New year, new me but that doesn’t just have to be about our bodies; we should also start looking a little closer to home.
From making your bed in the morning to investing in a new house plant, research shows that completing small tasks within your home throughout your day is beneficial to improving your mental health.
However, tasks like these can be overwhelming for those who face a daily battle with themselves through mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression or OCD.
When these tasks are followed out a feeling of self-accomplishment comes over the person which can increase their motivation to follow out more tasks and sets a good mentality for their day.
Rebecca Dalgarno, a devoted Christian who suffers with anxiety said: “For people struggling with mental illness, even getting out of bed can be an achievement, breaking bigger tasks which may seem daunting into small manageable ones can really help.
“Not only this but your home space is important, it needs to be somewhere that you can be happy to come home to.”
Surprisingly, a lot of what we can do to create a positive mindset is all around us, creating a safe space within your home environment radiates through to your self aura.
Gentle exercise such as yoga help people to relax and unwind and for the mind to reflect whilst having several health benefit’s.
This is a task you complete in your house so the environment is key to creating a zen environment.
Clearing out your wardrobe or changing your home interior through DIY challenges allows your home space to have a new sense of life which will reflect onto your mood.
Tasks such as these can include everyday regimes but do act as a form of self-care.
Jenny Robinson who suffers from fibromyalgia and a spine fracture said: “After a long physical illness, I started with little things such as putting the clean washing away, tiding the bedside table or dusting the surfaces.”
Miss Robinson spoke about the importance of taking small steps to help overcome mental boundaries, she adds: “I find it helpful to write short list of easy to do things that are really easy to achieve and well within your capabilities and tick them off as you go along.
“It gives a big boost to one’s mental health to actually see it visually crossed off and it helps me to stay positive because there’s a sense of achievement.
“I would say don’t put big jobs on your list as you don’t want to set yourself up for failure as this has the opposite effect.”
Again, these tasks are orientated around the house so are easily accessible for everyone to achieve.
