Look Around and Look Within

Your surroundings say a lot about your mental health

Take a moment to consider your surroundings. Do you feel safe? Do you have access to health care and grocery stores? Does your home support you, both physically and mentally?

This Mental Health Month, challenge yourself to look at your world and how different factors can affect your mental health.

The places where a person is born, lives, learns, works, plays and gathers have an impact on your physical and emotional wellbeing. Along with economic stability and social connections, these factors are called social determinants of health, and account for up to half or more of health outcomes.

While many parts of your environment can be out of your control, there are steps you can take to change your space and protect your well-being.

Work toward securing safe and stable housing: 

• Having safe, stable, and healthy home conditions set the foundation for achieving and maintaining good mental health. 

• For many people, not having a true “home base” to consistently return to can leave them feeling distressed, disconnected, or isolated. Stable housing allows individuals to develop routines and connections to their local community, which are beneficial for mental health.

• This can be challenging due to finances, age, and other reasons, but there are a few things you can try, such as reaching out to state/local agencies to secure housing, removing safety hazards in the home, or finding another space (such as a community center or friend’s home) where you can get the comfort you are missing at home.

Focus on your home: 

• Wherever you call “home,” it should give you feelings of comfort, support, and calmness. If not, there are things you can do to your space to help you be more productive, reach your goals, and improve your mental health.

• Consider keeping your space tidy, sleep-friendly, and well-ventilated. Surround yourself with items that help you feel calm and positive.

• Want to work on shaping your home environment? Try this free downloadable worksheet.

Create bonds with your neighborhood and community: 

• The area, or ZIP code, that you live in plays a significant role in how healthy you are.

• A strong sense of community within neighborhoods protects mental health through shared support, resources, and joy. Challenges like gentrification, community violence, and lack of access to resources can negatively impact mental health. 

• While many of these can be out of your control, being an advocate for change and making healthy community connections can bring hope. Get to know the people living around you, join or start neighbors-helping-neighbors groups, and support local businesses.

Connect with nature: 

• Spending time in nature is linked to many positive mental health outcomes, including improved focus, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of developing mental health conditions, and a sense of connection to yourself, community, and purpose.

• Being around nature doesn’t have to mean hiking in a forest. It can be walking in a park, bringing a plant inside, or sitting in your backyard. You can even keep the shades open to absorb natural light.

• Want some ideas about connecting with the outdoors? Try this free downloadable worksheet.