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What are some simple ways that you can manage your mental health once therapy is over? It’s the start of mental health awareness month and many of us are now starting to focus a little more on our mental health. As we continue to work our way through this pandemic, the need to maintain a healthy balance is important.

After I completed therapy, I finally had a new look at my life. However, once the weekly visits were over, it was up to me to maintain what I learned in those sessions. And even though I could always return, I had to learn that therapy wasn’t meant to be a long-term fix.

There needed to be work done on my part. Managing your mental health after therapy is a difficult task and there’s no quick fix. However, there are practices and ways that you can perform in daily life that can help it become a little easier to maintain.

7 simple ways to manage your mental health after successful therapy

mental health ways
Photo by Andres Ayrton

Therapy is a great first step for helping you to unwind all those negative thoughts. It’s your chance to unwrap past and current traumas that are holding you back from living life. However, therapy doesn’t last for long, and there comes the time when you have to take over.

Now that you’ve completed therapy successfully, it’s your turn to continue the treatment you’ve experienced. The road is not an easy one to manage. There’s no turn-off switch when it comes to our mental illnesses. You’ll always experience some mental breakdown, whether big or small.

But what matters the most is how you’re able to see your way out of those episodes. Here are 7 simple ways to manage your mental health after successful therapy.

Embrace your bad moments and days

Once you’ve experienced having better days and understanding how to have them, it’s all you want in life. And as you continue to manage your mental health outside of therapy, you’ll work even harder to have them. However, it’s completely okay to have bad days.

Rather than getting angry or frustrated, allow yourself to go through the emotions. Bad days are learning tools for us mentally because they serve as a blueprint of our triggers. They also show us what to do when we experience them the next time. So, embrace it and know that it will not last forever.

Take a mental health break

Mental health breaks are no longer a myth. Many people are starting to understand the importance of detaching themselves from the stresses surrounding them. Taking a break to get your mind straight can range from a few hours to a few days. Because difficult situations can bring on a sea of negative feelings and frustrations, you can fall victim to having a mental breakdown.

Before that occurs, make it a habit each month to take some time to yourself. This is where self-care comes in. Step out of the ordinary and plan a lunch for yourself to relax and enjoy the time alone. Or if you’re brave enough, plan a few days to go on a mental health vacation. Leave all your worries behind to just focus on yourself and what you need.

Talk to others when feeling alone or lonely

lonely simple mental
Photo by Liza Summer

When it comes to mental health, feeling lonely is no stranger. Oftentimes, you may feel as though you can’t share how you’re feeling with others who aren’t your therapist. We all have felt this way so you’re not alone. However, now you have the right tools to help you through this feeling of loneliness.

If you find yourself feeling alone or lonely, this is your cue to reach out to a trusted person in your life. Pick up your phone and give them a call to let them know how you’re feeling at that moment. And I say trusted person because this would be someone to whom you feel comfortable confiding your feelings. While text could work, sometimes hearing the voice of someone can help uplift you out of your loneliness.

Appreciate yourself for who you are

With mental health issues comes constant negative thoughts. They tend to invade your mind at the wrong times and keep you locked down under a dark cloud. A good way to combat those negative thoughts is to treat yourself with kindness. Now that you’ve unmasked the layers in therapy, it’s time to lay down a new foundation.

Start by building a relationship with yourself. Using affirmations daily, treating yourself to rewards, setting boundaries, and more will help you see your true inner self. Think of the way you may encourage those around you. Take that same empowering advice and apply it to yourself. and be sure to let yourself know every day how much you are appreciated.

Take care of your body and mind weekly

eat well simple
Photo by Mikhail Nilov

It goes without saying that taking care of yourself physically is beneficial. And that goes the same for mentally. Part of managing your mental health after therapy is making sure you’re doing three major things: 1) Eating healthy 2) Sleeping well and 3) Exercising.

These three elements work well together because they help to improve your mental well-being. The balance of the three can also lead to better lifelong habits. As you incorporate this into your everyday lifestyle, you’ll start to see a change. You’ll start to gain self-confidence, self-esteem, and an increase in self-growth.

Surround yourself with positive influences

It can’t be stressed enough. But having positive-minded people in your life is a big boost to your mental health. Sometimes coming out of therapy, you may find yourself in the same environment as before. There may be people in your life who are a continued force of negativity that may prevent you from maintaining your mental health.

By joining groups and putting yourself out there, you open yourself up to meeting positive people. They will bring you the motivation and encouragement you’ll need to believe in yourself more. Also, they can push you to achieve the goals you hope to accomplish. Positive-minded people tend to produce good energy that rubs off on those around them.

Set realistic goals and to-do list

If you notice, when you’re unorganized, things tend to go haywire. And you may find yourself overwhelmed by your new outlook on life. This is something that many of us struggle with. Now that your mind is a bit clearer, you may want to make big things happen for yourself. however, this could lead to disappointment and a mental setback if the outcome doesn’t go as planned.

To stay on track with managing your mental health, try setting small realistic goals and have daily to-do lists. This not only helps you work towards personal growth, but it also helps manifest the lifestyle you thought wouldn’t happen. Remind yourself that you’re still learning who you truly are when setting these new goals. By making them unrealistic, you’re already setting yourself up for failure which isn’t the goal.

Conclusion

We’re finally starting to see people acknowledge that their mental health is important to take care of. Therapy is just the start but it’s up to you to continue to manage your mental health in a way that will benefit you.

Are you managing your mental health well? Do you need a little guidance on other ways to stay positive? Share your experiences in the comments below.

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Until next time, this is Tammy saying keep strong, keep positive. And NOTHING’s Impossible!!!

4 Comments

  1. These are really great suggestions for those just getting out of therapy. One of the things you mentioned was encouraging ourselves like we would encourage others. This is so true. Sometimes I have to take that time out to step outside of myself and say, “If I were to give myself advice for this situation what would it be?” Also, one of my favorite things to do on this list is surrounding myself with positive influences. This helped me a lot when I was healing from physical illness.

    1. Thank you Netert and thank you for connecting with my post :). The management never ends when it comes to our mental health. That’s why it’s important to have the right tools and people around to help outside of therapy too.

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