Including gratitude in your life is a way to create a positive outlook on your life. More than that, it has tangible benefits for your mental health, including reducing stress, lessening depression symptoms and boosting your mood.

Gratitude is a simple concept, but sometimes difficult to keep up with. In 2023, take time for self-reflection and share your gratitude with the people around you. If you like to journal, regularly write down a list of things you're grateful for.

• Sharing our time with others is sometimes just what we need to boost our mood or change our perspective on things.
• By making time for friends and family, you will decrease feelings of loneliness and ensure you have an emotional support system at your fingertips. If you can't regularly meet in person, text messages and zoom calls are all meaningful ways to connect with others without actually seeing each other.
• Boundaries are an essential part of mental health that help you from pushing yourself too far. Feel empowered to say no or move plans around when your body tells you to.

Mental health is directly tied to physical health - one cannot flourish without the other. The three main areas to target are:

• Sleep: If you don't get enough sleep, your brain doesn't have the chance to rest and recover.
• Food and hydration: Giving your body the nutrients and hydration it needs to function is another essential part of mental health. In addition to eating well-balanced meals, try adding foods to your diet that boost happiness.
• Exercise: Being active is another way to boost your mood and make you feel good. Adding exercise to your routine gives you a chance to bond with others, reduce anxiety and boost your confidence.

Our phones are our lifelines. Most of the time, they're beside us, keeping us connected to the outside world through calls, texts and social media.

The hours spent scrolling through social media, comparing ourselves to the snapshot of perfection people post, can seriously impact our self-view and stain our mental health.

Constant social media use has been linked to worsened anxiety and depression symptoms, feelings of inadequacy and unhealthy sleeping habits.

Journaling is a powerful tool to cope with mental health disorders by working through emotions and channeling thoughts.

A 2018 study found that journaling for 15 minutes each day significantly reduced stress and feelings of anxiety. Other research has linked it to helping work through PTSD symptoms or depression.

Sometimes, laughter is the best medicine:

• When you're feeling stressed or down, do things that will make you laugh to reduce anxiety and stress.
• Watch your favorite TV show or movie to give your mood a boost. Or find the source within yourself.
• Sing while you're in the shower
• Dance while cleaning your home. Dancing reduces the stress hormone cortisol in the body.