I have created this 30 Day Mental Wellness Challenge to help you. Are you interested in improving your mental health?
To help reduce anxiety and depression, and improve your overall confidence within yourself.
Improving your mental health takes some time. Your brain is like a muscle, so you basically have to work out that muscle just like you would any other muscle in your body.
And you know that you have to work out at least a few times a week to continue to build muscle. So let’s begin!
30-Day Mental Wellness Challenge
There are a lot of options out there to help improve your mental wellness. Medication and therapy help in ways other options can’t.
But, if you can’t afford them or just want to see what else is out there it is possible to improve your mental wellness without those.
Note: You can get an affordable, virtual therapist via the BetterHelp app.
Working on building up your mental strength requires that you focus on it daily. The good part is it doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of time on it.
And you can do it anywhere, you don’t need any special equipment.
To help you improve your mental wellness and reduce anxiety, doing a 30-day challenge can help keep you on track. You’ll also know exactly what to do each day, which makes it super easy!
You can start the challenge at any time. Some people find success at the beginning of the month, but you can start today as long as you just make a note of the day you started.
In addition to this mental wellness challenge, you may also like my Self-Love Guide, you can download that for free by clicking the image below:
Week 1
Welcome to the 30-Day Mental Wellness Challenge!
Day 1. Write down your goals for the next 30 days
What do you want to accomplish with this challenge? How do you want to feel when you’re done with this?
Where are you currently at with your mental health?
Tracking your progress throughout the whole challenge can help you notice a difference or not. Getting into the habit of journaling your thoughts daily can help improve your mindset as well!
Day 2. Wake up 30 minutes earlier to write in your journal about how you’re feeling
Today wake up 30 minutes earlier than you normally would so you have time to write down in your journal.
Here are some journaling prompts to help get your brain working first thing in the morning.
Day 3. Spend 20 minutes outside. Take in what you see and hear
Take some time to enjoy being outside, no matter what the weather! If it’s snowing, you don’t have to do it for the full 20 minutes.
Pay attention to what you see as you go on a walk. Being aware of your senses can keep you in the present and help reduce anxious thoughts.
Day 4. Drink enough water. A minimum of 8 glasses. Cleanse your body
Most people don’t drink enough water and instead replace it with other drinks.
Caffeinated beverages can increase anxiety levels and overall not make you feel your best.
- Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water today, and avoid any other type of drink.
- If you need a cup of coffee in the morning to get you going (like I do!), that’s fine. Just use the rest of the day to hydrate your organs and feel a little more refreshed.
Day 5. Ask to hang out with your closest friends
You might want to isolate yourself when you’re feeling anxious. Staying indoors away from people sometimes feels like the best solution.
But, isolation makes your anxious thoughts worse and can soon turn into depression.
- Make it a point to reach out to your closest friends or family.
- The people in your life who love to hear from you and want to support you. Set a date to hang out with them tonight.
Day 6. De-clutter
Cleaning out your closet might feel overwhelming, but it can seriously do wonders for your anxiety levels!
Look around your room or house and think about the things you can either clean or get rid of.
Clean up the space around you so you can clear your mind.
If It’s too overwhelming to tackle your whole house, just focus on one room at a time. Then reward yourself with a relaxing afternoon or your favorite dinner.
Day 7. Spend time alone. Practice self-care.
Today is your day. Time to be alone with your mind and body.
Practice some self-care:
- Sleep in
- Avoid any difficult chores
- Read a good book
- Take a bath
Give yourself some much-needed time to unwind and de-stress after a long week.
Week 2
Day 8. Eat healthy anxiety-reducing meals for the whole day
You can plan this out in advance or just work on making better food choices today.
Here is a list of the best anxiety-reducing foods and meals you can try today.
- Starting the week off with a healthy mind and body gives you the energy to tackle the rest of the week.
Day 9. Take a social media break for 24 hours
It’s scary how much we rely on our phones to get us through the day.
That’s why it’s important to consciously take a break from it all for a day.
Turn off your social media notifications, log out of your accounts, or even delete the apps off your phone.
- Do a social media detox for the whole day and log how you feel at the end. (If you don’t use social media, then you can do the same thing for emails, text messages, and phone calls. The only exception is if you need those things for work.)
Day 10. Spend 5 minutes meditating
There are some awesome apps out there that help you focus on meditating.
The cool thing is you only have to do it for 5 minutes today!
The best times to practice being mindful are either first thing or right before you go to bed.
Choose an app from below and pick a time of day that works best for you to practice being more mindful.
Some great apps for mindfulness are:
Day 11. No TV Night
Avoid coming home and watching Netflix for the rest of the night.
Most of the time we turn to TV as just a distraction from our lives.
Tonight, do something you really enjoy. What hobbies do you like that you haven’t done in a while?
- This can be something simple like cooking up a tasty dinner and baking dessert, reading a book, being around family, learning a new language, practicing an instrument, or building a skill of some sort.
Day 12. De-compress. Spend the evening watching your favorite movie and relaxing
You’ve worked hard, so it’s time to take a break!
Go easy tonight and do what makes you most comfortable.
Day 13. Make a list of all the things you enjoy doing, then spend today doing them
Make it a point to go after the things you want today.
Splurge a little and go do something fun. Maybe that’s calling up some friends and going to the museum, bowling or on a hike.
Really enjoy today and soak up every minute of it
Day 14. Dance around to your favorite playlist.
Let loose, throw on some headphones, and dance around to your favorite tunes.
This helps you release all of the built-up tension. Allow yourself to fully enjoy each song and let go of all your problems for a few minutes.
Week 3
Day 15. Start your morning with a bang. Wake up earlier, drink some water, write in your journal, and practice gratitude
Today’s challenge is setting up a strong morning routine.
Take some time to complete each thing and really focus on being present for each task.
- You can see how you feel at the end of the day and if it helped your anxiety levels at all.
Day 16. Workout for 30 minutes
Yay, exercise! Well, the good part is you get to choose what it is.
Everyone has different preferences for working out. Some love running, others love yoga.
Choose an exercise that works best for you and do it for 30 minutes today.
- Here are some exercises that are great for your mental health.
Day 17. Do something that pushes you out of your comfort zone
Talk to your crush, ask your boss for a promotion, talk to a stranger, or travel to a different city.
These are just some things that will push you out of your comfort zone.
A good way to combat anxiety is by taking action and doing some of the things that really scare you. That way once you do them, you will see they aren’t as scary as you thought.
- Choose one thing that would make you uncomfortable while also benefiting you. Preferably something you have really wanted to do but were too afraid to try.
Day 18. Give more to someone in need.
Today you can focus your attention on helping someone else.
Pay close attention to someone who may be in extra need of support today.
Day 19. Listen to Mental Health Podcasts
Fuel your mind today by listening to mental health podcasts that are relatable to what you’re going through.
Podcasts have become really popular lately and there are a lot of valuable series to listen to or save for later.
Here is a list of highly-rated mental health podcasts.
Day 20. Cook up your favorite meal
You can do this for every meal or just for one. Even if you barely know how to cook use it as a challenge to learn something new today.
Pick one of your favorite dishes and spend time cooking it up and enjoying the art of cooking.
Day 22. Practice breathing exercises
Having a few breathing techniques up your sleeve can quickly help you relieve anxiety.
Any time you’re feeling anxious today (or any time you want to), practice some breathing exercises.
Week 4
Day 23. Don’t complain at all today. Work on seeing the good
Complaining leads to feeling like the victim of your own life. Instead of blaming other things for going wrong today, practice letting go.
Each time you get annoyed or frustrated by things, turn your thinking to something good.
For example, if you get annoyed about waiting in traffic, turn on some music or a podcast and look around.
- List 5 things you see, feel, and hear.
- Then list 3 things you’re grateful for. And think about what you have to look forward to when you get home.
Day 24. Act like a kid for the day. Do things your inner child would love
Think back to what you liked to do as a kid, then make it a point to do some of those things today. Act like a kid for the day and let go of adult responsibilities (as best you can).
When you listen to what your inner child wants, you help connect with yourself on a deeper level. And life doesn’t feel so overwhelming when you work on taking care of the inner child in you.
Some ways you can act like a kid for the day are:
- Color in a coloring book
- Go for a bike ride
- Eat your favorite cereal and watch some cartoons
- Hang out with your friends or family’s children
Day 25. Set some boundaries. Practice saying no to doing the things you really don’t want to do
Today, focus on setting some boundaries. If you have agreed to make plans or do something you didn’t want to do, speak up and let the people know you can’t do them.
Setting boundaries helps you feel mentally stronger because you don’t put up with things you don’t want. And other people start to respect you because they know they can’t walk all over you.
Day 26. Put yourself first today. Be kind and listen to what your gut tells you
There are many reasons to put yourself first, the main one being that you will have more patience for the people around you because your cup is filled.
Spend today putting yourself first. Set some boundaries and listen to what you truly want to do. Try to let go of the stress that other people may be causing you today and remember that you deserve to come first.
Day 27. Make a list of 10 things you love about yourself
Practice some self-love today and come up with 10 things you personally love about yourself. This can be anything.
From your personality to what you look like, list some things that you appreciate about who you are.
And if you can come up with more than 10 things, great! Throughout today try to come up with some things you like and then review them at the end of the day.
Day 28. Treat yourself. Buy that outfit or thing you’ve been wanting for a while
You’ve been working hard at improving your mental health! Take today and treat yourself to something special.
It’s always good to reward yourself every once in a while when you’re doing a challenge. This keeps you motivated to keep going.
- Treat yourself to your favorite meal or buy that thing you’ve been thinking about for a while now.
Day 29. Challenge your negative thoughts
You can honestly spend every day challenging your negative thoughts, but today it’ll be your main focus.
Whenever you feel your inner critic take over, work on challenging those thoughts. And if you’re feeling particularly anxious work on digging a little deeper as to why you’re anxious.
Ask yourself “Why is this bothering me?”. You can even write down your thoughts to get them out of your head and into the open.
Day 30. Self-reflect on the month
What do you want to do differently next month? What worked this month? Did this challenge help your anxiety?
Reflect on how this month went and see if this challenge helped your mentality at all.
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- Did you accomplish the goals you wanted?
- Which was your favorite and least favorite day?
- What do you want to do next month to help with your mental health?
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