It’s that time of year: Spring Cleaning! Many of us welcome the spring season by giving our home, garage, or lawn a nice deep clean to get ready for the warmer months of sunshine on the horizon. But do you do the same thing for your mental health? Decluttering your brain is just as important as decluttering your home.

Here are a few tips to help you jump-start your mental health spring cleaning.

1. Drop a Bad Habit
   Whether it’s biting our nails, late-night snacking, or something else. We all have bad habits. Make an effort to create positive change in your life by dropping a bad habit and replacing it with a healthy one. Instead of lazy Sundays, maybe switch to lazy Sunday afternoon and start the day with a brisk walk or jog. These changes don’t have to be huge. Over time, small changes lead to huge results.
2. Move Your Body
   You don’t need to become a fitness fanatic to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of getting active. Moving your body is the perfect way to boost your mood, release stress, and improve your health. Although squeezing a new workout routine into your busy schedule can feel overwhelming (if not impossible); The good news is you can benefit from short bursts of activity. The latest guidelines suggest that even as little as 10-minute sessions can improve your heart health and mental health.
3. Find Gratitude
   It’s easy to get trapped in a negative thought pattern. These negative thoughts can impact the way we feel, act, and respond to the environment and people around us. Did you know with practice you can learn to change how you are thinking and feeling? Studies have shown practicing gratitude can help increase positive thoughts and attitudes. These positive thoughts not only help us feel happier, but help us enjoy healthier and happier relationships.

   Ask yourself:

   • What can I be grateful for today?
   • Who am I grateful to have in my life and why?
   • What am I grateful for about myself (i.e., “I’m a hard worker” or “I’m a great parent,” etc.)?

   Be sure to remember the small things, even if it’s as simple as the plant on your desk or the fresh cup of coffee you made. When we take time to look, we notice plenty of areas to practice gratefulness in our lives. If we accept and acknowledge there are things in life to be thankful for, we often find that fears and worries start to diminish as we give them less time and attention.

4. Complete a Project
   Small changes can feel like huge achievements, especially when we are feeling anxious, depressed, stressed, or just overwhelmed with life’s daily challenges. We’ve all created a list of mental projects we really want to complete, but it can be hard knowing where to begin.

   Start by writing down all of the things that you’ve been wanting to do but placing on the backburner. Whether it’s finally going to the dentist for your routine cleaning, home repairs, or planting flowers in the garden; make a list of what you want to do and start with one item. As you find time to work through your list, one project at a time, you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted.

5. Change Your Perspective
   Chances are you have enough on your mind without adding negative energy to the mix. When your mind starts to head towards stressful thoughts, take a couple of deep breaths and focus instead on something that brings a smile to your face. Accept that you’re not perfect and neither is the world around you. Rather than focusing on negative issues that make you upset, look for moments of progress and joy.

Practicing Gratitude to Manage Anxiety
Spring cleaning for mental health is not a surefire way to treat anxiety. However, these simple tips can be used to relieve the symptoms and negative thoughts associated with anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges.

Whether you or a loved one needs help managing anxiety, our team of mental professionals can help. At Cypress, our family of psychotherapists leverages their experience, training, and compassion to provide a wide range of treatment solutions to help treat the symptoms causing distress.

Contact a member of our team to learn more about our on-site clinical and teletherapy options for your mental health.