these are things that will help with mental illness that aren’t ‘go outside, drink water, and everything will be fine!!!1!!!11!1!11!’ those are good fs but they don’t work on their own. these will actually help in one way or another :)
hell yeah let’s go
open your windows. the fresh air and sunlight will do you good and it takes like 5 seconds.
go buy some plants, there are like a gazillion that are next to impossible to kill. and don’t come at me with 'ohhh I’ll probably find a way hahaha" NO. the plants will be so helpful! they produce oxygen, bring nature indoors which psychologically improves your mental state, and they’re just nice to look at! you can name them! sculpt and/or paint little pots for them!
STOP LISTENING TO SAD MUSIC. I cannot stress this enough. it just makes things worse. please stop. make a playlist of all your favorite stupid, happy, pump-up songs and listen to them all the time until they get annoying. then repeat!
acquire a gazillion stuffed animals. so much serotonin for such a small price
get a water bottle and put fun stickers on it, and designate that water bottle to be only for water. nothing else goes in it. that way you can drink out of it for kind of a long time before needing to wash it. keep it filled with water and actually drink out of it. drink as much water as you can, all the time.
chew gum! idk why but it works bro. especially watermelon.
hug people and ask people to hug you. hugs are so amazing it’s like pure happiness but with the added perk of Deep Pressure. it can be from your friends, family, s/o, whoever.
make sure there’s a lot of light in your room. not good to wallow in darkness. put up fairy lights, get fun lamps, light candles, keep your blinds open, etc.
dress like how you want to feel. be colorful, fun, and comfortable. don’t wear hoodies, sweatpants and ratty old shoes, I know it’s appealing but it’s just going to keep you in that depressed state. I like to wear dresses, colorful jeans, graphic tees from 5-Below, combat boots, and lots of funky earrings. (seriously 5-Below is a lifesaver for literally anything!!!) you can get a lot of these things for super cheap - I got a 20 pack of fun earrings like duckies, mushrooms, mini water bottles, etc. for like $11, and a lot of my colorful jeans are like 6 bucks at the thrift store. whatever your style is or whatever you want it to be, work to make that happen. because getting dressed is one of the simplest things you’ll do in a day, so why not make the most of it?
doodle. it’s fun and simple, and it’ll give your hands something to do other than pick at your skin if you do that kind of stuff (see below).
on a similar note, make art!!!!! it doesn’t have to be good!!!!!! just make art all the time, as often as you can. write crappy fanfiction. make friendship bracelets. sculpt a funky lil cat. draw your comfort characters. art is so healing and it will do wonders for you. even just like run your hands through a giant bag of beads like I do :P
get fidgets and bring them everywhere with you. this is more of an anxiety/stimming thing for me but I pick at my fingers, lips, pimples, eyebrows, etc., and it hurts a lot and will probably leave scars. fidgets are just amazing. I’m partial to tangles and infinity cubes :) gum and chewelry are good for this as well (for when I bite my fingers/clothes or chew the skin off my lips)
if you find yourself with a whole day with nothing to do and you don’t have the energy to get up and do anything, go to the park. bring a blanket, some snacks, and headphones, and just lay there and listen to music. sleep. watch youtube. literally anything you would normally do when you don’t have energy, except it’s outside in the sun and grass and nature around other people who are doing the same thing! 10/10
get a pet if you can. even just fish, but really a fluffy, snuggly animal is probably best such as a dog or cat. OH MY GOD THEY HELP SO MUCH. ANIMALS ARE MAGIC. I don’t think I’ve ever been sad while holding or petting my grandma’s dog. (our family doesn’t have one right now lol)
spray perfume/body spray on you. faster and easier than deodorant and it usually smells better
if you’re gonna scroll, scroll pinterest. honestly, it’s probably best to get rid of things like tiktok and snapchat, but that’s kinda unrealistic for most people so I get it <3 pinterest is probably gonna be better than other social media cause it’s more creative?? if you know what I mean?? and usually it’s reading things and not mindlessly watching videos
if you don’t have the energy to do stuff with your hair, put it up in a bun! fast simple and easy. takes like 5 seconds, even for someone with super thick curly hair like me. (or cut it short! but most of us aren’t brave enough to do that lol)
eat fruit. sweet and comforting, but healthy!!! so much better for you than junk food, and honestly it tastes better most of the time too. I recommend strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, watermelon, and cantaloupe. easy to take with you on the go and sooooo good <3333
play calming video games such as animal crossing, minecraft, stardew valley, cats with soup (if you’re into mobile games), etc. puzzle games are good too! if you want something more combat-y, I would recommend the zelda games or forager. still chill and mellow but has more combat and story/lore
garden if you can. I know this kind of ties in with having plants in your room, but if you’re able and you have the energy, keep a flower and/or vegetable garden. there’s something so beautiful in putting your hands in the warm dirt, smelling your freshly-planted flowers, eating sun-infused vegetables that taste infinitely better than store-bought. it’s so nice, but I know it’s not for everyone so don’t worry about it if you don’t get around to it <3
sleep in the bus/car on the way to school if you’re tired. not a perfect solution but better than falling asleep in class
inhale through your nose, not your mouth. it’s better for your lungs and you’ll get better air quality that way. it also helps calm you better than mouth breathing, and you can’t exactly smell the fresh air through your mouth :P
read. sit down and read a book. carry one with you wherever you go. spend a weekend day in the library with a huge stack of books just reading. it’s so calming and helps stimulate your brain. doesn’t matter what you read as long as it’s making you happy :)
surround yourself with color, not dark drab colors. hang up art and posters on your walls, get bright blankets and pillows, lay out a tiny lil carpet, make bead curtains and string them up on your curtain rod, set out little figurines/sculptures around your room. put color and life everywhere around you, and that will start to seep into your soul.
tea is always good. or if you don’t like tea, hot water with lemon juice and honey. basically the same :)
if you ever just don’t want to do something, like you just absolutely don’t want to get up and do _ thing, think about future you. would they be like “bro thanks so much you really helped me out there” if you did the thing? if yes, then do it, no matter how impossible it seems. you’ll thank yourself later.
a statement that is near and dear to my heart: if you feel like everyone hates you, sleep. if you feel like you hate everyone, eat. if you feel like you hate yourself, shower.
NO MORE SU!C!DE JOKES. ever. the end! replace “i’m literally gonna kms” jokes or anything along those lines with “i’m literally gonna flop to the floor” or “i’m literally gonna go ham bananas on this place” or whatever wild bullshit pops into your brain.
watch studio ghibli movies. the most amazing things to ever exist. I have never felt sad while watching a ghibli movie. they are basically the definition of peace.
take a bubble bath!!!!!!!! :D
making your bed helps for some reason??? why, I have no idea. but it does bro
get excited about things. smile when you hear your favorite song. hug your amazon package when it comes in. count down the days until a holiday. laugh with joy when you have an amazing day. it makes things so much better.
that’s all for now, lmk if you have anything else to add!!! love you guys, I promise it gets better <3
“Thought of you today,” he pushed a CD wrapped in plastic across the table, “You like this one, right?”
I set my fork down, picking up the CD with a gasp.
“I’ve been looking for this forever!” I flipped the CD over in my hands, reading over the details. “How did you find this?”
“Just saw it while I was out,” he lied, resting his chin on his palm. He was glowing as he watched me rip through the shrink wrap.
“I have to play this right now,” I stood, rushing over to the living room.
“You could wait until after dinner,” he laughed, but followed me.
I sat cross-legged in front of the CD player, cracking open the case and inserting the disc. He knelt behind me, tracing over my shoulder blades as I clicked play.
The first track filled the room, and I threw my head back against his chest.
“God, it’s so good,” I laughed, hearing the song with new ears. Everything sounded different on his speakers, which probably cost more than my rent.
“Is this your favourite track from the album?” he asked, brushing my hair over one shoulder. He peppered kisses over the curve of my neck, sighing.
“No, not this one,” I rapidly clicked the skip button, finding my favourite song, “Here, this.”
He was silent as he listened carefully, arms wrapping slowly around my waist.
“I cried to this song endlessly in high school,” I told him with a chuckle, and he squeezed me tightly at my admission. He always did that when I mentioned something sad, as if to squish the feeling out of me. It usually worked.
“I‘ve heard this before,” he whispered, keeping his voice below the volume of the song. “It sounds different now.”
“If only I knew then that I’d meet you,” I smiled, face rushing with heat at my honesty, “I don’t think I would have cried over my idiotic exes.”
He kissed down my cheek, and my skin buzzed when his lips drew away. I reached out, skipping the song to hear the next one.
He giggled, swaying behind me, “You always skip the good parts.”
“I’m just too excited, I wish I could play all the songs at once.” I watched the seconds tick away on the CD player.
“That’s… Well, that’s not the way I like to listen to an album.” He folded the bottom edge of my t-shirt between his fingers.
“Well, yeah,” I laid my palms against his busy hands, “It’s more about the feeling. It would be so overwhelming, but you could pick out a few lines. And imagine the silence when you turned it off.”
He nudged at my temple with his nose, “Wish I could look in here,” he muttered against my skin, kissing where my cheekbone met my ear, “See all these ideas of yours.”
“I’m happy to share,” I grinned, turning to look at him. His molasses eyes darted across my face as he reached a hand up, dragging his thumb down my nose. “Did I say thank you yet?”
His face cracked open with a smile, shaking his head slowly.
“Thank you,” I was warm from his breath on my skin.
“Anything for you, angel,” He pressed his burning mouth to mine, honey and smoke on his lips, “Anything to keep you around.”
