There’s certainly no denying how easy it is to take our mental health for granted. I’m definitely guilty of this. For years, I have always assumed that my mental health was not really that important. I’ve always placed it on the back burner and kept thinking that I’ll just deal with it later.
I thought that as long as I was doing all my responsibilities and taking the steps needed to achieve my goals, then everything would just be okay. I honestly believed that productivity and working hard were the only things that mattered.
Until one day, I found myself burned out and completely drained, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. I felt so empty and unhappy. I didn’t realize that by prioritizing everything else over my mental health, I was also slowly pushing myself to the edge and draining the life and joy within me.
It took a breaking point for me to finally admit to myself just how crucial it is to take care of my mental health. I’ve learned that our mental health should never come at the expense of goals and responsibilities.
Now, I honestly believe that taking care of our mental health not only positively impacts our overall well-being but also helps us achieve our goals and continue showing up as our best selves in everything that we do. We have to remind ourselves that prioritizing our mental health doesn’t mean that we are being lazy or self indulgent.
It simply means that we respect ourselves enough to know our limitations and allow ourselves a safe space to rest, heal, and regain our strength. We can’t keep pushing ourselves to exhaustion every single day without expecting any consequences. As cliché as it may sound, you truly cannot pour from an empty cup.
In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the steps I took to help me protect my mental health every day. I hope that some of these steps will resonate with you and help you take care of your mental health too.

How To Protect Your Mental Health
1. Practice Self Compassion Every Day
Are you also guilty of being your own worst critic? I certainly am. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I constantly beat myself up even for the smallest mistake. I continuously magnified every little flaw that I had and I kept putting myself down for every little failure.
At that time, I honestly thought that I was doing the right thing. I thought that by being my own worst critic, I was somehow pushing myself to be better. I thought that by constantly beating myself up for every little mistake, I was holding myself accountable and I was motivating myself to improve and avoid failing.
I didn’t realize that by doing this, I was also slowly destroying my confidence and mental health. Not only did it make everything more overwhelming, but it also made me believe that I wasn’t really capable of doing anything right.
I was always constantly stressed and anxious. I felt so unhappy and I started doubting my capabilities. It took some time for me to finally realize that being my own worst critic is doing so much more harm than good. I’ve learned that progress and improvement often come from a place of kindness and compassion.
One of the best things that we can do to protect and help improve our mental health is by practicing self compassion. We have to learn how to be kinder to ourselves, especially in moments when we fail, make mistakes, and stumble. We have to remind ourselves that doing this does not mean that we are not holding ourselves accountable.
It simply means that we are human. We are bound to make mistakes, fail, and stumble, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve kindness, understanding, and compassion. Please know that you deserve to give yourself the same amount of love, kindness, and compassion that you so freely give to others.
2. Start Your Day With Gratitude
To be perfectly honest with you, for the longest time, I never truly believed in this practice. I have always assumed that this practice was nothing but toxic positivity.
I mean, sure, it’s so easy to find things to be grateful for when everything in your life is going right but often, when everything in your life is falling apart and when we have so many things on our plate, finding things to be grateful for just seems impossible.
This is what it felt like for me. When I was navigating one of the lowest moments of my life, I thought that the best thing to do was to focus all my attention on my problems. I thought that doing this would somehow push me to work even harder. I didn’t realize that doing this was taking so much toll on my mental health.
By constantly focusing on the negative things that were happening in my life, I was making myself more miserable and hopeless. Now, I honestly believe that starting our day with gratitude can have such a huge impact not only on our mental health but also on our perspective and how we handle life.
Doing this not only helps remind us of all the good things that are still happening in our lives. It also helps fuel our joy, motivation, and strength each day. We have to remind ourselves that practicing daily gratitude every morning, even when it’s hard, doesn’t mean that we are pretending that everything is okay.
It means that we are acknowledging that joy and sorrow can coexist and just because we are struggling doesn’t mean that we can no longer make space for joy and light. Doing this, especially during moments when we are going through a hard time does not only helps us become mentally stronger but also lessens the feeling of overwhelm and stress.

3. Focus On What You Can Control
Are you also guilty of constantly trying to control every little aspect of your life? Well, you’re certainly not alone. I struggle with this habit too. I always needed to be in control. I have spent so many sleepless nights trying to plan for every possible scenario.
I always had a plan B, even a C, and sometimes a plan D. I thought that doing this would somehow guarantee that the things in my life would always go according to my plan. I believed that if I continued to push myself to control every little aspect of my life, then I could prevent things from going wrong and I could shield the people that I love from pain and disappointments.
But of course, that’s not really possible. Because the hard truth is, regardless of how hard we try, there will always be so many things that are just out of our control. The more that we continue to push ourselves to control those aspects, the more stress and overwhelm we add to our daily lives.
Trying to control every little aspect of my life was not only making me so anxious every single day but when things still fall apart, despite my best efforts, it just makes me more disappointed and frustrated.
I’ve learned that the best thing that we can do is to focus all our attention and energy on the things that we can actually influence and learn to let go and accept the things that we can’t. Doing this doesn’t mean that we are just leaving everything to chance or that we are not planning.
It simply means that we are choosing to put our energy where it truly matters. By choosing to focus on the things that we can control and letting go of the rest, we are not only making things less overwhelming and stressful but we are also freeing up more mental and emotional energy to take action in the areas of our lives where we can actually make a change.
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4. Take Deep Breaths
It’s easy to underestimate the power of deep breathing. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times taking deep breaths has been like a lifeline for me.
Whenever I have so much on my plate and when I’m being hit with back-to-back problems, it’s so easy for my mind to start racing and before I know it, I’m sucked into this negative cycle of overthinking where my mind is filled with all these worries and scenarios that haven’t even happened yet making me so overwhelmed and stressed.
During these moments, taking deep breaths helps me ground myself in the present moment. Focusing slowly on the rhythm of my breathing calms my mind and pulls my thoughts back from all the what-ifs and worries.
It’s like it acts as a gentle reminder that I don’t have to have everything figured out. I don’t have to solve everything right away. I just need to focus on the now and that alone can have such a huge impact not only on my mental health but also on my perspective.
So, whenever the weight of your problems gets too heavy and when your mind gets too crowded, take a moment to just pause and take deep breaths. Inhale through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth. Just focus all your attention on your breaths.
5. Don’t Be Afraid To Say No
Are you also guilty of constantly overextending yourself? I also struggle with this. I have always found it so difficult to say no, especially to the people closest to me.
You see growing up, I was made to believe that my worth and value were tied to two things. One would be based on achievements, and two would be based on how useful I was to other people. I took this belief with me as I grew older.
It didn’t really matter how exhausted or drained I already felt, I still said yes to other people because I was so afraid that if I said no, not only would I disappoint them but it would also greatly affect my self worth and value.
It took a real wake-up call for me to finally realize that by continually saying yes to other people even when I was so drained and exhausted, I was also slowly abandoning myself. I was slowly losing parts of me. I was constantly exhausted and emotionally drained and honestly, I was so unhappy.
I didn’t realize the toll it took on my mental health and happiness. If you struggle with this too, please know that your worth is never based on how useful you are to other people. Your worth is inherent. You are worthy just as you are now.
Also, there is certainly nothing wrong with saying no and setting healthy boundaries. Doing this doesn’t mean that we are being unkind or that we are shutting other people out entirely. It simply means that we are respecting our needs, limitations, and honoring our mental health and well being.
Just like anybody else, you too have needs and there is nothing wrong with putting yourself first.
6. Spend Time Outdoors
In today’s world, it’s so easy to just stay home all day, every day. I totally understand this. I, too, prefer this to going out but often what we don’t realize is that spending so much time indoors can also take quite a toll on our mental health.
Often, being home all day, every single day can make us feel stuck, disconnected, and drained without us even truly realizing it. I’ve learned that sometimes, spending time outdoors can be just the pick-me-up that we need to breathe and reset. Doing this not only helps improve our mental health and well being but it can also greatly boost our mood.
Please know that you don’t have to spend too much time outside. Sometimes taking a short walk can be just what we need to gain some clarity and peace.
Final Thoughts
It’s important to remember that taking care of our mental health is not something that we can just do today or the next week and just forget about it the next. It is a conscious choice that we have to make every single day.
And please don’t ever feel guilty for making that choice, your mental health deserves to be prioritized. Always remember that doing this will never make you selfish or weak, it just means that you are human and that you love and respect yourself.
Please remember that there will be days when we will feel like it’s difficult to make the choice of prioritizing our mental health. During those days, please don’t beat yourself up. Know that this journey doesn’t have to be perfect. The important thing is that you keep trying. Always remember that I’m rooting for you.
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