How to Promote Psychological Wellness

While healing can occur in therapy, therapy is not always necessary for healing to occur. Let us be clear: If you are experiencing significant distress or may be in danger yourself (or at risk of hurting others), seeking help from a therapist or an emergency resource is recommended. For those seeking a therapist, the article "Finding the Support to Help Heal Your Soul" can help you prepare for that journey.

However, there are other cases where therapy may not be the preferred or available resource. In these cases, there are additional resources to consider on the journey to psychological wellness.

The truth is that Black folks have been overcoming adversity and traversing traumatic pathways for hundreds of years. Our ancestors created the first civilizations and established the origins of many fields in math, language, and science. They built pyramids!

We come from a line of people that know how to make something out of nothing and to be creative. It may just be in our genes to figure out how to survive and make things work. With this legacy in mind, we know that healing can happen in a multitude of ways. Part of the work is figuring out what works for you.

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Consider some of the strategies below in your healing journey.

Even in the best therapeutic scenario, so much work happens outside of the session. These strategies may be done as an adjunct to therapy. You can also opt to try one or more of these ideas if therapy is not your choice right now.

• Move your body. Research supports the positive impact exercise can have on mood and its ability to improve symptoms related to anxiety and depression (Rethorst et al., 2009; Carek et al., 2011). It can increase energy, and you might have fun! Choose what feels good to you—yoga, walking, running, a fitness class, dancing to music on the radio. Moving your body doesn’t have to be formal—you can walk up and down the stairs in your building or dance to a song in your head. Moving your body can create movement in your life and shake things up.
• Get a massage. So much stress, tension, emotion, and trauma is stored in the body. Massages can help release toxins, access emotions, and relieve knots.
• Enjoy play. Find something you love that helps you lose track of time and enjoy yourself. It may be a formal game like cards or jacks, or it might be jumping through the sprinkler or making mud pies. Play can help you connect to joy and bring some satisfaction to your life.
• Consult with a professional—chiropractor, physical therapist, acupuncturist, the list can be exhaustive. If you have access to professionals that can treat other aspects of the mind-body-spirit connection, try healing from that angle.
• Eat to live. Maintaining a balanced diet can help to improve mood, sleep, and energy (Huang et al., 2019). You can explore healthier eating on your own through a variety of print and online resources or consult with a nutritionist.
• Make time to journal. Reflecting on your own insights, feelings, and experiences can facilitate growth. Looking back at previous writings can help you to identify patterns and connections. You can type instead of write or perhaps do recordings instead of print. Be thoughtful about where to keep your writings or recordings to maintain some privacy and a sense of freedom in expression.
• Try energy, breathwork, or meditation. You may find a professional who is certified in these areas. You can also seek resources on your own by vetting online sources or getting recommendations from your social network. Breath is the essence of your life force. The breath is needed to live. Meditation can aid in supporting mental health and the mind-body-spirit connection.
• Spend time outside. As living and breathing organisms, we are actually a part of nature. Thus, it makes sense that connecting to it can often feed our souls. Psychological research supports that time in nature can improve our mental health (APA, 2020) but definitely get out there and see for yourself.
• Enhance your healthy media inputs. What we watch and listen to definitely impacts us, and it can impact us in a good way. Journalism media, social media, and entertainment media can expose us to ideas and ways of being about which we may have previously been unaware. For example, you may opt to follow people in social media who produce content that “lights you up” and makes you feel more empowered. The challenge is that we have to be intentional, not passive, in how this media is used. We can do it—and we all can benefit from the effort. Stanford is currently doing work to promote an understanding of how media can more effectively contribute to psychological wellness. We are here for it!

These points are all things that can be added to promote wellness. You may also consider a self-assessment of what can be removed. For example, it can be helpful to decrease certain forms of social media that contribute to strain or social comparisons. Whatever you choose, know that when you are ready to heal, there is a world of options available to help. You can be an active participant and advocate for your own healing. Pay attention to the process using a range of modalities.

Final tips:

When you try something new, set goals and collect some data.

• What are you trying to determine, address, or resolve?
• What about the strategy was helpful—or not? What may be some reasons why?
• Do you want to continue on this path or try a different strategy?

You may need to experiment a little to find something that works for you. Finding the right fit for your own healing journey may take some time and will definitely take work. Your health and well-being are worth it!