Atomic Habits for Mental Health

There’s two ways to think about mental health, and I think a lot of people don’t realize they’re stuck in the first one. Most people believe that you either “have depression” or you don’t. That if you get diagnosed with depression or anxiety, it’s like a permanent trait that you have - and that all you can do is learn to cope with it.
I don’t think about depression or anxiety that way. I think of it on a scale- when your symptoms are severe they interfere with your life in a big way, when your symptoms are mild, or when your symptoms go away, it doesn’t interfere with your life anymore. Depression and Anxiety disorders can actually be resolved when we chip away at them. Thinking this way gives us agency, power to change our own lives.

And often when we get really motivated to improve our lives we try some huge change. And while you can willpower yourself to make those changes for a little while, willpower usually just doesn’t work as a long-term strategy. Then the bigger the changes you want to make, the more exhausting and overwhelming they are, which disincentivizes you from continuing them, it gets harder and harder and harder to do them instead of easier. So while you can willpower your way to doing them for a while, the most likely outcome is that you get exhausted and you quit and you’re more discouraged than when you start.

So making these huge changes rarely works- sometimes it does, but it just can’t be your only strategy. I love to give people tons of options to improve their mental health, but I know that this can be overwhelming. So in this video let’s talk about tiny yet powerful strategies that actually reward you for doing them- they make your life easier instead of harder. And then you get feeling better, you get more energy, and they become easier to do because they’re habitual, and with that extra energy you can add another on, and instead of feeling more and more tired, you feel more and more energetic and resilient. So in this video you’ll learn about tiny changes that take a few minutes a day to build atomic habits for mental health.

Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

[The_man_himself_]

Believe me folks, from someone who has strayed down that dark, desperate path, this advice is gold. You need to work at your mental health, even during the good times. Most important of all, it does get better. Hold on to that thought and keep going. And let's all thank this lovely lady for reaching out.

[anatta-]

Atomic Habits

Light
Multivitamin
Fermented food
Probiotic
Movement
Vegetable
Gratitude
Appreciate people
Less news
Follow positive pages
Unfollow triggering accounts
Sleep schedule
Decrease caffine
Use bed only for sleeping
Automatica dnd for sleep
Mindfulness
Limit screen time
Book at night
1 minute meditation
To do list
Journal
Walk
Steps
Deep breathing
Tapping eft
Nature
Plant
Nature screensaver
Deepen relationship
No negative talks
No always and never
No catastrophizing

[archangelscalling]

My first small action a year ago was making my bed every day. Didn't happen every day at the beginning. After a few months it happend every day, sometimes in the morning, sometimes more like late afternoon/early evening. Nowadays it happens every morning. I never scolded myself when I forgot to do it, just encouraged myself to do it tomorrow again. And what I found is that it doesn't matter at which time of the day you do your tiny daily habit. The thing that matters is to do it, no matter what time it is. You ve forgotten it? So what? World's still turning. Tomorrow I'll remember. Be passionate and supportive with yourself. You got this!

[beautyamongashes]

All this year I made myself give a sincere compliment to a stranger to help reduce my social anxiety. It didn’t “cure” anything but that tiny extra bit of confidence in knowing that I can talk to strangers is helping little by little!

[APOLLINAIREBARTHOLOMIEU]

Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings. This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment.

[christinechapman]

I've been feeling worse, then I realized that I had neglected eating all of the plant foods I had been eating over Christmas. Also Christmas is a bit of a stress recipe (alcohol + family, neither really agree with me 😅). So yesterday I just relaxed, processed emotions and ate vegies. Today I'm feeling better and more hopeful.

[ElizabethMcAllister]

0:50 ways to decrease depression (the hard way)
3:16 make small, incremental changes
7:27 simplify habits with a system
7:53 use a habit tracker
8:38 pick one from list of “ways to improve your mental health”

[bouncingnick]

You're literally the first professional that has told me that depression and anxiety can be resolved. No one has ever told me that. I thought I was stuck this way for the rest of my life...😭

[gracegiven]

My one percent change at my lowest was to change was to lay out my clothes the night before. When I did this it was during a more alert state and I had a huge ahah moment:
All my clothes didn’t fit as I had pregnancy weight that I hadn’t lost.
Every single morning was ruined by looking for something and feeling discouraged and not even getting dressed half the time. Not being dressed I hesitated going out to empty the garbage because of embarrassment.
Not running needful errands etc.
I would get overwhelmed and it was a huge snowball that was happening while I was completely unconscious of it.
When I began to get my clothes the night before and missed it I became conscious of this struggle that was affecting my daily capabilities. So I bought 4 outfits that fit comfortably. That was enough with the couple outfits I had that did fit to last 6 weekdays till I could afford more.

When I say lay clothes out I mean shoes and socks. This is key.
If anything happens during the day that requires shoes and you are depressed getting shoes on is a huge hurdle that you don’t want to negotiate during distress.
You want to make the decision of shoes and socks the night before.

If you are depressed to the point that socks are an issue because of your laundry pile start with just searching for and washing only socks.
It’s silly but it’s ok to wash a small load of just sock at first so you can build on that. 😊 it will get better.

Buy a new bag of socks if that’s your 1 %

[karolinasundkvist]

Great advice! I suffered from severe depression about 15 years ago. I would become very ill, then climb upwards, then fall back again...the depression kept coming back. For me, it has been a combination of support from professionals as well as small changes I made myself that has made the difference. I suspect there are some things that have been crucial: support from family and friends, better sleep, accepting myself, exercise, doing things I love, getting back to working, learning to say no sometimes and yes! sometimes. Overall, knowing myself better and liking myself has been key! IT IS POSSIBLE to recover from depression and enjoy life again. There is definitely hope!

[mundomagico]

Sleep is the BIGGEST thing that effects me. I go from on my knees desperate tired to bouncing of the walls with energy when I’ve had good regular sleep. Also - I bought a kindle to read at night instead of scrolling. Less stimulating. Happy Healthy New Year Everyone. Emma - thank God you are here! Thank you so much for all your sacrifices and hard work to help others. Xx

[frannygrace]

My husband is a very negative thinker so we set one day a week as "No Negative Sunday" and we would remind each other about it whenever we would start to get negative.

[ellyrenee]

Finally something I can actually apply. Sometimes the advice I read online is so frustrating because it seems like they don’t actually understand depression and anxiety. Even things that seem easy to some people can be so overwhelming to me. This is so helpful and just reminds me that nothing is wrong with me. Thank you❤️

[rgvandusen]

I also am living with severe Depression. Isolated as well...
My 1% change daily is taking cold showers daily... plus dry brushing &
Wim Hof breath exercises ... with excellent care from a Naturalpathic Doctor... it's working guys...6mos. In
& Depression is lifting . Mood is better. Doc sez I'm improving about
40%faster than usual. Not to mention all of the other benefits.
You CAN DO THIS !!! I'm 72 starting this !!! these are POWER TOOLS
that enhance the other wellness modalities...

[RB-ytrx]

I use to be better at managing my mental illness but work stress and new financial troubles are leaving me stranded with no coping mechanisms that work. Ive just kind of given up on myself as a result... Its been about 6 months of this new horrible stress and ive been so miserable.. This new year i want to try and take care of myself again. I want to try again

[nehalilisays]

Deleting the instagram app & the news app from my phone has already helped me to have more time & mental energy. I used that to spend more time tidying, cleaning and minimalizing my living spaces (such a good feeling). I also created a checklist for one month, so that I can draw a nice little green checkmark whenever I take supplement xy, drink another liter of water or go to sleep before 2 am, 1 am or even before midnight (that would be 3 checkmarks in a row and a big success for me).

[The.Crown.U.K]

Sadly in the U.K. it's incredibly hard to get therapy, I have been housebound with severe anxiety and agoraphobia for 14 years now and can't get help, but I'm going to follow your advise and hope it helps

[oldmews]

I had just started reading Atomic Habits last week and I wish I would have read it sooner. Realizing many of the things I have been doing have helped greatly, as I'm trying to get over my agoraphobia that I've had for the last three years. I still have quite a ways to go but recognizing good habits that I have already had established has made it easier to set better ones. Thank you so much for your videos they have also been a tremendous help throughout my journey. Much love!

[iTzJimBoi]

My small mental health energy saving goal this year is to spend more time with friends. Isolation has been the theme of this world for the last 6 years. I'm going to slowly remedy that with more time spent with likeminded people. Hope you had a great holiday! Happy early New Year.

Another activity I will try to add is: watching mental health videos on Youtube to start my day or watching during downtime at work.
If I surround myself with positive systems, there's no way my intrusive thoughts can take hold.

[dani-moves]

Hi there! I am a therapist too and make videos about mental health! I just discovered your channel i LOVE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!! This video is very valuable. I agree with you that thinking about our mental health and doing what helps creates a true transformation in our life 💗