Hey, friends.

Lately, my mental health hasn’t been okay. I’ve been anxious, moody, maybe a lil sad, and that’s not even during “PMS” week. I am the first to admit that I am not doing okay 24/7. Quarantine and working from home has really gotten to my head, and frankly, I don’t like how I feel.

I do want to stress that therapy is important. I am in the process of seeking out therapy and counseling. But aside from therapy, I’ve found that there are small practices that you can practice to better your mental health. I’m talking small, sometimes very small, practices and affirmations that you can practice in order to rid the toxic and negative thoughts in your head. These have helped me, and honestly, they’ve surprised me in how happy they can make me.

In a world full of unknowns, it’s important to remember the little things in life. What are they? They’re so simple and short that you wouldn’t even know that they can overall improve your mental health. Some things that have helped me:

1. Reading. Even if it’s 25 pages a night, everything helps.

2. Watching re-runs of Gilmore Girls. Because why not? Keeping up with Gilmore banter takes energy and coffee does the trick.

3. Turning up the music and having a dance party.

4. Reading through Buzzfeed shopping and pet articles. Recently discovered these myself, and kind of addicting.

5. Taking small breaks in between tasks.

6. Writing sweet blog posts like this one, even if they never get published.

7. Like the one above, but journaling.

8. Breath prayers: uttering one-word or one-phrase prayers like “Lord, give me peace.” Trust me, they work.

9. Taking long walks.

10. Spending quality time with God.

11. Petting my dog. And also coming home to see my dog, even if it’s coming back from taking out the trash.

And just some of these work for me. Maybe for you, it’s baking! Cooking! And if those don’t work, check out this post of 30 small things that you can do to boost your mood.