figure this out? (empowered)
Day 12 (February 18, 2021): Get Motivated After Work
Even though a lot of us are still living pandemic life and working from home, it’s still as hard as ever to get motivated after work. Most of us have a few hours between ending work and going to bed, and we want to use that time productively — that’s the time we want to get some chores done, go to the gym, cook a healthy meal, work on self-development, etc. But instead, we tend to waste it on social media or Netflix and just stagnate in our lives.
Stop the stagnation and actually move forward today. In a previous article, I gave you 5 of my favorite ways to get motivated after work, so read through those strategies and choose one to practice today. If today isn’t a workday for you, read the article today and commit to using the strategy on the next day you go to work.
Day 13 (February 19, 2021): Practice Rewiring Your Anxious Brain
Anxiety causes certain changes in the brain, some of which involve the way we think. These brain changes mean that we continue to worry or have anxious thoughts, even when we know they’re irrational. This is why you’re still scared to invite your coworker to eat lunch with you even though the rational part of your brain knows your coworker would probably be happy to join. Changing this pattern involves rewiring your brain. It’s a simple process, but it takes commitment and time to actually rewire your brain. So today, start practicing. Read through this article about exactly how to rewire your anxious brain and then grab the free worksheet to practice the skill.
Day 14 (February 20, 2021): Stop Overthinking
If you read my articles, you probably relate to overthinking. You’ll replay old conversations for hours, rehearse upcoming conversations for days, and spend weeks thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong in your life. You know it’s not helpful, but you can’t figure out how to stop it. Today’s your chance.
Read through this article to learn step-by-step how to stop overthinking, and grab the worksheet to practice the skill.
30-Day Mental Health Challenge: Part III
How did it go this week? You worked really hard to keep this challenge going! Congratulations! Remember, even if it takes you more than 7 days to get through these 7 days of challenges, you’re still showing your commitment to improving your mental health. What an accomplishment! Next week, I’ll be back with the details for your next 7 days. Don’t miss it. In the meantime, for a summary of what you’ll be up to all 30 days, grab this PDF download.
Talk to you soon,
Dr. Finch
P.S. Remember, this is education, not treatment. Always consult with a psychologist or therapist about your mental health to determine what information and interventions are best for you. See the disclaimer for more details.
Dr. Hayden Finch is a licensed psychologist providing therapy in Iowa & Arkansas dedicated to bringing you evidence-based strategies to master your mental health.
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