AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OUT

The following list will either introduce you or remind you of the many other ways, you can address your mental health. Be sure to follow through.

If you are a reader, read mental health related books or reread your favorites to uplift you. If not, or you are in a reading slump, short articles and poetry is the way to go. While positivity won't help you go through situations, reading positive and hope filled books/articles prepare you to address the reality.

"I can't write, I 'just passed' my English exam". Well, it's not a blog that I am telling you to write. Also, no huge articles or correct grammar is needed; or even English is necessary. Write to express your feelings to yourself, keeping the writing style heavily subjective and flexible. Trust me, writing helps as a great coping mechanism for writers and non-writers alike. If you are confident enough, put your writing out to the world so that people going through similar situations can have something to hold on to.

While meditation seems too difficult to achieve, I would say to refresh the concept. Do not picture a 'monk', or 'mountains' or 'eternal peace' when this word strikes your mind. We're too busy to not think about something or the other. Just take five minutes from your day to sit with your eyes closed (without your phone/laptop/earphones, obviously!), and let all the thoughts rush. You may think about that stupid thing you did in the sixth grade or about the time you wasted on instagram yesterday. But at least, you know it, and have addressed it enough to not let that haunt in the near future.

From social media. Either uninstall that app or set restrictions. I can't stress enough on how it will help. Which is why it is very ironic that people advise us to keep away from social media on social media platforms!

You can't get off instagram or reddit, because there are also helpful resources in them. Noted. So, instead of stalking that seventh grade crush you don't talk to or celebrities and influencers posting irrelevant extravaganza, stalk the right accounts. Following or unfollowing is totally up to you. But if you are a social media addict and will take time to recover, then stalk accounts that address mental health or give out a positive yet real viewpoint to the world.

The right song, podcast, or even an audiobook will do wonders to your thought process. Choose what you want to listen to, very carefully. It can be your childhood favourites or current favourite song; but please listen to it. It will prove to be a great mood changing exercise. And with your mood, your perspective to look at things does change.

Also watch the right content. Your YouTube and Facebook history reflects so much about your overall mindset. It can be the cause or the effect of everything that happens to you, or how you react to any circumstance. Watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S or anything that changes you or your mindset. Choosing what will, is totally up to you and your emotional situation.

Oh really? Wasn't this list supposed to be alternatives to talking to someone? Well yeah, who else knows what is being written more than the writer herself? To clarify, I have already ruled out real and supposedly judgemental people from this write-up. From a very personal experience, I can say that plants and walls come handy when we want someone to listen to us. If you have pets, then they might be helpful, too. Just talk your heart out. You know they can't interrupt you anyway. That's a good reason to express how you feel, and let go of past regrets and present issues.

Paint, draw, play video games, work out, sleep, do your skin care regime, do calligraphy, photograph moments, learn a new language, start a course to enhance your career, and the list goes on. Do anything and everything that your heart tells you to. Establish your own coping mechanism. Just address your issues and feelings, instead of avoiding or suppressing them.