Be the Boss of Your Brain: 4 Tips for Coping with Mental Illness

Coping with mental illness is something a lot of people in the world have to take seriously. But there’s a balance once must achieve where they respect the illness for what it is but don’t let it run over their life.

Society is beginning to accept mental health as a big deal, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Heck, that doesn’t mean it’s even close. It’s important for anyone dealing with a mental illness to be accountable for taking care of themselves and know to take action.

Dealing with mental illness, however, can be tricky. You may not know where to start. In this article, we’ll take a look at four tips for coping with mental illness. Improving yourself is all about learning and trying new things, and mental health isn’t excluded from that.

Let’s dive into the four tips!

1. Deep Breathing

Deep breathing is a way to train mindfulness and calm your body down. If you are experiencing problems with your mental health, you need to set your focus on the present and get your mind off a scary future or scarred past.

Focusing on your breath is something available to you at any moment, which makes it valuable. There are plenty of techniques out there, but one good one is the “5-3-7” breathing technique.

2. Set Boundaries

Setting boundaries means knowing how to let people treat you during and before you need some time to treat your own mental health.

When it comes to how to deal with mental illness, it’s your responsibility to be able to say ‘no’, ask for help. Let someone know when their behavior is resulting in you feeling a negative way.

You don’t have to cope with mental health alone, but establishing boundaries can help alleviate problems.

3. Accept

Acceptance is the key to renewal. You can’t change everything, and in fact, there are very few things you can change. So if you’re looking for the answer on how to cope with mental illness, start with accepting that you’re in a situation that’s not ideal.

Accept that while it’s not great, you are not alone. And accept the fact that, while it’s difficult, you deserve to feel normal like everyone else.

Accepting things as they are helps cut through the cobwebs and can reduce stress or pain by giving you a new perspective.

4. Get Treatment

If things aren’t getting better, it’s also your responsibility to get treatment.

Whether that means seeing a therapist or taking medication, this is a conversation for you and your doctor.

See here for more information about treatment options.

Coping With Mental Illness- Wrap-Up

Coping with mental illness is common, but it’s not something you should have to treat by yourself or feel lonely about.

Training mindfulness, setting boundaries, being more accepting, and receiving treatment are four tips for coping with your mental illness.

You can also contact us with questions about your path to self-discovery and improvement.