Daily Mental Health Maintenance

Big changes start with small steps. Daily mental health check-ins are small, but essential steps for maintaining wellbeing and balance. Mental health check-ins are not mental health assessments or diagnostic tools, but rather a moment to collect your thoughts and ask yourself how you are doing; that includes mentally, physically and spiritually. Here is the what, why, when and how for daily mental health maintenance.  

What: Daily mental health check-ins are times throughout the day when you pause and are​ mindful of your feelings and emotions. This gives you an opportunity to asses and meet your needs. You might also take this time to cope or practice kindness to yourself.

Why: By providing daily maintenance, we are able to decrease emotional build-up or blockages,​ that might make us feel stuck, anxious or irritable. This will also increase self-awareness and mindfulness, both qualities that can help with stress management.  

When: First thing in the morning, and throughout the day. Another time is when you feel irritable​ or overwhelmed.

How: Take a deep cleansing breath in, and exhale mindfully and slowly, this will reset your brain to think more clearly. Then ask yourself a few questions.

• How am I feeling right now?
• Where do I feel the emotions in my body?
• What are my intentions for today?
• What do I need to let go of?
• What am I grateful for today?

Sometimes when we check-in we find that just meeting our basic needs such as sleep, food or water can make a big difference with our mood. Other times it is more complex, we might need to let go of anger or forgive ourselves for a past mistake.

The important aspect to remember is, the more awareness we have, the better at managing our emotions we will become. Practice self-respect by allowing yourself to check-in and check-in often to improve wellbeing!