The Importance of Ritual to Mental Health

HealthyPlace Mental Health Newsletter

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• The Importance of Ritual to Mental Health
• How Rituals Benefit Your Mental Health
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: My Bipolar Breakdown
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

The Importance of Ritual to Mental Health

In a world that often feels chaotic and unpredictable, developing personal rituals can help us feel in control over our own lives. Rituals are actions that have special, personal meaning and that become a regular part of our life. They benefit our mental health deeply. (How to Practice Life-Affirming Rituals Every Day)

The rituals with the most positive impact are the simplest of rituals because they reduce, rather than contribute to, stress and exhaustion. This abbreviated list of rituals might inspire you to create your own:

• Sipping hot tea in the early morning hours, when the world is quiet and calm
• Stepping outside during the day to breathe deeply and appreciate the beauty around you
• Taking a bath surrounded by the flickering lights of scented candles
• Going for a long walk or bike ride through your favorite part of town

How Rituals Benefit Your Mental Health

The mental health benefits of rituals are numerous. Personal rituals

• Reduce stress and, by default, blood pressure and heart rate
• Improve sleep
• Calm the mind
• Increase a sense of peace and contentment
• Facilitate deep connection to ourselves and the world around us
• Decrease the symptoms of many mental health conditions

Take care of yourself and your mental health. What enjoyable thing do you already do? Consider intentionally doing more of it. Create a ritual for your mental health.

Related Articles Dealing with Ritual and Improving Mental Health

• Mental Health 101: Developing Coping Strategies
• Practice Gratitude and Boost Your Wellbeing
• Adult Coloring Books Help Relieve Anxiety and Depression
• Blow Anxiety Away on a Bubble

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: Do you have a ritual that helps your mental health? We invite you to participate by commenting and sharing your feelings, experiences and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Myths Halloween Spreads About Mental Illness
• How to Respond to Stigmatizing Costumes on Halloween
• Find Your Kindness, Improve Your Happiness
• Social Anxiety and Jumping to Conclusions: The Trampoline
• One Year After My Dissociative Identity Disorder Diagnosis
• What to Consider Before a Bipolar Pregnancy: Your Marriage
• Why I Chose to be a Mother Despite My Bipolar Diagnosis
• 3 Tips for Finding the Right Therapist in Tough Times

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

A Bipolar Depression Story: My Bipolar Breakdown

My bipolar depression story really begins in high school. In my late teens, I began to notice my emotional extremes and intense mood swings. My high school experience was great, but certain things happened that prompted my uneasy feelings about my mental health. You can learn more about that in the video.

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Speaking Up Will Increase Your Self-Esteem
2. How To Recover From Emotional Trauma of Domestic Abuse
3. Diagnosing a Child with Mental Illness

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"I will breathe. I will think of solutions, I will not let my worry control me. I will not let my stress level break me. I will simply breathe. And it will be okay. Because I don't quit". ~ Shayne McClendon

Read more mental health quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or google+) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, circle HealthyPlace on Google+, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Pinterest and share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index