22-05-2025
10 Therapist-Approved Ways to Improve Your Mental Health
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If you've recently found yourself in a rut, you're not alone. A lot of people (myself included) have been crashing out over the state of our country lately. Or maybe you've been feeling off for a while now. Regardless, I'm guessing you stumbled upon this page because you want some tips on how to improve your mental health. And honestly, good for you. The first step toward getting better is realizing you're in a bad place and deciding you want to do something about it.
Struggling with your mental health can feel overwhelming. If your Google search history is full of questions like, 'How do I rebuild my mental health?' and 'Can you fix bad mental health?' take a deep breath and relax—I've got answers for you. I asked five therapists to tell me their best strategies for improving mental health, and they really delivered. But before you start reading their advice, keep in mind that none of these tips will change your life overnight (sorry!). Be patient as you try different strategies, and don't be afraid to seek out professional help if it feels like too much to take on alone.
Okay, now on to the tips!
You made it to this page, so I'm guessing you know you feel off. But do you know exactly which emotions you've been feeling recently and whether there are any patterns to them? If not, therapist and founder of Therapy for Women Center Amanda White, LPC, LMHC recommends trying a daily emotional check-in. Take a moment once or twice a day to reflect on what emotions you're experiencing, how your body feels, and whether there's anything you need that would make you feel a little bit better.
'This practice helps you identify patterns and respond to your needs before reaching a crisis point,' says White. 'From there, you can start understanding what different things you can do to take care of yourself when you feel certain emotions in your body.' Let's say you do your check-in at work, and you notice you're feeling super frustrated after a meeting. Taking a moment to note that emotion and do something to work with it—like taking some deep breaths or getting up for a quick walk—can make a big difference.
And if you have no idea how to label what you're feeling, White suggests checking out this mood meter chart by psychologist Marc Brackett, PhD.
Don't underestimate the power of a good night's sleep for mental health! 'Sleep can have a profound impact on not just overall mood, but our ability to effectively communicate our feelings. The more exhausted we are, the lower our emotional threshold and patience,' explains therapist Keanu M. Jackson, LCSW. If you find yourself feeling irritable or crying at the drop of a hat and you haven't been sleeping much lately (or you've been tossing and turning at night), that's a sign to take a look at your sleep habits, he adds.
A 2021 study published in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that improving sleep quality has a direct effect on mental health—reducing depression, anxiety, and stress. As a baseline, aim to get at least seven hours of sleep every night, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For better quality sleep, the CDC recommends habits like going to bed at the same time every night, keeping your room cool, and avoiding screens for at least 30 minutes before you knock out.
The concept of glimmers went viral on TikTok last year. They're tiny moments that bring you joy, calm, or comfort throughout your day—like the realization that the barista made your coffee just right or spotting a cute dog on your way home from work. Glimmers are so fleeting, you could totally miss them if you're not paying attention. But keeping an eye out for them and feeling gratitude when you spot one can improve your mental health (if you do it regularly, that is). 'Recognizing the good things, even those we might consider small, reminds us that it's not all bad, brings us joy, and rebuilds hope,' says therapist Christopher Lynn-Logue, LMSW.
Chronic overthinkers and ruminators, this tip is for you. Have you ever started feeling anxious out of nowhere, and before you know it, you're panicking because you can't figure out why that feeling came on? Trying to analyze our emotions often gets us stuck in the feeling for much longer than we need to be. 'Neuroscience shows that most emotions physically last about 90 seconds, unless you keep feeding them with thoughts,' explains psychiatrist Sasha Hamdani, MD. Instead, she recommends trying to sit with your feelings for those 90 seconds—even when it's uncomfortable. You'll probably find that feeling passes quicker than you expected.
Despite what a lot of people think, therapy isn't just for people who are super depressed, anxious, or dealing with serious trauma. The fact that you want to improve your mental health to any degree is a valid reason to start therapy. 'You can seek out professional help regardless of where you're at in your healing journey," says Jackson. 'As a therapist, my role is to collaborate and build a pathway forward with you so that down the line you can be more resourced, and confident in your ability to care for yourself.' Talking to a therapist is a great way to get an outside opinion on things happening in your life and will give you an ally in your journey towards feeling better.
If you decide that you want to start therapy, keep in mind that it can take time to find the right provider for you, adds therapist Kaylee Bullen, LCSW. You may have to meet with multiple mental health professionals before you find someone you're comfortable with. In the meantime, she recommends opening up to some trusted friends or family members so that you don't feel alone while navigating your mental health challenges.
It can be easy to get stuck on the fact that you feel shitty. (Believe me, I've been there.) But in order to improve your mental health, it's important to try to look beyond your current sitch and think about how you actually want your life to look and feel. Setting some intentions or goals for the future can help your mind feel clear and focused, and give you some motivation to make changes, says Jackson.
He recommends asking yourself questions like, What does feeling bad mean for me? and What emotions and circumstances do I associate with feeling bad? On the flip side, you should also ask, What do I imagine feeling good to be like? and What do I want my future to look like? Once you get clear on the feelings and circumstances you want to move away from—and what you want to move toward—you can start brainstorming small actionable steps you can take to get closer to your goals.
When life gets stressful, activities that bring us comfort are often the first to get cut out of our schedules. But it's important to prioritize them—especially during times of high stress or mental health challenges. Lynn-Logue suggests taking time each day to do one thing that you enjoy: 'Engaging in something you love, even briefly, can help boost your mood or bring you back to a state of balance,' he explains.
If you're dealing with symptoms of depression, you might not have the motivation to do activities that bring you joy. Or you might find that they just leave you feeling meh. If you're able, try to engage in one of your favorite things anyway—even if it's for a really short amount of time. 'Even though you may not want to do them, these activities are oftentimes the very things that can help you get out of your head and into the present moment,' says Bullen.
Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to start meditating for two hours every morning. Mindfulness can take a lot of different forms, and it's ultimately about bringing your awareness to the present moment, which can be hugely helpful if you find yourself ruminating on the past or worrying about the future. Both White and Bullen recommend bringing your attention back to your five senses throughout the day as a way to bring yourself back to the present.
Another option is the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise, which Lynn-Logue often uses with his clients. It involves pausing in a moment of stress or anxiety to name five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
It can be tempting to isolate yourself when you're struggling, but social connections are important for our mental health. That's because our nervous systems are wired for connection, White explains. Start with what Hamdani calls micro-social interactions—like saying good morning to your neighbor or texting a friend something funny that made you think of them. These small actions will add up over time and make you feel more connected.
Another way to feel a bit more connected is by becoming a regular somewhere, says White. Maybe you start going to the same coffee shop every Sunday morning or taking the same Tuesday evening workout class. By putting yourself in a familiar place regularly, you'll start to feel connected to the people who are also typically there. 'Even if you don't become friends with everyone, the familiarity will help your nervous system feel connected to others,' she says.
It's natural to want to feel better ASAP. But putting pressure on yourself to fix your mental health overnight will only make you feel worse. Instead, it's better to go easy on yourself and practice what the experts call self-compassion, says Lynn-Logue. Rather than beating yourself up for not being where you want to be or not doing something perfectly, be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace.
Self-compassion is especially important in our current political climate, where it can feel hard to function with the constant onslaught of upsetting news. 'We are being tasked with surviving in a world, within systems, and under circumstances that feel impossible to overcome. That is by design. If you're finding that you're doing everything you can and it somehow still doesn't feel like enough, it is okay to give yourself permission to shift blame to the environment and the conditions that you're being forced to endure,' Jackson says.
This article is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health professional with any specific questions related to your mental health.
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