Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? I personally think it should be a year-long campaign, given the epidemic levels of stress, burnout, depression, and anxiety in our current world. Global Pandemic aside, people have been under increasing stress for years. 73% of adults in the United States report stress levels that have a negative impact on their mental health. Whether you struggle with anxiety and depression or find yourself occasionally feeling stressed out, there could be some sneaky things that are negatively impacting your mental health. 

You’ve heard the old adage, “You are what you eat.” But it goes beyond what you physically consume– it applies to your mental consumption, too. When you consume too much negative media, it can alter your outlook on the world and life. Many of us witnessed this firsthand in 2020; between the pandemic, BLM protests, a major presidential election, and climate crisis, it seemed like there was no good news to be found anywhere. And with nothing to do and nowhere to go, many turned to our smartphones for entertainment. Doomscrolling, or the act of continually checking news updates even though they are sad or disheartening, became a major source of stress and negativity for millions. Media needs to have viewership, and viewership often, sadly, comes from shocking headlines meant to grab our attention. Over time, these can drastically shift our baseline of “normal” for how we view the world.

Doomscrolling has been linked in several studies to worsening mental health issues, particularly in individuals who already have anxiety or depression. That’s not to say it’s better to bury your head in the sand. Staying informed on current events is important to being a well-educated and active citizen. But if you find yourself struggling to find the positive in the world, or become aware that you are watching or reading more news than is necessary to stay informed, consider taking a break and reconnecting to the things in life that are important to you– family, nature, creative hobbies, or volunteerism. Forest-bathing, or spending intentional time experiencing nature, has been shown to reduce stress levels and increase mental health in regular practitioners. Keeping a gratitude journal can also help to combat the negativity bias that can be difficult to overcome. It allows you to find positive things to be thankful for in your own daily life, which rewires the brain to focus less on negative issues.

Here’s a simple litmus test: Will the information inform you to take action or change in some way? If so, great. Inform yourself and act. If not, consider if the media is serving a purpose.

Another way you could be negatively affecting your mental health is by repeatedly violating your own core values. Take a moment to name three things you hold to be your most fundamental values. They could be family, or independence, or something else entirely. Let’s say you chose family as one of your core values. Now, imagine you live and work in such a way that your values are repeatedly undermined or neglected. Your work life often takes precedence over family time, you miss your children’s sports games, are rarely home for family gatherings, and are often on the road. Eventually, that repeated undermining of your most core value begins to erode at your mental health, causing guilt, shame, stress, anxiety, and eventual burnout. 

It’s easy to see the correlation in this example, but it can be more challenging to identify in your own life, especially if you have never determined what your values are. For myself, creative expression is one of my core values. If I don’t have time to pursue my creativity and fuel that part of my spirit, I find myself much more agitated and feeling depressed. Determining your values can take some time, but is easier if you keep the following questions in mind:

• When I feel myself become upset or agitated over a situation, what is causing me to feel that way? 

• Who are 5 people you admire greatly, and why? 

• Is there a theme to the values I find important? Can they be described by a more fundamental value?

• Is this a value by which I try to live my life? 

Once you identify your most fundamental values, pay attention to how they show up in your life. Are they being honored, or are they repeatedly being violated by your actions or other people in your life. If you answer yes to the latter question, you may want to work on creating and voicing boundaries around your values. Let’s go back to our earlier example– instead of repeatedly staying at work late and missing family dinners, the person could speak up about the importance of family time, and work to create a better balance between work and family that leaves them feeling supported, ultimately improving their ongoing mental health. 

Social Media Comparison:

Do you believe that everyone around you is living a happier life? When you look at your social media, do you find yourself comparing your life and experiences to those of friends’, family members’, and others’ profiles? Social media has become one of the most complicated aspects of modern life. Originally created to bring people together, it has become divisive and isolating. People only share the best highlights of their lives on social media; photos of gatherings, exciting trips, important moments in life. Seeing only the highlight reel of our loved ones’ lives, it can feel like they are doing much more interesting things. Repetitive exposure to this can lead to lower self-esteem and a greater sense of isolation. 

Limiting your social media use can help counter the negative effects of comparison on your mental health. If you follow lots of celebrities, influencers, or other public figures, unfollowing them to reduce the tendency to over-glamorize their lives can help to prevent comparison. Remind yourself frequently when using social media that you are not seeing the full picture of someone’s life– only a small fraction. 

Not resting can have a great negative impact on your mental health. Your body and brain need unstructured time to chill the *** out. If you are always on the move, working long hours, running kids around, and filling your free time with social obligations, your nervous system is maxed out. Continuous operation with a heightened nervous system can result in anxiety, panic attacks, burnout, and exhaustion. It’s okay to recognize that everyone– EVERY ONE– needs time to chill. And I don’t mean watching Netflix while also answering emails, texting friends, and doing the laundry. I mean absolute rest. Get cozy, read a book, do some gentle yoga, take a bath, book a massage, whatever you need to truly take a pause and allow your nervous system to enter a more regulated state. Don’t let the to-do list or the “shoulds” occupy any of your mental space. They will be there later. 

Finally, your mental health could actually be impacted by your physical health without you realizing it. Are you making time for regular exercise? Are you eating healthy, home-prepared meals? Or do you sit at your desk all day and pick up fast food on the way home?  As much as western medicine likes to separate physical and mental health into two distinct categories, they really are deeply entwined. Your brain is part of your physical body, after all. So while your thoughts may not be directly impacted by your diet, your overall mental health is supported by your physical wellbeing. Exercise is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall health, and it has been shown to dramatically reduce stress levels. Individuals who exercise regularly report feeling good about themselves and being in a better mood than when they do not exercise. If you are feeling stuck or sad, try taking a walk, and then notice how you feel afterwards. 

None of the above points are a cure for depression, anxiety, or any other mental conditions. But by taking steps to reduce the things that can be controlled in your life to minimize stress, you can see gradual improvements. If you are struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts, or are worried about harming yourself or others, please reach out to a professional, hotline, or crisis intervention resource.

Mental Health is Health– and everyday, we should take steps to ensure we are living our healthiest life. Just like you stretch, sleep well, eat healthy, and avoid catching colds, steps can be taken daily to improve your mental health and support your wellbeing. While May is Mental Health Awareness Month, you can make it a priority each and every day to live a more balanced life, one small action at a time.