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When you come across mental health advice these days, it’s common to see advice peddled such as do box breathing, start meditation, or write down five things you’re grateful for every day, and yes, these methods can have their place, but I’ve found the best antidote for feelings of melancholy is to do one thing, and it’s very simple:

Stay busy.

Try getting up early, going to the gym, working a full day, and filling your leisure time with projects (like writing projects)/ time with friends and family, and tell me if you feel depressed.

I promise you won’t feel depressed at all.

You see, humans are meant to engage with the world.

We’re not meant to be lazy couch potatoes.

The busier you are, the more you’re in a flow state

As of writing this post, I’m in a flow state. I’m completely focused on writing and am thus fully immersed in the present moment.

When we’re fully immersed in the present moment, it’s impossible to feel depressed or anxious.

When we stay busy with things we enjoy, we open ourselves up to experiencing a flow state.

Activities that help me get into a flow state

As I’ve already mentioned, writing helps me get into a flow state, so does reading, working out, listening to music, going on walks, skiing, spending time with friends and family, having good conversations and watching a good TV series or film.

I recommend you get involved in flow states that help others, and also help you make money

I love writing because when I write something helpful, others benefit, and it makes me feel good. I can also get paid for it by writing books, etc.

If writing isn’t your thing, then maybe make videos. The key is to choose a medium you enjoy.

Don’t forget to look after your health to rid feelings of melancholy

I had wrist surgery twice in the space of a year, and it’s safe to say that that was the most mentally challenging period of my life. I had chronic wrist pain, and there was nothing I could do about it.

If you focus on being healthy, i.e., don’t get injured (or minimise the risk as much as possible), make sure you eat healthily and are at a healthy body weight and exercise, you’ll instantly feel better in yourself compared to if you were unhealthy.

The body and the mind are inseparable. When we look after our bodies, our minds benefit.

Get good sleep and have a consistent sleeping pattern

I started feeling so much better mentally when I sorted my sleeping pattern out, and here’s how I did it:

The main reason I find it so easy to get up early and go to bed early now is that I make sure I eat all my meals for the day by 6-7pm.

This was a game-changer for me because I always used to eat really late at night, sometimes past 9pm. It affected my sleep because my body was still digesting food, and I felt bloated when I went to bed.

This tip isn’t spoken about much, but it really helps me. Try eating earlier, and I bet you’ll find it easier to sleep at night.

When I looked into the science behind why this works, I learned that it’s best to align our eating patterns with our circadian rhythm.

What this means is that you eat your meals from when the sun comes up to when it goes down because in hunter-gatherer times we would have only been awake when it was light and we would have slept when it was dark. Because there wouldn’t have been all the artificial lighting that there is today.

It’s amazing how much better you feel physically and mentally when you get your sleeping pattern in order.

Stay busy by going to church

I’m in the process of becoming Catholic, and following the Catholic faith has helped me feel so much better about myself than I ever thought possible.

I no longer hold onto grudges, and I’m much more forgiving.

I try to serve God and others more.

I love the peace I feel when I go to church mass.

I also love the discipline that daily prayer gives me.

The other week, I went to my first Catholic confession, and I felt better instantly

We, humans, have a tendency to hang on to the past. I know I did. Sometimes I would get thoughts pop into my mind, like, ‘Why did you do that, you idiot,’ or I’d feel guilt for some of the times I hadn’t lived up to my own standards (we all make mistakes, we’re not perfect).

When I went to confession, I repented my sins, and upon leaving the confession booth, I felt like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I carried this weight for years, and now I’d finally let go. My life now feels like a clean slate.

Catholicism has changed my life for the better. I recommend that everyone at least explore Catholicism. I’ve never felt as good in my life as I do now, and it’s because I’m a practising Catholic.

Do this now

Anytime you feel even the slightest bit melancholic, go and do something, such as going for a walk, going to the gym, reading a book, or doing some chores in the house. Whatever it is, go and do something productive that benefits you.

Recently, I noticed that on some evenings I was getting in my head too much, and it was making me feel down, so I’ve started going to weekly Catholic masses, and going to them makes me feel much better in myself.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but the devil makes good use of idle hands, and if you don’t be intentional with your time and do things that benefit you, the devil will use you for his purposes, so to speak, and vices and sin will creep into your life.

When have you been the happiest in your life?

For me, it’s when I’m so immersed in different activities that I stop thinking about myself. And I’ve found it’s almost impossible to be happy when you’re self-conscious. So I try to be so busy that I’m run off my feet. Of course, I give myself time to relax, but even then, I’m active with things such as going on a relaxing stroll or getting lost in a book.

Everyone is so focused on themselves these days, it’s hard not to be depressed. Because depression only ceases when you look outside yourself. But the mind caves in on itself when it becomes too self-focused.

Anyway, this is just what helps me.

But what do I know?

God bless.

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