How can mental health advice change your life?

Sometimes I hear the same pieces of advice throughout my life and it takes me a while before I decide to finally try it out. For me, when it clicked, it changed my whole life. Of course it was never some sudden realization. It took me time to learn it on my own which is probably what I needed and likely why I did not follow the advice the first times I had heard it. I also did not here these pieces of advice from any specific person or moment in time, but rather those kind of things that come up often enough that I know I've heard it before and it's nothing new. Below are the best pieces of mental health advice I've ever received.

Get Closer to Nature

When I spend time in nature I am much happier, relaxed, and feel better about myself. For example, today is the day after Halloween and I usually walk my son, A, to preschool but I decided to let him sleep in and decided we'd drive. While I had debated with myself over whether I should still do my morning run or if I could find a good enough excuse to justify skipping it, I decided I still would. I also walked to pick A up from school later. The time I spent outside was refreshing because the air was cool in the morning, the fall colors were beautiful, the leaves were all over the trail, and the river was calming. Made me feel so happy with myself that I did not just come back home and stay inside all morning. Later, when I picked him up from school, the temperature was perfect and A had so much fun running most of the way home. My mood is significantly better on days when I'm outside enjoying nature.

Establish Boundaries in Relationships

I have found that I am far less stressed since I've learned to set some boundaries. I've always been a people-pleaser so boundaries have never really been a thing for me. Now, I say "no" if I don't want to do something or know it will put a lot of stress on me. It's still definitely not easy but it reminds me that I have importance too and the purpose of my life isn't to sacrifice my well-being for everyone else. Sometimes that makes people mad and that is something that I've learned to accept.

Focus on Self-Acceptance

They always say that we are our harshest critic and I have found that to be very true. It's taken a lot of work but I am finally learning to love myself and like who I am. I'm happier and more willing to be myself when I am more concerned about whether I am being who I am rather than who I think people would want me to be. I'm not perfect by any means but I also like that about myself. I am very awkward and I find it funny rather than horrifying. Take a horrible picture of me? Couldn't care less. That's what I look like and I figure if anything I can set an example that we can be happy with who we realistically are rather than our ideal image of ourselves.

What is the best piece of mental health advice that you've ever received?

• Get closer to nature
• Establish boundaries in relationships
• Focus on self-acceptance
• Other

You can vote for more than one answer.