Just like what the title says. What do you do to stay mentally healthy?
I take the time to go out in nature. I also make appointments with friends (mostly virtually), so we can stay in contact and have fun.
Another thing I do is to moderate the time I spend online. These days I’ve spent a bit more time online than usual, so in the coming months I might implement a break (from being online).
How about you? 
Being online is a weakness as well as a bad necessity and I know it’s unhealthy, sitting in same position and also the eyes suffer as well and don’t even look at the time it just speeds the hours like nothing else.
For the mind I like to go biking, I got an ebike not the fast one but it helps on elevated roads. Luckily I have nearby forests and country side with farm animals. So I always get to see something new and breath in forest air, listen to birds and sometimes have picnic. I hiked as well. - I just love nice weather and sun, not so much the heat! I can’t wait to go swimming.
Then there is gardening/planting seeing veggies growing and harvesting is very nice.
Socializing with good friends and family is very important getting out and exchange knowledge and news and have good laughs. Visiting city events and learning something new.
I also enjoy small crafting when time allows whether it’s making home remedies or handiwork.
I think it would be very wise to control hours online and perhaps even just make a schedule to limit the exposure. When I was fixing up my house and garden I had only time in the evening… like you I should change my habit a bit, with Covid the hours online have just gotten longer…
and once one gets used to it it takes again a while to change that habit, but everything is possibly with good will 
The past year, like everyone else, I also spent a lot more time online, but as a student, I don’t really notice it that much. There were already large periods (December-January and May-June, Juli-September) where I didn’t go outside much and was clutched to my laptop to study for exams.
But one thing which I found really helped me personally, was hanging out with my best friend and just talking, or listening to music together, or cook Korean food which we then make way too spicy to eat 
I also sometimes join her when she’s going on a walk with her dog. I think I’ve seen parts of my town I’ve never been to before.
Now that bars are open again in my country, I also like to go there with my grandmother and just talk to her over a nice glass of wine. She gives some of the best advice.
feyfayer sim11, you are right on all of what you said, limit time on computer, first and for most with me, k& c dramas binges etc
then gardening, need to do more of that, got some weeds to pull anyway, got some seeds to plant as well,
as for my crafts, crocheting and genealogy, they do take up most of my time,
now when I do have that free time, I go to the games “online” for the mentality kind, like searches, or find them type games even majhong has a place.
learning new things yes, learning new crochet stitches now,
finding more genealogy stuff, bake stuff too. I do try to keep busy,
exercise I really don’t do much, but would love to get back into yoga and other forms of exercise, I do walk some but not enough, I have plenty of places to go and do this, I want to work my way up to 2 miles a day, the motivation is not there though.
Oh, I really like this topic! Personally, it’s also getting away from the computer that makes me feel better! Maybe I spend a little too much time here
When I’m feeling down, I bake some cakes while singing like a dying chicken, I try to go biking or rollerblading, to learn new things (I bought myself a dizi after binge-watching The Untamed, I started to learn Korean and Chinese…) 
I experienced a dark period a few years ago and after that, I got a dog. Now I go for a walk in nature at least twice a day. I have to admit that even if in winter I’m a bit grumpy, I’ve never been as well and happy as I am now
It has also allowed me to meet new people despite the recent crisis. We run into each other and we have small talks about dogs and anything and it really helps me take my mind off things that bugs me.
So, for me, it’s really to get out and disconnect from the computer. Especially since I work on it for my studies. It feels good to put it away sometimes
That’s really cool. I think if I got an ebike, I would travel further too on the bike. Now I only cycle to another city if it’s one or two cities away.
Gardening is a good one I forgot to mentioned. I started spending more time in my mini balcony garden 
I wish I had veggies like you, but my balcony only gets 1 or 2 hours of sunlight.
How lovely. I hope you get the chance to hang out with your grandmother 
We can always start somewhere . Honestly, I have to get out and walk more often too, but I get a bit discouraged when I see everyone without a mask on. So I change my mind 
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Thank you!
Ooh, do you have favorite cakes to bake? 
Haha I sing and dance too when I’m cooking. It makes it more fun. I do wonder if my neighbor sees me when he’s in his garden
I try to go for a walk daily now and do workouts on most days of the week. Even if it’s 10 minutes. And I try to be online less but that ain’t working well and my Viki inbox is overflowing and I really should start responding but it’s so much and 99% finder messages so I keep pushing it forward. But I know that once it’s done it feels great.
The thing that works better for me it’s to take time to go out in nature, it can be a walk, a picnic or just spend the night in someplace like that.
I used to go with some friends to a shack to watch the stars and drink some wine.
I try to not lose contact with my closest friends so as not to be isolated (since the pandemic started).
Also travel to visit my parents and just watch a movie with them in their house, make some popcorn some homemade food.
Haha yes I really love to make cupcakes or “Tarte Tatin” (but I don’t know the English equivalent)! 
Me too!! I’m hoping they don’t pass by the street when I’m in my kitchen, I’m not very discreet
I love tarte tatin 
Massage - Yoga - Pedicure - Movie or Dinner Club with Friends (doing that tomorrow)
Gym with my trainer - BEACH - TRAVEL - look at nature - RAIN - Listen to MUSIC - Meditate -
Flowers (I was obsessed last year) working on genealogy - doing that tonight - lunch with friends weekly on Wed - talk actually listen to my friends on the phone not just msging
And I love my kdramas and my friends in the computer - just saying
life through the haze
yes when I do get “moody” those walks do wonders, I also said this many times, I enjoy these discussion boards, lifts me up , gives me a laugh and so on, love hearing from you"kids" and maybe y’all dont like me describing you like that, well what do you call your kids??? anyway I di enjoy these discussion
To stay mentally healthy is best to avoid watching too much news or youtube videos of the floods, volcanoes, storms, natural disasters etc… going around the world. During September 11, I suffered a nervous breakdown bc all I did; day and night was watching the news and even while I slept the TV was on repeating the tragic news.
So this time faced with this tragic times facing me, I was prepared not to make the same mistakes. and the news was off limit for me, and I found different ways of getting some form of counseling (video/phone chat). I also HAVE TO THANK the discussion forum that kept me off from thinking so much about what was happening.
I personally love to go to big malls, and eat something different that I’ve never tasted before like mediterranean food or try a vegan dish. Although it was depressing not to see crowds of people, it was a relief to see SOME people doing normal routine as shopping for clothes etc.
I also think that the BEST way to stay mentally healthy is to TALK, and it doesn’t matter if is a stranger. Before the pandemic I talked to a few ppl here and there, we said Hi and chat for a long while, but I avoided conversations with strangers, but now I find myself talking long with strangers at the mall, store, in the Laundromat.
Let me tell you why; I mainly do this bc I am blessed I still have two of my kids at home so I have someone to talk to, and I can talk to my daughter in florida or my sister, and even my neighbors. BUt there are people out there that have NO ONE to talk to, and their endless day in that solitude they have no one that talks to them. Lately, I look into their eyes and if I see sadness in them; I try to strike a conversation, and you immediately see how they walk away with a smile in their face, and that helps me also to feel less stress bc instead of worrying about everything and anything I occupy myself doing something positive for others.
I used to be a pessimistic person, but it took this period of darkness to teach me a lesson, and that was to never take anything for granted. I have lived a life feeling sorry for myself, but I learned that OUT THERE we have people who don’t have families, and they are so alone, and will die all alone, and my heart aches for them bc during the lockdown surrounded by my kids and there were moments like I felt so alone and; can you imagine a person who has no family or even friends? I just can’t even imagine how long the day and night must be for them.
Another thing, I make sure my house is spotless although no one visits anymore. I dress up, do my hair, my nails (at home before now the salon) We must take care of our bodies, exercise, walk, stretch, evry little bit counts.
I always love your insight - Recently I have felt compelled to compliment people without reserve. If I think you have beautiful eyes, great voice, I love your dress, your hair, laugh - whatever! I TELL you! I have always done this but I do it more and more and more. As someone who has worked with children with Autism - the masks worry me - Babies and children cannot see you smile! They need facial recognition to make pathways - They need to be able to see if you are happy, sad, angry whatever. I want so much for our children - for things to get back to normal so they can develop normally.
I gather my friends together - they call me “Julie, the cruise director” - I tell them all the time that no one would do anything if I didn’t make them - hahahaha! We have a supper club and now a movie club - we have not been able to meet but we are slowly getting things back to normal. We meet for lunch in a local restaurant every Wednesday.
I totally agree TALKING means everything! You are a wise, wise woman! @angelight313_168
And so are you. To work with children with Autism you have to be an amazing, awesome human being to deal with such a challenging condition; that only a person with a BIG LOVING heart can do. You deal with so many extra issues, and the fact that you love doing that job, to me it makes you so much more special. I know ppl that work in this field and hates it so much. I feel they are abusive to the child (Yes, I reported them already).
In some severe cases AGGRESSION. I have a neighbor that her grandson is an aggressor and I’m thinking of moving out of here bc the screams, breaking of furniture, biting, hitting the Home Attendants and his own family, is really getting too much for us bc as years pass this child is getting so much worse, and no one wants to work for this family bc he attacks them and hurts them so much. I’ve seen grown man Home attendants for this child leave the house CRYING. Cops and Paramedics come sedate him and he calms down for just a few days. He’s only around 9 so I dread what he will do in his teens and later years. The grandma says the different medications so far don’t work on him; so I’m wondering what are they doing wrong; Any Tips?
PS. Thank you so much for the compliment. Lifted my strike with the heart bc is hard not to be giving hearts.
I have trouble reading very long comments, it feels like reading a book. For my eyes it’s easier with few poignant paragraphs, am I the only one??
the key is giving. I have posted in other discussions and all of this one thing, giving sharing ,loving, a kind act goes a long way, even one of your smiles, a kind word like hey love thqat blouse/dress you are wearing, some may not think so, but when you are on the other end getting that complinment yes it goes a looooong way, thats how I get out of a blue mood, even bazking cake or cupcakes and giving them away, I just put something on that crocheting link, “random of Crochet kindness” . and with me getting older, that note, card or phone call does matter, get out of yourself and do something for someone else
all of you had some excellent points, I do try to look at positive things, daily, even the genealogy research gets me down, so I leave it alone for a few days, yes I do crochet, learning new stitches as well, this I have heard for a very long time, when you crochet you do “worry knots” and those knots add up, someone else told me thats like the catholic with their beads, so there you go.
angelight is awesome, yes stay away from the news, so negative there, talking, good thinking, but you wanna talk about family trees, any kind of research, how about conspiracies, how about aliens, yeah thats a crazy one there, gardening? crochet? history? people have to find something to talk about, that they both like talking about. yes I so much want to talk, and have no one to really talk to, (unless consider my little dog)
oh hears something funny to tell you, yesterday, I wanted to freeze some yogurt, couldnt find my little pop containers, so I recalled my next door neighbor Tupperware lady!!! so I go over and ask her about the little icecream things, said she didn’t have them right now anyway make a long story short, we TALKED! I know I could go to dollar general or dollar tree and get them much cheaper, but my point I did talk to someone yesterday!
with the I guess depression, I have a messy house, I don’t mean to sound morbid, but its why sould I , who cares? and yes I need to get out of that. walk, exercise stretch. and I am working on that slowly.
simi11 and I just wrote a book!!! I do agree short paragraphs are better, but I just spoke out today
I love it when you describe us like that!
You aren’t! It’s easier to read when people split up paragraphs
Loved all your tips. We still can’t move outside our complex yet, so no meeting people or visiting 
I usually start the day with a prayer and end it by singing along to my favorite OSTs(since they’re all chinese and korean you can imagine what I sound like ) while washing the dishes and closing the kitchen for the day.
I also make sure to call my grandparents and best friend every week. It’s a little harder to call my cousins and aunts/uncles, but I try. @frustratedwriter always reminds me to call my grandparents every time I forget or get too busy
Kdramas are actually one of the things that saved my 2020. I should learn to limit my screen time though, what will all my online classes and projects 
I also love coming over to Discussions and engaging in some lighthearted talk. You all have been such a blessing to me 
I try to go out, but it’s raining and I have to pack myself up in a raincoat. Glad I could see that rainbow last week.
My mother recently developed a love for Highland Hustling, and I do that with her sometimes… it’s fun and I’m exercising!
aaawwwwwwww thank you vivi-1485