In most people’s lives, there will come a time when one has to make a large, life-altering change in order to improve their mental health. But sometimes, even small, manageable changes can have a meaningful impact. So when Reddit user e-glitteringprinces posted, “What massively improved your mental health?” people chimed in with a wide range of ideas.
Here are 21 small changes that could have an outsized, positive impact on your life:
1.“Choosing your battles. Sometimes, it’s okay NOT TO REPLY to that comment. Sometimes, it’s okay to end the conversation. Sometimes, it’s okay to disengage and leave.”
2.“Make sure you’re eating enough. I heard that ‘if you feel like everyone hates you, you need to sleep. If you feel like you hate everyone, you need to eat.’ Words to live by.”
“And if you feel like you hate yourself, shower.”
3.“I started painting. I have zero training, zero skill, and zero talent. Yet when I’m making an abstract painting, time collapses, and I’m in the zone. And it keeps me from doom scrolling so much.”
4.“Vitamin D is sort of a miracle vitamin. It’s good for your gut, good for your brain, good for your heart, good for depression.”
5.“Think about how little you think about or worry about other people then realize that’s how little people worry about you. You can do your own weird stuff, and at the end of the day, if it makes you happy, that’s all that matters.”
“You mean…I’m not the main character!?”
6.“I got a dog. I wouldn’t still be here if I hadn’t had her around on my worst days.”
7.And similarly, “My cats make any crappy day feel so much better. My youngest will bring me his favorite toys, then insist on snuggling with me (my other cats will also snuggle, and I’ll be underneath a pile of cats).”
“I unexpectedly adopted a cat that needed to be rehomed. I never had a cat before. Then, 3 weeks later, she had 3 surprise kittens.
This was just before Covid hit, and I’m an ICU nurse, so that was a pretty rough and isolating time. I have one grown son who lives close by, and he was the only human outside of work I consistently interacted with in person. But those four little creatures saved me. I got out of bed for them. I stayed out of bed for them!
They still give me joy every single day.”
8.“Building myself a 6-month emergency fund buffer. It’s a constant relief.”
9.“I actively try to enjoy myself on my days off work. I try to engage myself in the games I play and the movies/TV shows I watch. I think about them, smile, laugh, and have a good time. In general, I just try to push people’s negative crap out of my headspace in my ‘me time’ and be happy. Helps me calm down and refresh.”
10.“I changed my drinking habits so that I only drink when I go out with friends.”
11.“I stopped reading the comment sections of news articles.”
12.“Working out. Not even for the physical health benefits. It’s a nice reprieve for a portion of the day to focus on something other than what’s happening in my life. Instead, I can focus on my breathing and movement.”
13.“I didn’t realize my sh*tty sleep was coming from me never making my bed…it sucks to sleep in an unmade bed, and now I can’t sleep until it’s made!”
“Making your bed is a big one IMO.”
14.“I started taking walks every day.”
“Stupid walks in stupid nature in the stupid sunshine.”
15.“I stopped maintaining bad acquaintances.”
16.“I’ve come to accept that the only thing in my hands is my efforts. The result can be whatever and whichever and that’s okay. I swear, my life has been so peaceful after practicing this belief for about 2 years.”
17.“Turn off work email notifications on your phone.”
“My phone automatically switches to Do Not Disturb at 6 pm. I favorited family members so they can always get through.”
18.“I started confronting people instead of keeping quiet.”
19.“I build Legos.”
20.“I replaced time scrolling social media with reading books.”
21.And lastly, “Learning to say no, even to people I care about.”
There you have it: 21 changes that could have a really positive impact on one’s life. What do you think? Do you agree with these? Are there any others that were missing from this list?
Let us know in the comments!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
