Six Ways I Stay Sane When Things Get Tough

When times get rough and things in my life seem like they’re falling to pieces, I need something to hold on to, something to provide direction, and give me a reason to keep going. In short, I need something to keep me sane. Everybody does.

Like so many others, I found 2020 to be an extremely difficult year, and so far 2021 hasn’t started off on a much better foot. Sometimes, the negative things seem to be overtaking the positive, and I find myself struggling to have a good attitude.

It seems I get so caught up in my “stuff” I can’t see a way out. When that happens, it doesn’t occur to me that there are things I can do to make myself feel better, or maybe I just think that in that moment, nothing will make me feel better.

But in looking back over the last year, I realize I have several strategies for coping, though I’d never really thought of them that way before. They’re there, and I have consistently gone back to them when I’ve needed a boost. Without even knowing it, I had put in place some good mental health habits.

I’ve found that these six things help keep me sane no matter what’s going on around me.

1. My dog. Witherwings helps me in a variety of ways. Having something to be responsible for is an important part of feeling useful and having purpose, and both of those are important to feeling good about myself.

He also makes me laugh, and he definitely makes me feel loved. Sometimes when he looks up at me and we stare into each other’s eye, I feel my heart swell, and such a peaceful, wonderful feeling comes over me that any self-pity or depression disappears. If he licks my face, it makes me smile or even giggle.

2. Friends. I have three good friends who have helped keep me sane. They’re good listeners when I need to talk, they let me cry, and they make me laugh. I am so grateful to have someone to talk to.

When my friends need to cry or talk, they provide me an opportunity to be there for them. Sometimes this feels as good as doing the talking myself.

3. Nature. Being out in nature, at a park, or even in my own yard, always makes me feel better. I have several bird feeders in my back yard, as well as a big oak tree, and I can sit in my living room and see them through the window. I love watching the birds come to the feeders and eat, and to hear them sing. The squirrels make me laugh, even though they eat an awful lot of the bird seed.

4. Photography. I love to take photos, and often am able to combine this passion with two of my other mental health habits: spending time with Witherwings and being in nature. Three things in one! When we’re at a park and I’m taking photos, it’s a wonderful day. Then when I get home, it’s a lot of fun for me to look at all the pictures I took (I’ve been known to take more than 100 in a single park visit).

5. Writing. I also love to write. I’ve been writing in one form or another almost as long as I’ve known how to write. A good portion of it is almost stream of consciousness writing that no one will ever read, but it’s helpful to get the thoughts and ideas out by putting them down on paper. If I had all the notebooks and journals I’ve filled with personal writing since I first started writing in them, and all the articles I’ve written for various platforms, and stacked them up, it would be a pretty high pile.

6. Reading. Reading has pretty much been a fail-safe for me, although I will admit that in the last year or so there have been more books I haven’t been interested in enough to finish than usual. I don’t know if that’s because of all the craziness going on in the world, and the United States, or not.

Fortunately, there are plenty of books to turn to when one doesn’t work for me, so I’m never truly going to be without something to read. And when I do find a book I really enjoy, the pleasure it brings me is just like it has always been. There’s almost nothing better than getting so totally absorbed in a story, that I lose track of time and pass a morning or afternoon or entire day in the same spot reading.

Maybe now that I’ve acknowledged and even written down what helps me stay sane when things aren’t going well, it will be easier to turn to them the next time I need them.

What are the mental health habits that help you stay sane?