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The best way to work on your mental well-being and built resilience is by making it a daily practice. Don’t worry, that doesn’t need to be very time consuming or difficult. By taking a moment to check in with yourself and the things you’re doing you can already make a difference.
To help you out, ur psychologist Marina Pacini shares her personal tips, routines and advices on mindset to built mental resilience.
What are the daily practices you do for better mental well-being?
“Apart from taking good care of my body by sleeping, exercising and eating well, I organize my days very well to avoid overwhelm and stress. In my daily organization I always include a couple of ‘free’ hours that I can spend either calling relatives, watching Netflix, reading a book or listening to music/podcasts.”
What do you do when you feel down?
“When I feel down I always turn to my relatives. My husband, mother, sibligns or friends are my way out of any bad days.”
How do you practice mindfulness in your daily life?
“My most mindful moment of the day is the moment I enjoy my first cup if coffee. I wake up, wash my face and go to the kitchen to make myself a good cup of coffee. During that time I check in with myself and don’t look at my phone, tv, laptop or anything else. It’s just me, my coffee and I.”
What is a quote you live by?
“You can’t control your feelings and thoughts, but you can control what to do with them.”
Why is that so important for you?
“When it comes to mental well-being, I often encounter a misconception that we can control our thoughts and feelings. That’s not true. Instead, we can identify the feelings and thoughts we’re having and control what we want to do next. Let’s say you’re feeling angry. You can’t avoid that feeling, but you can decide to try and calm down, distract yourself from it, and talk to someone.”
What would you recommend someone to cope with their thoughts?
“Thoughts can sometimes be challenging to deal with. The first step to cope with thoughts is to recognize them. Then you can try different things. For instance, you can share the thought with someone. Also, you can try to identify the cause of it, give arguments that are pro and against the thought and substitute it for positive affirmations. Don’t want to talk about it? Try doing a mindfulness session or do a meditation.”
What’s the biggest lessons life thaught you so far?
“The importance of making your own decisions. We will all make bad decisions, but as long as they are ours, we’re good.”
What are your recommendations (books, podcasts, docus) on mental well-being and personal growth?
“I’ve got too many recommendations! For now I can share the latest podcast and book that I’ve been in to. “Speaking of psychology” is the podcast series of the American Psychological Association. It’s always based on research and in the show they talk about daily life struggles through the lenses of psychology.
As for the book recommendation, “Reasons to stay alive” by Matt Haig is the beautiful narrative of how the author experienced his depression at age 24.”
What would you recommend someone who finds it challenging to open up about his feelings?
“Paradoxically, I would recommend to not force themselves. People have different timings regarding when do they want to open up about their feelings. It’s important to respect that time and be patient.”
If you could give readers one tip concerning mental well-being, what would it be?
“Never underestimate the power of professional help. Even when you’re feeling just fine.”
👉 This could also be interesting: Small Steps to Start Caring for Your Mental Well-Being Today
