Mental Health Tool Box

Every one should have one of these regardless of a mental health diagnosis or not. The idea behind a mental health tool box is assembling various items or techniques that help lower stress, anger, anxiety and promote mental health. The items in this tool box can physical, mental, stress reduction hobbies or anything else that you find helps you.

Each persons tool box box will be different as it pertains strictly to their needs. I would like to share mine with you so as to give you an idea as to what this tool box can entail.

1.Education. I am huge on mental health education because I feel that by learning about ones illness one can gain better insight into how it manifests and impacts ones life. This knowledge can lead to a better understanding that be extremely helpful in treatment.

Read up on your illness and mental health in general. There are plenty of great books and articles out there that not only give you a better insight but also give you tips on dealing with daily stress and minimizing stress and symptoms.

2.Treatment team/support system. I am combing both these because not everyone has both. While your treatment team can be extremely valuable in helping you maintain stability the same can be said for a healthy support team. Listen to advice of both and don't be afraid to rely on them for support and guidance.

Be active in your treatment, don't just let your Dr prescribe medications and leave it at that. Discuss your treatment goals and actively participate in your treatment. My Dr is real big in placing treatment in the hands of the patient, even medication choices are left up to me. As he says the patient is the one that lives with the illness and has to live with the treatment so they should have a say in how they are treated.

3. Support Groups. Support groups are great way to gain education, gain better insight and receive advice on how to cope with living with a mental illness. The fact that support groups are comprised of others who understand what you are going through gives you a safe place to voice worries and discuss your symptoms and their impact in a more honest fashion.

4.Meditation. I find that mediating is a great way to reduce stress and recharge my brain. If my brain is noisy I will try to retreat somewhere quiet and meditate to help relieve that noise.

5.Hobbies. The great thing about hobbies is it something that one enjoys. This gives one a reprieve from the actual obligations of daily life and allows a leisurely pursuit of something that we have a passion for.

6.Journaling/work books. These are a great way to work through stress, anxiety, depression, anger and just about any negative emotion, feeling or mood. Journaling gives us a nonjudgmental outlet for the inner workings of our minds while workbooks can help teach coping skills.

I myself will be adding workbooks to my treatment plan. I usually suffer from some level of anxiety and plan on exploring workbooks as way to better cope rather than adding more medication at this point.

7.Diet and exercise. I attempt to keep my physical health on the same level of importance as my mental health. I eat healthy in an attempt to help combat the massive weight gain that is often associated with antipsychotic medications. Also a well balanced diet leads to better energy which is needed to fully engage the day. Exercise is two fold for me I not only use it as method to maintain weight but also to help reduce stress.

The great thing about exercising is you don't really need to spend a lot of money on equipment. A simple walk can count as exercise and give you the same stress reduction results.

8.Self management and coping skills. These are the little things we do do every day that keep us moving and living life. These skills usually do not come naturally so take the time to cultivate them and utilize them before giving up on it.

9.A quiet space. Sometimes we just need a safe place to retreat to. This place doesn't need to be inside, it can be a local park or even the woods. The key here is some place that makes you feel at peace that you can retreat to in order to get your thoughts out of a rut or to quiet them.

10. Comfortable living space. I am really big on living space being kept free of both physical and mental clutter. Try to leave work at work and not bring it home with you. This includes the stress of work. Before entering your house meditate for a few moments to shed the negativity of the outside world.

Also make sure that all decor and furnishings are comforting to you. If you live with other people compromise and each person have their own individual space that is theirs.

Those are my items that are in my mental health tool box. What are in yours?