mental health poster

For ordinary people to maintain their mental health on a daily basis, they don’t need to spend a lot of money to sign up for emotional healing classes or buy expensive healing peripherals. By adhering to three zero-cost small habits, 80% of daily emotional distress can be solved. I'm not just bragging. This is the practical experience I gained from working as a psychological counselor in the community for 4 years. I have helped no less than 200 ordinary people who always said "I'm suffocated to death recently" to relax.

Oh, by the way, you need to get vaccinated in advance: if you have had insomnia for more than two weeks in a row, can't eat, have no interest in the things you used to like, or even feel that life is meaningless, then these small methods will not work. Go to the psychology department of a regular hospital for investigation. Pathological problems must be left to the doctor. These methods are only used to prevent minor problems and deal with the little emotions accumulated in daily life.

Let’s start with the first one that everyone has tried and said works well: Leave 15 minutes of “emotional garbage time” every week. You don’t need to write a long emotional diary, even just typing a few words or swearing a few curse words. A young man who works in the Internet came to me before and said that he always got angry with his girlfriend because of trivial things and regretted it afterwards. I asked him to rename the memo on his mobile phone as "emotional trash can". Every time he got annoyed, he would go in and write three words: "I'm so annoyed." He didn't even have to write down the reason. At first, he thought this method was too perfunctory. After insisting on it for two months, he came to me and told me that now the number of times he gets angry has been reduced by half. In the past, he always suppressed his emotions and exploded when they reached the critical point. Now, every time he feels unhappy, he just goes in and types a few words. It is equivalent to opening a small outlet for his emotions, which cannot be saved to the point of explosion. Of course, this method is also controversial. Some psychoanalytic counselors think that this is just scratching the surface. If you don't dig deep into the root of your emotions, problems will arise sooner or later. But for most ordinary people who only occasionally have emotions, it is better to relieve the current emotions first than to hold it in and hide the problems, right?

Don't mention it, there is a little trick that seems more "metaphysical", which many students especially like: hang a small pendant in your bag that feels comfortable to touch, either plush or metal. When you feel emotional, hold it in your hand and touch it for 30 seconds to feel its temperature and texture. There was a little girl in the second grade of high school who was still squatting in the corridor and crying when she was in the top ten of her grade. She said she felt that she was inferior to others, so I gave her this trick. She hung a soft rabbit pendant on her schoolbag. She did not perform well in the last mock test. Tears came to her eyes. I touched the rabbit ears and suddenly recovered. She said, "It's just one test. At worst, I can take the test next time and I can eat the sweet and sour pork ribs made by my mother when I go home." This is actually a "grounding technique" in psychology, used to bring you back to the present moment from ruminative thoughts. Some people say that this is "escape from emotions", treating the symptoms but not the root cause. But for children who are not yet capable of digesting deep emotions, isn't it more important to stop the collapse first and not let the emotions engulf them than to force yourself to "face the pain"?

There is also a stupid method that I have used for many years: when I am in a bad mood, I will never lie down and check my phone. I will either stand up and clear the table for 10 minutes, or walk 500 meters downstairs, or even go to the convenience store downstairs to buy a popsicle. Many people slump on the sofa after work and watch short videos. The more they watch, the more annoying they become. In fact, their bodies are not moving, and their minds are still thinking about the work they have not finished today and the weird words of their colleagues just now. The more they think about it, the more blocked they become. If you stand up and move around, your attention will be distracted by actions such as walking and picking up things, and your mind will naturally stop dwelling on those annoying things. Of course, some people object to this method, saying, "Diverting your attention is deceiving yourself. The emotion is still there and will explode sooner or later." But do you think, if you interrupt the emotion in time every time it comes up, and don't let it ferment repeatedly in your mind, you won't be able to explode at all? If you really have a traumatic knot that has been hidden for several years, you will definitely need to find a professional counselor to slowly break it down. Our method is originally designed to deal with small daily awkwardnesses.

This wall poster has been posted in the community corridor for almost a year. Last week, a retired uncle Zhang chatted with me and said that when he first saw this method, he thought it was only for young people. Later, he tried to pick up a beautiful leaf when he went downstairs for a walk every day. Now he has a full iron box, and he always brings it to me to see. He said that when he squats under the tree every day to look for leaves, he pays attention to the vein lines and the color of the leaves, and forgets all the annoying things that are "useless after retirement."

Hi, in fact, there are so many profound truths about mental health. To put it bluntly, it is to treat your emotions well. Don't hold it in, and don't always force yourself to "must be happy." The method that suits you is the best. If you really can’t hold it any longer, talk to friends or seek help from professionals. There is no shame at all - after all, who hasn’t been emotionally stuck? You are right.