Psychological well-being is something we all have a right to. However, upbringing, life experiences, physiology, environment, etc. For various reasons... we often find ourselves in a different state of mind than we would like. Depression, anxiety, and stress just seem to be the biggest barriers to feeling well – judging by the number of visits to doctors for help with these problems.

It really doesn´t matter what the label is for your particular problem, if you follow the seven steps diligently you will have an improvement in your overall sense of well-being.

The Seven Steps are:

1. Acceptance

2. Release the guilt

3. Expressing Appreciation

4. Physical exercise

5. Creative activity

6. Right livelihood

7. Meditation

They must be taken in order. Complete mastery is not required, but the time to act is when you feel or feel that a movement is taking place in your mind. A lightness, a better sleep, smiling, singing, noticing the beauty around you, wanting to do something different, psychological changes are felt with spring cleaning...

• 1. Acceptance:
  

Acceptance is the most important step to take. To accept is to stop being a victim. To accept is to give up. Acceptance is a statement of intent to move forward in life, rather than holding on to the stillness and blaming circumstances or individuals for how things are.

Acceptance is the transition to accepting that everything that happens in your life is your responsibility. It is realizing that you are where you are because of the choices you make in life. And if that means you have to accept the crazy idea that you have made a choice to suffer from a physical illness, then you do just that - accept it. Acceptance is no longer fighting. When you no longer fight, you no longer resist. When you no longer resist, you can go with the flow.

Everything big or small, good or bad, you just say to yourself, "I accept that this is going on for me right now." You don´t have to like it. You don´t have to keep it forever. If it is there, you must accept it in the present moment.

The truth is, it´s there whether you accept it or not. So you´re not making things worse by accepting, because you already have it. You´re just changing your position on it.

Also, recognize that the thought that brought you to where you are is not likely to get you out—otherwise, it would have already done so. You need to think differently. Acceptance is thinking differently. Acceptance is approaching the problem with wisdom. If you´re so scared, you can´t go out without a friend, and even then you´re scared, then just admit that it´s like that right now. You don´t have to understand why this is so, you just have to accept it. "I´m too afraid to go out right now, so I´ll stay inside"; "Right now I´m really worried about my new boss, but that´s okay, it´s natural to be worried in the face of difficult circumstances"; "I feel really depressed, but that´s okay, it´s just my mind´s way of preparing me for change." You can always tell yourself something agreeing.

• 2. Release the Guilt:

Guilt is something we are taught to experience. This is not natural. Guilt can be experienced as: I did something I shouldn´t have and now I feel bad, or I didn´t do something I should have and now I feel bad; in both cases it is self-created guilt. Or, when you behave in a way that someone does not approve of, you may be warned that "you should feel bad because..."; or "I was planning to go out tonight and I hardly ever go out with my friends and you go out all the time, but if you really want to go out, then I´ll stay... don´t". I don´t think there´s much on TV...".

Everything you did or didn´t do was done or not done. Feeling bad about it can´t take it back. This style of guilt is belief in a Time Machine. He´s into fantasy. What is in the past is in the past. Either own it and face the consequences or don´t buy it. Choose which, and then entrust the experience to the past where it belongs and turn your attention to the present.

Emotional blackmail is another common way of experiencing guilt. Stop playing that game. If you accept responsibility for your own feelings, you must allow others to do the same. Do what you want to do and it´s fine as long as you don´t hurt others physically or psychologically. It wouldn´t hurt anyone to pout because you´re having more fun than them. When you surrender to emotional blackmail, you effectively walk around with a big sign behind you that says, "Abusive me, I don´t care."

• 3. Expressing Appreciation:
  

This is one of the most difficult steps to master, so remember that mastery is not the goal. The real problem with expressing appreciation is that a lot of people feel comfortable when they are expressed appreciation for something they did "it was nothing", "don´t mention it", "anyone would have done it".

Let´s say you decide to buy a gift for someone you love (not a sexual partner, not a friend) so they know how important they are in your life. You spend a lot of time choosing the gift. You wrap it up nicely and present it to them. They take a look and give it back. How would you feel? Most people would feel at least a little hurt.

Appreciation is a gift.

Appreciation is a gift of love.

When someone does something for you that you like - let them know. Write an email, send a letter, give a bigger tip, say more of the ritual "thank you" - "thank you that was nice", "I really enjoyed it...", "you´re very considerate". ..

Money is a great way to express your appreciation. Buy from people you care about. Send donations. Offer payment where none is expected.

And as you begin to express more and more appreciation in your life, you will find that one day when someone offers you this gift of appreciation, you will not reject it, you will accept it by saying "thanks, it´s really nice". .

• 4. Physical exercise:
  

No matter how much you exercise, you can always increase it. There is a lot of truth in the old adage - A healthy mind in a healthy body.

Exercise is an expression of appreciation for your beautiful body. Your body is such a miraculous creation, so complex, so incredibly amazing that it would be a deepest level of rejection for you to ignore its physical well-being. It doesn´t matter how unfit you are. You can exercise more than you always do. Exercise releases endorphins. You will feel better after exercise. The benefits are cumulative. It provides more oxygen to the brain, creates more alertness, awakens the immune system and thus makes it easier to fight pathogens. But most of all, it creates a discipline and routine that is often lacking when mental health is bad. This change alone will improve the situation. If you have any physical health problems, get advice from your doctor about exercise.

• 5. Creative Activity:
  

Everyone is a creative being. Suffocating our creative outlet leads to poor mental health Our creativity often suffocates long before we realize what´s going on, and then it seems too late because we believe what we´re told about ourselves. Creativity is about expressing yourself to your surroundings and the whole world. If you create a simple, poorly written story with bad spelling and poor grammar, you´re expressing yourself creatively. Your creative work does not need to be seen by others. Others tend to be judgmental, and if you decide to create in an area where others have much more expertise, your creation will not be based on comparison to begin with. However, that doesn´t mean you shouldn´t.

Please take a look at the paragraph below;

“Photography and gardening have been my loves since I was 14 years old. I decided to combine these two interests and my photos developed a distinct horticultural trend. At one point I wanted to share them with the world and put them up for sale. It´s been a while since I made my first sale, before one of my photos graced the cover of a magazine. One day, I looked at the first photos I submitted. Compared to my later work, I was embarrassed by the low quality. But it was only by taking more photos, looking at what was published and constantly improving it that I was able to fulfill my dream of a photo on the magazine cover. But the important thing was that I enjoyed my work. I didn´t have to show them to the world. I didn´t need to launch them to compare them with others who had a lot more skill and experience than me. But I had to take the pictures. It was part of who I was and how I should express myself. I enjoyed taking pictures, looking at pictures, and constantly looking for ways to become more skilled at my craft.”

Express yourself with something you love to do. Just show it if you want, but don´t stop doing it while you love what you do.

• 6. Right Livelihood:
  

In a way, this is a continuation of the previous step. It is the logical consequence of expressing yourself through the things you love to do.

Now we would never ask anyone to do what they cannot do, so that you don´t have to worry that we might ask you to do something you can´t do - get another job, for example. However, we might ask you to ask yourself what exactly is holding you back from doing this. At least this way you can move towards accepting the obstacle to happiness.

"If you were doing everything you wanted to do, would you choose your current livelihood?" we ask. We have yet to meet anyone who says ´yes´ to this question. Those people are outside. They don´t need to come just to see me.

People either tend to hate what they´re doing but it´s the only thing they can get in the way of their work, or they´re okay with it, but they make too much money to give it up and do something fun to make a living.

See how you feel when you wake up in the morning on a workday. Is there any sense of excitement or anticipation, or are you looking forward to the challenges of the day ahead? This is a good sign. If there is fear, wishes for the day to end, fatigue or a general lack of enthusiasm - then either the work or the attitude towards it needs to change.

Go back to step one and accept whatever you are currently busy with. Acknowledge that you want to do something more fun but don´t know how to make change or are afraid to take the necessary steps. This much. You can find small pleasures at your best in what you do - even if it´s just an appreciation that income makes life better than life without that income; or appreciation for the good feeling of making a contribution that benefits someone somewhere.

And then make a list of everything you love to do.

Next, write a fancy job description for an income-generating job that does everything on your list.

Then find a way to do one of the things you love to do for free.

• 7. Meditation:
  

Meditation is a mind/body rejuvenating exercise. Initially, aim for 10 minutes once a day at a regular time and place. If you have such a busy schedule and can´t spare 10 minutes, then I´ll show you how to create 10 minutes from scratch. But we know you won´t, because "I don´t have time to meditate for 10 minutes every day" is just an excuse not to face yourself.

Check our article about Meditation
Why We Need to Meditate