What should I be doing now? (It's done)

[Coconut]

I got an email today with this message about suicide prevention, it is from a government agency and is NOT COPYRIGHTED, so I wanted to share it here. You don't have to be suicidal for these easy things to help you feel more positive about your life.

Maintaining Your Emotional and Mental Health

1. A New Year, A New You: A new year offers a new opportunity for you to influence your mental and emotional health by making a plan to stay on track with your goals. Things like taking your medications as scheduled, attending your appointments, getting enough sleep and asking for help from your providers can all help you take strides to gaining employment, maintaining finances and taking care of your family.

2. Self-Reflection and Awareness: Self-awareness gives you the ability to understand your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values, goals, and recognize their impact on others. Things like journaling, taking a walk or talking to a close friend are all simple ways that can help you take control of your mood. This can lead to gathering your thoughts to make a more sound action plan to take care of yourself and your responsibilities.

3. Watch your Finances: Watching what you spend can often seem intimidating, tedious and sometimes depressing. Laying out your expenses will force you to prioritize where you want your money to go. This in turn can shine light on weaknesses, give you a sense of control, improve relationships and empower you to set financial goals. Having open communication, shared bill paying duties and goal setting can give you an opportunity to celebrate small successes.

4. Build Relationships: Calling a friend, meeting a colleague for coffee, having dinner with a relative — these everyday actions can seem small, but they have the power to make a huge difference for you or someone else going through a difficult time. Be sure to show up when you have made plans to spend time with someone. Chat with someone in a waiting room or at the store, you never know when this could have a positive impact on you and the person you reach out to.

5. Exercise: Experts believe exercise releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good. Regular exercise can boost your self-esteem and help you concentrate, sleep, look and feel better. Exercising doesn’t just mean doing a sport or going to the gym. Walks in the park, gardening or housework can also keep you active.

6. Keep Things in Perspective: Even when facing very painful events, try to consider the stressful situation in a broader context and keep a long-term perspective. Avoid blowing the event out of proportion. An optimistic outlook enables you to expect that good things will happen in your life. Try visualizing what you want, rather than worrying about what you fear. When we perceive our self and our life negatively, we can end up viewing experiences in a way that confirms that notion. Instead, practice using words that promote feelings of self-worth and personal power.

7. Take a Break: Step away, let someone know verbally, you need a moment to gather your thoughts. Sometimes the best thing to do is a simple breathing exercise: Close your eyes and take 10 deep breaths. For each one, count to four as you inhale, hold it for a count of four, and then exhale for another four. This works wonders almost immediately. Maybe that break includes meditation, prayer or going for a drive.

8. Seek Help: Seeking help is a sign of strength — not a weakness. And it is important to remember that treatment is effective.