Do you wish you had some simple tools to help you feel better?

It's "Maycember" and when the stress and chaos of life looms large, self-care often takes a backseat especially if you have littles in your life. Yet, amidst the chaos, there are simple, yet profoundly impactful tools that can serve as beacons of solace and strength.

In this article, I provide you with 5 simple, free yet powerful and effective tools for managing your mental health. From the soothing embrace of visualization to the tender touch of self-love, these practices offer not just momentary reprieve, but enduring pathways to inner peace and well-being.

5 Life Changing Mental Health Tools

1) Visualizing a peaceful scene

When you close your eyes and imagine yourself in a peaceful scene, your brain lights up as if you are actually in that scenario. Isn't that cool? With these neural pathways activated, your body releases good-feeling endorphins which reduces stress, increases calm, enhances focus and concentration, and can help you to feel more confident. 

2) Giving yourself a hug or gentle touch

One of my favorite self-soothing strategies that I learned from Dr. Kristin Neff, PhD, LP, who is a psychologist, researcher, associated professor at University of Texas-Austin, and expert on Self-Compassion, is to give yourself gentle and soothing touch, such as gently rubbing your hands on your arm, your leg, or placing your hand over your heart or caressing your face. Doing this actually helps release oxytocin, the love hormone. When no one else is around, giving yourself loving physical touch can help you feel soothed and loved. 

3) Breathe through your nose

Forget about always needing to count your breathing (although it's pretty helpful) and focus more on inhaling and exhaling through your nose. Nose breathing isn't just good for your mental health but it's also great for your medical health. (Because, truly, mental health and medical health are one in the same!) Nose breathing lowers your blood pressure, it helps to regulate your nervous system (which makes you feel calm), it delivers more oxygen to your working muscles, it helps to calm your mind, improve sleep, and so many other benefits. Learn more here: https://oxygenadvantage.com/science/nose-breathing-vs-mouth-breathing/

4) Talk to yourself in a loving manner

Talking lovingly to yourself releases "feel good" hormones like oxytocin (the love hormone), dopamine, and endorphins. Better yet, it's totally free and available in endless quantities. All you have to do is talk to yourself like someone you dearly love - or - imagine someone (such as a family member, dear friend, or spiritual figure) talking to you as if they deeply love and cherish you. 

5) Practice prayer or affirmations

But not just any prayer, internally guided prayer. Meaning, you are relying on your internal thoughts and feelings to guide your communication with your spiritual connection. When you practice internally guided prayer, you activate parts of your brain that promote self-reflection, insight, and the sense that you are a divine being. Isn't that cool? You're brain is wired for spirituality. If you want to nerd out on the research, you can read about it here. 

Bonus

Did you know that the U.S. now has a national mental health and suicide crisis line? If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can dial 9-8-8 from anywhere in the U.S., 24/7, to get connected to your local crisis center and receive free and confidential support. You can learn more about it here: https://988lifeline.org/.

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And remember,

you are always loved no matter what.

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Sherri M. Herman, MA, LPCC is a spiritual life coach, speaker, and psychotherapist who is known for being a compassionate guide has been helping others achieve their goals since 2010. Having been twice divorced herself, she loves helping women overcome the challenges and loneliness of divorce while balancing the needs of self-love, parenting, and life. She lives near Minneapolis, MN with her husband, son (aged 12 at the time of this publishing), dog (Spirit), cat (Daisy), and axolotl (Mochi). She loves movie and game nights with her family, hosting potlucks and bonfires, working out at the gym, and going camping with family-friends.