Ramisa Maliha Bhuiyan :
This year, I have taken a challenge on monitoring my mental and emotional wellbeing making things better. There are little things you can do daily that might help.
1. Make sleep a priority
I was never a morning person and I noticed whenever I was not doing well mentally or emotionally, I was spending the majority of my time in bed. So, the first thing I did was change my sleep cycle. If you find yourself going to bed late and eventually waking up late, stop that immediately! Maintain a proper cycle, and ensure minimum 7 hours of sleep because your body needs that. You will notice you are feeling more energised and productive.
2. Do some journaling.
If you struggle with processing your thoughts and emotions, write them down. This worked like magic for me. It is not essential to write down on a regular basis because I know it might feel like a tedious job and further, cause anxiety.
Do it when you are feeling too overwhelming. If you think a certain conversation caused you to overthink or is choking you from within, instead of “thinking” how the conversation should have gone, just write it down. Writing your thoughts down will help you realise the struggles you are facing and the things you can do to address them.
3. Declutter
Take time to declutter, be it your home, work station or your mind itself. If things around you are in a mess, your life would feel like a mess too.
Organize that closet of yours, declutter your laptop/desktop display, delete/uninstall unnecessary photographs or applications from your phone and most importantly organize your thoughts too.
4. Think about your thoughts.
Pay attention to your thoughts. Redirect your thoughts if you find yourself constantly dwelling deep into the ocean of negativity. Choose your own thoughts, especially the ones that make you happy. Be the “glass half-full” person!
5. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
We, all, have a massive amount of reasons to be thankful for. Make a gratitude list. It can really prove helpful to look back on that list during your difficult times.
Be grateful that you get to see and experience a new day and start a new beginning.
6. Finally, take one day at a time. There is no rush. Slow down. You are doing great. I know you are! Believe in that. It’s a wonderful world.
(Maliha Bhuiyan is a student)