NancyLostinLife

Mental illness affects me every day as any chronic illness will. This can be hard to accept but over the years I’ve come to the realisation that instead of aiming to “cure” my mental illness I needed to manage it. This is why I try to say “I live with mental illness” instead of suffering from or having. It puts a little space between me and my illnesses. Instead, they are unwanted companions I’m learning to live with. Sometimes they sit quietly in the corner of the room and other times they scream, jump and cause havoc. I’ve spent time experimenting with the best ways to keep these companions in their corner quietly and I’d like to share some of my most important habits, tips and tricks.

1. Taking My Sleep Seriously

As a former insomniac, I am very protective of my sleep especially as I used to be the type of person that would sleep maybe 5 hours a night and sometimes I didn’t sleep at all. My record is just about 48 hours. My main problem was getting to sleep as I was often kept awake by racing thoughts, once I was asleep and if there was nothing planned for the next day I could sleep for 9+ hours. 

After trying every remedy, recommendation and non-sleeping-pill medication I was prescribed I was put on Mitazipine which although not a “sleeping pill” has changed my life. I now fall asleep with minimal trouble. However, besides medication, there are some things I consider fundamental to getting a good sleep which is a big contributor to my mood.

When it’s time for bed I put on a Podcast to distract my mind from racing but I ensure it’s a Podcast I’ve listened to to avoid becoming engrossed. It’s my version of white noise. I put on an eye mask which I use as a signal to my brain that it’s bedtime and I keep the room cold. Some research suggests that sleeping in a cold room can improve the quality of your sleep.

2. Limiting Doomscrolling

I have a habit of wadding into the most negative parts of the internet. I like to be informed and I feel strongly on a lot of social issues but that does mean all my feeds are filled with the most infuriating articles, videos and posts. In the past, I was very much affected by the amount of time I spent enveloped in the world’s pain and it took a while for me to realise that the benefits of staying informed did not outweigh the toll it took on my mental health. So I’ve set limits on my social media apps through the screen time settings on my phone and any features I can disable like my Google Chrome app suggesting news articles I disable. I also deleted any news apps from my phone during the pandemic due to the effect having them on hand had on my mental health. 

I still argue with myself about my choice to limit my news intake. I understand I’m in a privileged position to choose to ignore some news but I also know that being bombarded with 24-hour news from across the globe is not something the human mind evolved to handle and that me getting depressed by absorbing all this information won’t help anyone. I am aware of the big stories and try to do my part in supporting those affected by the worst humanity has to offer but at the same time I know my mental health can quickly nose dive into a life-threatening situation if I don’t limit my exposure to the horrors of the world.

3. Building Routines and Habits 

I enjoy having some routine in my life. I find that life can feel empty without some purpose during the day especially when you’re unemployed like I am right now. Building a routine has been essential to staying productive and motivated whilst job searching. I like waking up early and getting things out of the way as soon as possible. Then I like relaxing in the later part of the day or working on things I enjoy. Building a routine that works for you can be a powerful tool although try not to be too strict as this can cause unnecessary stress. 

Along with my routines, I like to fit in small accomplishments during the day which I track using a habit tracker app. The sense of accomplishment I get from completing a task and seeing on my habit tracker app how long I’ve kept a habit going is a nice dose of dopamine. Knowing I’ve improved myself in some way helps build confidence and positivity.

4. Taking Medication

Medication can be a touchy subject fuelled by bad anecdotes, misinformation and fear. When I was first considering going on Medication I got a lot of opposition. I was told that I would be a “zombie”, and that I’d become addicted and I feared that it would affect my ability to perform on stage as a young drama student. I finally spoke to someone who had been taking antidepressants who assured me that medication had been a positive thing for them and considering how bad I was feeling at the time I decided to try them. 

Medication isn’t an easy road to take and it hasn’t been all positive. I’ve changed medications and tweaked dosages multiple times. I’ve also dealt with side effects and a medical system that still treats women as hysterical when they complain of an ailment. However, I currently take two antidepressants, one of which helps me sleep and has changed my life in that area. I see medication as “taking the end off” or a Life Ring. They are a small part of keeping me alive as I try and navigate the large dark ocean that is mental illness.

5. Writing 

As you may be able to tell from the sleep portion of this list, I have issues with rumination. My thoughts are fast, continuous and obsessive. I catastrophise and overanalyse till I’m so far down a depression pit that I don’t know which way is up or down. I find that writing down my thoughts gets them out of my head. As if they travel from my head and snake down my arm onto the page. 

I’ve kept a journal for quite a few years now and love knowing that my thoughts are down on paper in these black notebooks ready to be viewed again. I like that I get to put a small part of my mind away on the top of my bookshelves with those black notebooks and my head feels a little less crowded.

I recently began writing for 15 minutes a day in any medium. This could mean blog writing, journaling, fiction or non-fiction. I just have to do some writing for 15 minutes which I have been doing for over 100 days now. The sense of accomplishment from creating something is profound and energising. Along with the accomplishment of keeping up a habit. 

Overall, living with poor mental health or mental illness is a balancing game. You are constantly adding new weights to each side of your scales to keep them level with each other so they don’t tip over and come crashing down around you. It’s delicate, continuous and takes a lot of experimenting. 

The things I do for my mental health have only been found due to trial and error but also remember that not everything will work for everyone. You may try things that some people swear by for their well-being that don’t work for you. That’s okay but you must be persistent and observant. Evaluate your life, what you love and how things make you feel. Sometimes you’ll find the key to better mental health is the most unlikely of places. Feel free to take inspiration from my list and share any of your mental health must-do’s but also remember to always find what works for you.