Photo by Lala Azizli on Unsplash

There are two approaches to mental health that many individuals may not be aware of.

The first approach is based on the idea that a person either has depression or doesn’t, and that if they are diagnosed with depression or anxiety, it is a permanent trait that they must learn to live with.

The second way to look at mental health symptoms is to put them on a scale, with severe symptoms having a big effect on daily life and minor or nonexistent symptoms not having any effect.

It is noted that by addressing depression and anxiety problems, they can be resolved.

It is believed that individuals have a significant impact on their own mental health and can make changes in their lives to improve it.

Some methods for improving mental health include:

• Daily aerobic exercise, which can help reduce sadness and anxiety symptoms in more than 75% of individuals,
• Eating a more nutritious diet may reduce the risk of depression by up to 35%.
• Changing thinking patterns through methods such as therapy, which may benefit 60 to 80% of individuals,
• Addressing insomnia, as research suggests that curing insomnia can lead to the disappearance of depressive symptoms in 87% of individuals with depression.
• Using therapy lights or practicing meditation to relieve depression and anxiety may be more beneficial than medicine.

However, these adjustments can be difficult to make.

It is noted that when individuals are motivated to improve their lives, they may try to make significant changes, such as planning to run a marathon or starting a new diet.

Willpower can help you keep these changes going for a short time, but it’s not a long-term solution.

As the changes people want to make get bigger, they may become more difficult and tiring, which can make people give up on them.

As a result, making significant changes to improve mental health rarely works and may lead to feelings of discouragement. It is known that giving people a lot of choices about how to improve their mental health can be overwhelming.

Small changes are better than big changes.

Photo by Christine on Unsplash

In this video, it is suggested that small, incremental changes, known as “atomic habits,” can be implemented to improve mental health. These small changes, when done consistently, can have a cumulative impact and become habitual.

The author uses the example of the British cycling team, which went from being a bad team to winning many gold medals and the Tour de France by making small changes like painting the inside of their vans and making their uniforms better.

The author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, asserts that a 1% improvement every day can lead to a 37-fold improvement by the end of the year.

However, it is noted that most individuals fail to make changes because they attempt to make significant improvements, which require a lot of energy and may not be sustainable.

It is advised that individuals seeking to improve their mental health should focus on small habits that make their lives easier in the long term rather than trying to make significant changes all at once.

In this video, it is said that people can improve their mental health by making small changes, or "atomic habits." These small changes, when done consistently, can have a cumulative impact and become habitual.

To make the most of atomic habits, it is recommended to follow these three principles:

1. Pick the low-hanging fruit: Start with the simplest and easiest change first, as this can provide motivation and energy to make other changes in the future. For example, if you enjoy exercising, make that your first change. If you dislike exercise, consider starting with a change to your diet or using light therapy instead.
2. Create a system to make the new action easier over time: Develop a system to make the new habit easier to maintain, such as using a pill box to remember to take medication or placing the pill box on your breakfast table as a reminder to take it with breakfast every day.
3. Use a habit tracker and set a 30-day goal: Track your progress with a habit tracker and set a goal of making the small change for 30 days. Give yourself a checkmark for every day that you successfully make the change. The example of Jerry Seinfeld tracking his daily joke writing with a calendar and check marks is given as a method for tracking small changes.

By sticking to these three rules, people can use atomic habits to improve their mental health and well-being as a whole.

So that being said, here are the 19 Atomic Habits that can boost your mental health and take only a few minutes per day to be done:

Photo by Torbjørn Helgesen on Unsplash

1. Light therapy. Very efficient. A large body of studies indicates that it is just as effective as antidepressant medication. So you may get a light box and do 10 minutes of light therapy every day while doing your daily ritual. If you can’t do that, open your curtains in the morning or sit outside in the sun for 10 minutes every day.
2. Consider taking a multivitamin or a multimineral supplement.
3. Include fermented foods in your diet or take a probiotic supplement.
4. Do any kind of movement outside.
5. Include one vegetable in your meal. So, for example, buy pre-packaged vegetables and keep them at your desk every day.
6. Daily gratitude practice. You may construct a system out of this by enlisting the help of a friend, keeping a notebook, or using an app.
7. Express appreciation. Every day, tell your significant other or child something you admire about them. It will alter your opinion of them, and it may even encourage them to improve as well. You might also thank your supervisor, cashier, or wait staff every day.
8. Watch less news. Instead of watching the news, use that time to do good in the world.
9. Follow positive accounts like Good News or Upworthy. So, make your social media a positive place, and just unfollow any profiles that bring a lot of negativity into your life. Setting up your Instagram to follow more inspiring people probably only takes a few minutes every day.
10. Improve your sleep. This is another example of how a small alteration may have a big impact. This may seem impossible at first, but there are a lot of small things you can do that add up. You may try waking up at the same time every morning for a week. You could reduce your caffeine use. You could only sleep in your bed. You might also set your phone to Do Not Disturb mode at night. Little things like that can build up over time.
11. Mindfulness practice is extremely good for mental health but can be overwhelming at times. Simply practice slowing your breathing and noticing your breathing in your car. Or you just drive without listening to anything and let your mind wander for a while. You might also practice mindfulness in the bathroom. Right? So, instead of gazing at your phone while on the toilet, take a big breath and slow down. Right?
12. Limit your screen time or keep a book next to your bed instead of your phone at night to improve your mental health.
13. Try the brain dump activity. Every day, you could do a one-minute meditation. Just Google it. There are hundreds of one-minute meditations available.
14. Go for a walk or stretch during your breaks from work Instead of looking at your phone.
15. Set a daily target for how many steps you’ll take to inspire you to walk a little bit more each day.
16. Use a self-regulation approach at least once every day. Deep breathing, yawning, and tapping are examples of this. Again, these simply take a minute or two each day.
17. Spend more time in nature. Cortisol is naturally reduced by nature. Nature reduces the stress reaction. So, for those of us who live in cities or can’t get out in nature very often, you may make small changes like acquiring a plant for your home. You might place nature photographs on your computer, throughout your home, as a screen saver, or in the background of your TV. You might also simply follow wildlife photographers on social media.
18. Strengthen existing relationships. Connections are important predictors of happiness and health. So you may simply try to strengthen the ties you already have. These modest activities pile up over time. So you could send a text message. You may arrange a lunch date. You may call someone and ask how they’re doing. You may set a reminder to call someone you care about. So, those are a few ways you can simply strengthen your connections.
19. Set a small rule for yourself. And if you adopt these principles and act on them in small steps for a month, your mental health will improve. So one of them is, like, making a rule that I’m not allowed to call myself names. I’m not allowed to use phrases like “always” or “never.” So you replace black-and-white thinking with gray thinking. You catch yourself when you’re using catastrophizing language and replace it with a courageous remark or, like, a growth mentality. You substitute the term “failure” with “not yet,” as in, “Oh, I haven’t worked out how to do math yet” or “I haven’t figured out how to be a good listener yet.”

By implementing these 19 Atomic Habits, you can take control of your mental health and create lasting change in your life. Don’t let negative patterns hold you back any longer — start building these habits today and watch your mental well-being soar.

Disclaimer: This article is a summary of a YouTube video called “Atomic Habits for Mental Health” by Therapy in a Nutshell. Credit goes to the creator of the video for sharing this valuable information.

Do you have any Atomic Habits you would like to share? Leave a comment below. I would love to know your opinion!